During a five-game losing streak, the Orioles have allowed 40 runs and lost games where they scored eight and eleven runs. So Captain Obvious said the pitching must improve as they host Cleveland tonight in the series finale.

After getting swept once all year - from May 20 to 22 at St. Louis - a loss tonight would secure back-to-back series the O's have been swept. 

The Orioles (49-30) hit the 80-game mark tonight and begin play two games behind the New York Yankees (52-29). At 51-26, the Guardians have the best record in the American League and second-best in the majors behind the Phillies. The Yankees have the AL's second-best record and the Orioles have the third-best.

The Orioles have been outscored 40-23 during the losing streak and their team ERA is 7.71 in this stretch. Baltimore's starting pitchers have gone eight straight games without a quality start. In that span, the rotation ERA is 7.26 with a WHIP of 1.789. O's starters pitched five innings or less in six of the eight games.

In the past four games, O's batters have gone 2-for-24 batting with runners in scoring position. For the year, the O's are batting .262 when hitting with RISP to rank seventh-best in the American League. Their team OPS of .783 with RISP is fourth-best in the AL.

On Aug. 3, 2019, the Diamondbacks rolled past the Nats 18-7. The lowlight for Washington: One of their hottest pitchers, Stephen Strasburg, was lit up to the tune of nine runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. In a season with 15 wins, it was by far his worst outing to date in 2019. Arizona crushed five extra-base hits in that game, including a two-run shot by Eduardo Escobar, a solo shot from Nick Ahmed and a three-run homer by Jake Lamb. Ketel Marte delivered a triple and David Peralta a...