O's game blog: Looking to bounce back against Houston

The Orioles led their series-opening game with Houston 2-0 after one inning last night and 5-0 after the second. They led 6-2 after seven and 6-3 after eight. But they lost it in the ninth, 7-6, as Houston took the opener of a three-game series. 

The Orioles had been 61-3 this season when leading after eight frames. And right-hander Félix Bautista had converted 10 straight save chances and was 19-for-20 in his past 20 save opportunities. But he could not hold the 6-3 lead Tuesday night.

Bautista suffered his sixth blown save and first since June 24 versus Seattle. The 19-for-20 run dated back to May 24. He gave up four runs, tying a career high. 

So the O’s try to bounce back tonight behind right-hander Jack Flaherty (8-6, 4.28 ERA). He is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.50 in his one Orioles start.

Last Thursday at Toronto he gave up four hits and one run over six innings with two walks and eight strikeouts on 92 pitches. He also had a shutout on 58 pitches through five innings. His fastball touched 97 in the first inning – the fastest pitch he has thrown this year.

Flaherty threw 42 fastballs in that game at an average of 94.1 mph, and added 28 cutters, 18 curveballs, five sliders and four changeups. He got a 41 percent whiff rate with 19 whiffs on 46 swings. He got eight whiffs on 14 swings against his cutter and was 6-for-10 on his curve.

His teams are 14-7 in his 2023 starts. Lefty batters are hitting .310 with an .877 OPS against him this year and right-handers are batting .230/.656.

In his past six starts since July 1, Flaherty is 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA and .740 OPS against. In his past 13 starts, he is 6-2 with a 3.30 ERA and .722 OPS against. He has allowed just four homers over 76 1/3 innings in those 13 starts. He has seven quality starts in that span.

Right-hander Cristian Javier (7-2, 4.39 ERA) gets the start for Houston tonight. He gave up three runs over 4 2/3 on Thursday in the Bronx against the New York Yankees. Over his past six starts, he is 0-1 with a 7.58 ERA and has allowed eight homers in 29 2/3 innings with an .858 OPS.

The 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic has allowed two earned runs or less 10 times in 21 starts for the year and has nine quality starts. In 12 road starts he is 3-1 with a 5.29 ERA.

After the win last night, Houston (65-49) remained three games behind division-leading Texas in the American League West. Houston has won six of eight and 13 of its last 19 games, and is 22-11 versus the Orioles since the 2017 season. They are 13-5 in their last 18 games at Camden Yards.