O's game blog: Orioles look to stay unbeaten against the Red Sox

Now owners of the first 6-0 start in Orioles' team history, the Birds look for the first-ever 7-0 beginning to a season when they play the Red Sox at Fenway Park tonight. It's the second game of a three-game series and seven-game road trip.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN Stats & Info, the Orioles are the first team from the American League East to start a season 6-0 since the 1992 New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

After his first start was pushed back and his second attempt at it was postponed, right-hander Mike Wright now makes a third bid for his season debut. Right-hander Clay Buchholz (0-0, 11.25 ERA) is the starter for Boston.

wright-pitching-front-white sidebar.jpgWright went 3-5 with a 6.04 ERA last season over 12 games and nine starts. In the starts only, he was 2-5 with a 6.48 ERA and allowed nine homers over 41 2/3 innings. But he had a solid spring and began this year as the O's No. 4 starter.

In his only career appearance against Boston, Wright look a loss on Sept. 16, allowing six runs and six hits, including two homers, over three innings.

Buchholz made his season debut Wednesday at Cleveland. He gave up five runs and six hits over four innings. While right-handed batters went 0-for-7 against him in that game, lefty batters went 6-for-11 with two doubles and a homer.

Buchholz, who pitched a no-hitter on Sept. 1, 2007 against the Orioles, went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts versus Baltimore last year. In 19 career games (18 starts), he is 10-5 with a 3.65 ERA and .258 average against versus the O's.

In 10 career home starts against the Orioles, he has five scoreless starts with an ERA of 2.61. He has recorded quality starts in six of his last seven overall appearances against the Birds.

A few notes on the Orioles:

* After scoring 11 runs over the first three games, the Orioles have scored 20 the last three games. They have 30 hits and a .306 average with seven homers in the three games.

* Over his past two games, Manny Machado is 6-for-7 (.857). Over his past four games, he is 9-for-15 (.600) with three homers and four RBIs. He is batting .458 to rank third in the American League behind Tyler White of Houston at .545 and Brian McCann of New York at .467.

* O's pitchers allowed seven runs on Monday after giving up just 10 total in the first five games.

* The Orioles have hit nine homers the last four games.

* Orioles starting pitchers rank second in the American League with a 3.14 ERA, while Orioles relievers rank fourth in the AL with a 1.78 ERA. Overall, the Orioles own a 2.50 team ERA to lead the majors.

* Since 2012, the Orioles are 47-29 (.618) against Boston and 24-15 (.615) against Boston in that time at Fenway Park.

AL team leaders, batting with runners in scoring position:
.395 - New York
.319 - Orioles
.273 - Chicago
.261 - Cleveland




Flaherty takes left field assignment as "just anot...
Orioles extend Brian Matusz's injury rehab assignm...
 

By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.masnsports.com/