O's game blog: O's try to avoid a sweep in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS - The Orioles (10-18) have been swept twice this season in three-game series. They need a win this afternoon at Minnesota (15-9) to avoid a third. They were swept twice at home, once by the New York Yankees and last weekend by the Twins.

Then the Twins swept a doubleheader on Saturday and won 4-3 last Sunday. They hit 11 homers and scored 26 runs in that series. This weekend, they have outhomered the Orioles 10-0 and posted wins by 6-1 and 9-2 at Target Field. In going 5-0 this year versus the Orioles, Minnesota has scored 41 runs and hit 21 home runs. The Twins average 4.2 homers per game this year against the Orioles and 1.4 against every other team.

Minnesota has won four series in a row against the Orioles and 11 straight games. That is tied for their fifth-longest win streak over an opponent in club history. A win today would tie their streak for fourth-best in club history with 12 consecutive wins.

But the Orioles hope to avoid that fate. Not only will they need to keep the ball in the park more often, they'll need more than the three combined runs they have scored in Minnesota this weekend.

Chris Davis went hitless Saturday. But over his last nine games, he is batting .310 (9-for-29) with three doubles, two homers and eight RBIs.

Dwight Smith Jr. went hitless on Saturday, snapping his nine-game hitting streak. He hit .343 (12-for-35) during the streak and has eight RBIs his last six games.

Over his past 17 games since April 10, Renato Núñez is batting .309 (21-for-68) with five homers and 13 RBIs. He has hit four homers in his past eight games.

On the mound today, right-hander Dylan Bundy (0-3, 6.56 ERA) will make his sixth start and second in a row against Minnesota. Bundy's best and longest start of the year came last Sunday in Baltimore when he faced the Twins. Over six innings, he gave up seven hits and four runs (two earned) for his first quality start. Of Bundy's 95 pitches in that game, fewer than 50 percent were fastballs, the first time this year he's thrown heaters less than 50 percent of the time.

Lefty batters are hitting .225 with a .654 OPS against Bundy, while right-handed batters are hitting .308 and with a 1.128 OPS against him. And of the seven home runs he has yielded in 23 1/3 innings, six have been hit by right-handed batters.

Righty Kyle Gibson (1-0, 6.10 ERA) makes his fifth start for the Twins. He got the win last Sunday in a 4-3 victory for Minnesota. Over six innings, Gibson gave up five hits and two runs on 89 pitches in his first 2019 quality start.

For the year he has thrown 20 2/3 innings, allowing 23 hits, 14 earned runs with eight walks and 18 strikeouts along with a 1.500 WHIP. The Twins are 3-1 in his starts. In his career, he is 5-2 with a 4.69 ERA in 10 starts against Baltimore.

Read more about today's roster moves here and hear from Brandon Hyde and today's new additions here.