O's game blog: O's look for two in a row over Oakland

After a series-opening 5-2 win Friday night behind that three-run rally in the last of the eighth, the Orioles host Oakland again tonight in the second of a three-game series. A win tonight would give Baltimore another series win with a chance for a Sunday sweep.

The Orioles (70-61) are nine games over .500 for the first time since May 20, 2017. They have won three in a row, five of seven, seven of 10, 10 of 15 and 22 of their last 35 games.

The Orioles are now 38-24 at home (.613) and 1-0 on this 10-game homestand. They will play 16 of the next 21 games at Oriole Park, where they are 21-7 in the last 28 home games.

Best home records in the AL:

.692 - New York Yankees (45-20)
.683 - Houston (43-20)
.652 - Tampa Bay (43-23)
.613 - Orioles (38-24)

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles are the sixth team since 1900 to win at least 70 games in a season after finishing the prior season with at least 110 losses, and the first since the Houston Astros went 70-92 in 2014 after going 51-111 in 2013. No team has ever won more than 70 games after finishing each of the previous three full seasons (150+ G) with 100+ losses.

The O's have won four consecutive series and need one win in the final two games against the A's to clinch their fifth consecutive series victory, and their sixth straight victory in a series of at least two games. The last time the O's won four straight series was April 2017, and the last time they won at least five straight series was July-Aug. 2014, when they won eight in a row. The 2022 Birds have 22 series victories this year, compared to 12 last season, including 13 home series wins, compared to five in 2021.

Right-hander Austin Voth (4-2, 4.48 ERA) will make his 13^th start for the Orioles. The club is 8-4 in his first 12 starts and he has been pitching very well lately. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer for four consecutive outings, going 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA in that span while allowing a .161 batting average and .508 OPS. On Sunday at Houston he allowed just one hit and one run over six innings on 94 pitches.

In his O's games only, Voth is 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA that ranks ninth in the American League since June 10 (min. 59.0 IP). He had a 10.13 ERA in 19 appearances with the Nationals before being designated for assignment on May 31.

Voth has pitched to a 3-0 record with a 4.89 ERA (19 ER/35.0 IP) in 17 appearances at home this season. And he has posted a 3-0 record with a 3.86 ERA (11 ER/25.2 IP) as a starter at Oriole Park this year; compared to 1-2 with a 1.59 ERA (5 ER/28.1 IP) in six starts on the road.

Right-hander Adam Oller (2-6, 5.66 ERA) gets the start for the Athletics, his 13^th. For the season, over 68 1/3 innings he has allowed 70 hits and 13 home runs with 34 walks and 40 strikeouts. He has allowed 1.522 WHIP with a 4.5 walk rate and 5.3 strikeout rate.

The Athletics are 4-8 in his outings. And despite his high ERA, he is coming off a great outing where he blanked the New York Yankees for eight innings on one hit and 88 pitches in his last start. In fact, he has recorded three straight quality starts with a 1.80 ERA over those 20 innings, allowing a batting average of .164 and OPS of .527. In those games he lowered his ERA from 7.26 to 5.66.