Series Snapshot: Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox (10-11) @ Baltimore Orioles (8-12)
Camden Yards
With the four game sweep complete, the Red Sox are red hot……….
It was tough to leave sunny California and head back to the East coast, but for the Red Sox, it’s back to business on Tuesday as they continue their road trip with a 3 game set in Baltimore. It’s the third straight road series for the Red Sox which will conclude on Thursday. They’re currently 5-1 on this 9 game road trip and could very well return home with their 5 game winning streak stretched to 8 games after Baltimore.
It’s a tale of two teams currently heading in opposite directions. The Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball having won 8 of their last 9. Their recent turnaround is largely in part to the 5 starting pitchers who have gone 7-1 with a microscopic ERA of 0.88 over those 9 games. Most surprisingly it’s been Daisuke Matsuzaka who’s been the hottest Red Sox pitcher of late, going 2-0 in his last two starts and only giving up 2 hits over 15 innings of work.
Meanwhile the Orioles are spiraling downward and were recently swept at home by the Yankees and have dropped 8 of their last 10. The O’s who were once in first in the AL East, albeit early in the season, have now seen themselves plummet to fourth place and are 5 games back of the Yankees. It’s been an up and down road lately, after getting swept by the Indians, then taking 2 of 3 against Minnesota, including a 11-0 drubbing, before losing the last two to New York. They’ve had 2 rain outs against the Yanks in the past 2 weeks, one each at home.
A big thank you to Chris Raitzyk from the Birdwatchers blog at Fansided for doing a collaboration on the series preview. Chris added insight to the starting pitching for the O’s, who’s hot and who’s not for Baltimore, an injury update and answered 3 questions about the ball club. Enjoy.
Tale of the Starter’s Tape:
Tuesday, April 26
Boston – Clay Buchholz (1-2) 5.31 ERA
After finally getting his first win of the season, Buchholz looks to stay on track with his next start. He hasn’t exactly put up the same type of numbers that saw the 26 year old finish in the top 5 of Cy Young voting last season. In fact, Buchholz has looked quite opposite. His last outing, despite getting the win, Buchholz threw 102 pitches over just 5.1 innings and again struggling with his control. He is falling behind hitters all too often resulting in his high pitch counts. Buchholz has only struck out 10 batters this season and never fanning more than 3 in a game. To highlight his control problems, he’s walked 14 batters so far this year and has surrendered 6 home runs in his first 4 starts. He only allowed 9 home runs all of last year.
Baltimore– Zach Britton (3-1) 3.16 ERA
Britton overcame a bad outing in Cleveland, getting his third win last week, at home against the Twins.
Wednesday, April 27
Boston – Josh Beckett (2-1) 1.93 ERA
It appears the Red Sox have the Josh Beckett of old back in their rotation. Beckett has been dominant in his last 3 starts, going 2-0 with a microscopic 1.17 ERA while recording 24 strikeouts in 23.0 innings. He’s relying more on his off speed stuff to get ahead of batters, namely his curve ball and is controlling the outside of the plate with his fastball. His last outing was a no decision against the Angels after surrendering a game tying 2 run home run in what turned out to be the only runs the Halos would score. He’s once again proving that he’s still the leader of this staff despite being bumped from the designated number 1 spot.
Baltimore – Jeremy Guthrie (1-3) 3.12 ERA
this should be a good match-up. Guthrie is not getting much run support (but who on the O’s staff is?), but is still pitching well.
Thursday, April 28
Boston – Jon Lester (2-1) 2.59 ERA
Lester is starting to pitch like the ace of the staff and he’s been doing it for over his last 3 starts. He’s gone 1-1 in that time, while only allowing only 4 earned runs and striking out 22 batters. Any signs of another Lester’s struggle in April were quickly diminished after he’s dominated since his Opening Day start in Texas. To encourage Red Sox fans, Lester has never lost to the Orioles, going 13-0 lifetime with a 2.33 ERA. At Camden Yards lifetime, he’s 6-0 with a 2.50 ERA.
Baltimore – Brad Bergensen (0-3) 5.40 ERA
On paper, this match-up favors the Sox. But at some point you have to figure Brad is going to get his act together (or he may not get many more changes to try).
Red HOT Sox:
Jed Lowrie– has managed to work his way into the everyday shortstop position and it’s been because of both his offense and defense. Lowrie’s offensive numbers are very impressive (.431, .455, .686) and he continues to get the big hit when the Red Sox need it most. He’s got a modest 4 game hitting streak going and has hit safely in his last 11 of 12 games.
Cold as Ice:
Carl Crawford– despite batting all over the lineup, most recently in 8th spot, he continues to find his rhythm. He’s hitting .171, .218, .244 and hasn’t been on base as much as he needs to be in order to be effective. He’s collected 4 hits in his last 2 games, including his first home run of the year on Sunday, so perhaps he’s turning the corner.
Who’s HOT for Baltimore:
Adam Jones – had a good series against the Yankees, getting a 3-run homer in the first game, and a hit and two runs in the second game. Jones also made a fantastic throw to the plate to keep the game tied 3-3 in extra innings.
Zach Britton – despite being sick with the flu, pitched six strong innings against the Twins on Weds. to notch his third victory. He has a 3.16 ERA and a very low 1.17 WHIP.
Who’s Not for Baltimore:
Josh Rupe – whose ERA has spiked to 7.71. Not what you want to see from a relief pitcher.
Derek Lee– everyone knows that he is struggling except maybe Buck Showalter. Hey, Buck, why not take some pressure off of Lee and move him down in the lineup until he starts hitting?
The Walking Wounded:
Boston:
– Junichi Tazawa – 60-day DL, torn ulnar collateral ligament – July return
Baltimore:
– Good news on the Brian Matusz front. The starter is set to throw off flat surfaces starting on 4/28. Hopefully he’ll be back in the rotation by mid-may.
– JJ Hardy is taking swings and is scheduled to come off the DL at the end of this month.
– Meanwhile, pitchers Justin Duchscherer and Chris Jakubauskas are still on the DL for the foreseeable future.
Three questions from Bo Sox Injection to Birdswatcher:
1.Having lost 8 of their last 10, what’s gone wrong for the Orioles in that stretch that have seem them fall from first in the division to fourth?
A: Well, they say baseball is a simple game. You throw the ball, you hit the ball and you catch the ball. The only part we are doing well in this losing stretch is catch the ball. The defense is solid, but the team batting average is .230 and the team ERA is 4.74 (highest in the AL). The pitching staff is young. So we we’re expecting some ups and downs. Some of the young guns have done quite well, while others have struggled. The bullpen has been very inconsistent. But the biggest issue is the team batting. The whole team is in a slump, which is quite disappointing, considering they went out and got a lot of new hitters in the hopes of improving this aspect of the team. Luckily it’s still early and there is time to snap out of it.
2. The Orioles proved that they want to compete sooner than later, by making some big off season acquisitions in Guerrero and Derek Lee to name a few. And with Buck Showalter proving he can lead this group, where do you feel this group will finish the year and how soon will they compete for the division or wild card?
A: Honestly, my answer to this question changes every day. But truthfully, I (and I believe most fans) would be very happy with a finish about .500 this year. This will show a big step in the right direction (considering we have had 14 losing seasons). Ever if we get close to .500, and the young pitching staff has shown significant improvement, that would be ok. I do think it will be a few years before we can even talk playoffs. Of course you can always hope to catch magic in a bottle and get there sooner. But we do compete in the toughest division in baseball, by far. It is nice that we are going to get another Wild Card team in 2012.
3. Brian Roberts missed a substantial amount of time last season and already this year he’s proving he can make a difference by putting up MVP like numbers. Just what doE. Roberts mean to this team and how are they different when he’s in the lineup?
A: Roberts is most definitely the heart and soul of the Orioles. He is the oldest tenured player on the team and everyone respects him. As far as the difference he makes… in the lineup, he is that spark that gets rallies started. When he gets on base, good things happen. In the field, he makes the tough plays. When the Orioles get out of this slump, I’m sure it will be B-Rob that will be leading the way.
Three Questions From Birdswatcher to BoSox Injection:
1.After starting 2-8 and in the first 10 games, the Red Sox have turned it around and are now 10-11 in the division. In your opinion, what is the number one reason for the change? And do you see this direction continuing?
A: The number one reason for the sudden turn around has been the starting pitching. All 5 starters have been rock solid over the past 9 games and on two occasions Dice-K flirted with no hitters, allowing only 1 hit in each of his last 2 starts. Beckett appears to have found his old form, Lester is showing no signs of an April struggle and even John Lackey has been great in his last 2 starts. Clay Buchholz is about the only one who has struggled with his command, but has still been good enough to get a win. Currently this group of starters is on pace to set a new record for ERA, however there is still way too much baseball left to start talking stats like that. All Red Sox fans know what Dice-K can do, the problem is we all know what he can also bring on an off night. While the pitching has been dominant, I have to think that they will come back a little bit to the rest of the AL hitters. Guys like Lester and maybe even Beckett will lead the way in wins for this squad and if Dice-K and Lackey can stay relatively strong and dominate some games then I would expect the Red Sox to contend for the division.
2.Do you believe that Daisuke Matsuzaka is really turning things around? Or do the Sox have a Plan B starting pitcher option waiting in the wings?
A: That’s a tough question. As I eluded to above, everyone has seen him at his worst and for the past two years its been an all too common sight. Which is why his last two starts are so surprising. With a new pitching coach this year in Curt Young, the first thing he and Dice-K did in Spring Training was give an two days of rest, rather than one for a simulated workout. It appeared to work in February and March as Dice-K was excellent on the mound. Then the season started and after two starts Red Sox Nation wanted him gone and they didn’t care how. Either trade him for a bag of batting practice balls or outright release would have sufficed, Dice-K’s time in Boston had come to an end. Two starts later the drama continues has he’s completely rejuvenated faith from Red Sox Nation, albeit on a short term basis. Should Dice-K falter again, the Red Sox have a couple of options. The veteran Tim Wakefield is available to go every fifth day and so is Alfredo Aceves, although he may be a short term starter. Felix Dubount could also start some games to help band aid any kind of disaster that Dice-K could leave behind.
3.The Red Sox team batting average is only .239 (which is .009 higher than the Orioles team batting average). Why do you think the team has been so slow to hit? Which player(s) do you believe will turn around soon?
A: The offense so far this year has been a funny one. One game it appears all systems are in check and they get going. Only to leave 10 men on base the following night. There have been 3 fairly consistent bats so far in Pedroia, Lowrie and Gonzalez. Other than that it’s been balanced attack at the plate on different nights. David Ortiz isn’t belting home runs (0 since the opening series against Texas), but he is coming through with RBI’s when the Sox need them. Jacoby Ellsbury has a share of the team lead in home runs with 4, but his OBP is significantly lower than what he’s used to. Thanks to a casting call type offense that seems to get the big hits when they need them from different players every night, the Red Sox are winning. Kevin Youkilis appears to have found his stride as his average continues to climb and the long balls continue to find outfield stands. The one big hole has been from Carl Crawford. The high prized free agent has struggled and as a result has been all over the batting lineup. I would look for him to get on track in the month of May and perhaps even sooner as he has back to back 2 hit games heading into Baltimore.
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