O's game blog: Andrew Cashner pitches series opener

After losing two of three to Detroit to start this homestand, the Orioles host the San Francisco Giants this weekend. It's their second interleague series after losing two of three at Colorado.

The Orioles last met the Giants in August 2016, and they won two of three in Baltimore. They have hosted San Francisco at Oriole Park just once before and lost two of three in June 2004 when Barry Bonds hit two homers and drove in five runs.

Right-hander Andrew Cashner (5-2, 4.55 ERA) will take the mound for his 12th start. Cashner sports a WHIP of 1.331, allows 1.5 homers per nine innings with 3.0 walks and 7.3 strikeouts. The Orioles are 6-5 when he gets the start.

He allowed five runs in five innings, but still got a win last weekend in Colorado. In the three outings before that, Cashner recorded three quality starts while pitching to an ERA of 3.00. Cashner has four quality starts his last six games and five overall to lead the team. Dylan Bundy and John Means are second with three.

Hanser Alberto has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games. His 15 hits since May 20 are tied for sixth in the American League and he's hitting .405 (15-for-37) with five extra-base hits during this span. He is hitting .403 (25-for-62) against left-handed pitching, best in the majors among qualifying hitters. Alberto's 25 hits off left-handed pitching lead the AL and are tied for third most in the majors.

The Orioles (17-39) have lost 10 of 12 and 13 of their last 16. This weekend they are looking for their first series win since April 22-24 against the Chicago White Sox. The Orioles scored just seven runs with 18 hits and went 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position in the Detroit series.

The Giants are 22-33 and beat Miami 3-1 yesterday to snap a seven-game losing streak. San Francisco is 10-18 at home and 12-15 on the road, and are 2-5-2 in road series. The Giants are 13-5 in one-run games.

In 30 games this month, Giants starters have posted a 6.79 ERA, the second-highest ERA among starting staffs this month behind Colorado's 6.91 ERA. However, the 6.79 ERA is the highest for any single month in which the Giants played at least 10 games since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958, according to Stats, LLC.

The Giants' Evan Longoria has 40 home runs and 108 RBIs in his career versus Baltimore. His 40 homers are most among active players, while his 108 RBIs are second-most among active players behind Robinson Canó's 112. In addition, Longoria's 21 homers at Oriole Park are the most among active visiting players and the fourth most by any visiting player since the park opened in 1992.

The Giants start lefty Drew Pomeranz (1-5, 6.45 ERA) who is making his 10th start. He's had a rough season, with a WHIP of 1.726 along with yielding 11.0 hits per nine innings, 2.2 homers, 4.5 walks and 9.8 strikeouts. In three starts this month, Pomeranz is 0-2 with an ERA of 14.00 and a 2.889 WHIP. He has allowed 19 hits in nine innings. His month also included a stay on the injured list due to a lat strain. In 12 career games (seven starts) against Baltimore he is 3-5 with a 4.14 ERA, including a 1-2 mark with an ERA of 6.17 in 2018.