The Baltimore Orioles will be out to continue their road success behind Kyle Gibson when they face the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.
Gibson (7-3, 3.89 ERA) will be opposed by Freddy Peralta (5-5, 4.62) in a matchup of right-handers.
The Brewers lost 2-0 at Cincinnati on Monday after winning the first three games of the series. Milwaukee managed just one hit in six innings against Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, who was making his major league debut.
Milwaukee is 28-4 this season when scoring four runs or more, 4-24 when generating three runs or fewer. The Brewers, who finished 4-3 on their road trip, play 12 of their next 14 games at home.
Baltimore, which was idle on Monday, took two of three at San Francisco, including an 8-3 win in the series finale on Sunday. The Orioles improved to an American League-best 20-10 away from home and have won eight of their 10 road series.
Despite splitting their past 10 games overall, the Orioles still own the third-best record in the majors behind the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers.
“I think we have a bunch of pros that are ready to play and come to the park prepared,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said on Sunday. “(San Francisco) is not an easy place to play, especially day games here with the sun, the wind. It’s definitely different, so to get two out of three here is a good series for us.”
Gibson has won his past three starts, allowing four runs in 19 2/3 innings for a 1.83 ERA over that stretch. He has not given up a home run in his past four starts and has served up just six all season.
Gibson is 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA in seven career starts vs. the Brewers, including 1-1 with a 4.94 ERA in five games at Milwaukee.
Recently signed Aaron Hicks has provided an offensive boost for the Orioles, who picked up the 33-year-old outfielder after he was released by the New York Yankees. Through his first four games with Baltimore, Hicks is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with a triple and three walks.
Peralta has been inconsistent, losing three of his past four starts. He lasted six innings in his latest outing despite giving up three runs on a pair of first-inning homers in a 3-1 loss at Toronto on Thursday.
“They put a man on base and hit a homer and that’s two runs and that put us in a big hole,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said after that contest. “Freddy settled down and pitched really well, two bullpen guys got scoreless innings, but that was enough.”
In his appearance before that one, Peralta was tagged for 10 runs (four earned) on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings in a 15-1 home loss vs. San Francisco.
Peralta is effective when he is on. In his five wins, he has pitched six innings each time and compiled a 2.10 ERA. He is 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in six home starts, and 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA in five road starts.
Opponents are batting .254 against Peralta with 10 homers. He has never faced the Orioles.
Milwaukee got a boost when infielder Luis Urias was activated off the injured list on Monday, though he went 0-for-3 with a walk. He had been sidelined since straining his left hamstring on Opening Day.
–Field Level Media
