Ventura will try to cool off hot-hitting Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are gaining believers with their impressive start, though a series win in the defending world champions' home park would add a little more credibility.
They'll have a chance to do just that Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, the latest team that's been unable to stop Manny Machado's early-season roll.
Held in check by Chris Young and three Royals relievers in Friday's 4-2 loss, the Orioles' offense returned to its productive ways by amassing a season-high 14 hits in Saturday's 8-3 win. Chris Davis broke out of a 3-for-22 funk by going 4 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs and Mark Trumbo drove in four on three hits.
Machado finished 2 for 5 with an RBI double to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, one shy of matching Davey Johnson's club record to begin a season set in 1971. He's batting .397 with six homers and 15 runs scored.
"The way he's hitting the ball is kind of a level above," said Trumbo, who has 10 RBIs over an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .362 thus far. "His approach has been rock solid. When he's getting his pitch, he's doing a lot of damage."
Baltimore (11-5) also received five-plus effective innings from Tyler Wilson in his first 2016 start, providing some relief to a bullpen that saw extended duty after Yovani Gallardo exited Friday's opener after two innings with shoulder tendinitis.
Gallardo was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday.
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Orioles relievers combined for four scoreless innings Saturday to lower the bullpen's ERA to 1.62, trailing only the White Sox for best in the majors.
"We had a couple of opportunities (against the bullpen) to crawl back in, but we just couldn't get a timely hit to push some runs across and make it a different ballgame," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Baltimore hopes for similarly solid start from Mike Wright (1-1, 5.73 ERA) after he improved off a shaky season debut. After allowing four runs in five innings in a 9-5 win at Boston April 12, the right-hander held Toronto to three runs over six innings in Tuesday's 4-3 loss.
Wright allowed two homers to Lorenzo Cain and four runs through five innings against the Royals last September.
Cain is 3 for 21 over his last six games, but Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez have remained hot for Kansas City (11-6). Hosmer is batting .321 over a 13-game hitting streak and Perez is 6 for 18 with three homers and eight RBIs during a five-game stretch after delivering a two-run shot Saturday.
Machado is 3 for 7 against Yordano Ventura (1-0, 2.81), who earned his first win in three starts by holding Detroit to two runs in five innings on Tuesday. He was in line for another after yielding a run in six innings at Houston on April 13, exiting with a one-run lead the bullpen failed to hold.
Ventura has issued 12 walks in 16 innings but has had great success facing Davis, who's 0 for 7 with six strikeouts in their matchups.
The Orioles haven't won a series in Kansas City since sweeping a two-game set in May 2012. Including the 2014 AL Championship Series, they have won just two of their last 10 games at Kauffman Stadium.
