O's game blog: Orioles look to extend win streak

With five wins in a row, the Orioles can tie a season high if they make that six tonight versus the Seattle Mariners. The Orioles won 7-6 last night on the strength of 16 hits, with Trey Mancini, Manny Machado and Welington Castillo getting three each. Six different players drove in runs.

The start of tonight's game is being delayed by rain, but the Orioles announced at about 6:30 p.m. that they expect to play tonight. Just a while ago they announced an approximate start time of 7:30 p.m.

From May 4 through 9, the Orioles won six in a row to improve their record at that point to 22-10. Last night's win improved the Orioles to 66-65 and put them over the .500 mark for the first time since June 11.

Through Monday's games, the Minnesota Twins (67-63) hold the second American League wild card spot, a game ahead of the Angels and 1 1/2 games over the Orioles. Seattle is two back and three other teams are within three games of the Twins.

In the month of August, the Orioles lead the major leagues in team batting average at .301, slugging at .520 and with 47 home runs. The Orioles rank first in the AL in OPS at .863 and are second in OBP at .343. The Orioles have scored 155 runs this month (5.96 per game) to tie Minnesota for the league lead, though they have played 26 games to the Twins' 27.

Tim Beckham and Manny Machado rank among American League leaders in several offensive categories for August. Beckham is slashing .395/.415/.675, and his .395 average ranks third in the AL, while his 45 hits lead the majors for the month. Beckham's 10 doubles are tied for the major league lead, while his .375 slugging percentage ranks fifth. Machado is hitting .339/.339/.670 in August, and his 32 RBIs lead the AL and rank second in the majors. His 10 home runs are tied for fourth in the AL and his slugging percentage of .670 ranks seventh in the league.

On the mound tonight, right-hander Dylan Bundy (12-8, 4.18 ERA) will make his 25th start. Over his last four games - all quality starts - he is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA and with a .220 average against. Bundy has 17 quality starts, fifth-most in the AL and ninth in the majors.

Bundy is pitching on five days' rest tonight. When going on five or more days' rest this year, he is 5-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 11 starts.

Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez (5-4, 4.52 ERA) gets the start for Seattle, He was acquired by Seattle from Tampa Bay on July 28 for pitcher Steve Cishek.

In five starts with the Mariners, he is 1-1 with a 3.76 ERA. Over 26 1/3 he has allowed 24 hits with six walks and 18 strikeouts. In his last three starts he has pitched to a 2.00 ERA. In his last 14 starts versus AL East teams, Ramirez is 5-2 with a 2.62 ERA with just four homers allowed in 82 1/3 innings.

Seattle is 66-66, with seven wins its last 12 games. The Mariners are 25-20 the last 45 games, 34-32 at home and 32-34 on the road. They are 2-2 versus the Orioles in 2017.