MVN - Most Valuable Network

On Deck: Tampa Bay

The O’s split their final series this season with the Cleveland Indians. The bats were finally showing some signs of life before being shut down by Fausto Carmona (again).

I added something new to this series preview–my predictions on the game outcomes. I tend to be a little optimistic, and well, don’t make any bets because predicting what the Orioles are going to do is not easy. The O’s are facing the Devil Rays for a three game home series before a long road trip. The good news? No Scott Kazmir!

Tuesday, May 8th

Jeremy Guthrie may have just found a semi-permanent spot in the rotation as the injury bug bit Loewen and Wright. Guthrie is 1-1 with a 5.18 ERA this season, but the numbers are inflated due to two bad outings in Cleveland. Otherwise, he has done well for the O’s in relief.

Tampa Bay has only logged 17 at bats against Guthrie. Carl Crawford is 0 for 4, and Jorge Cantu is 2 for 3 with a double and home run. Otherwise, the numbers are unremarkable. Earlier this season, Guthrie gave up 1 run over 2.1 innings against the Devil Rays.

Jae Seo will be representing the Rays Tuesday evening. The O’s faced him in one outing last year. Seo pitched 7.2 innings allowing two runs, but received a no decision. This season, Seo has been horrid except for his last game against the Twins. Currently, lefties have hit .370, .400 against right handed batters, and he has a 10.19 ERA on the road.

The O’s batters have not had many at bats against Seo. Jay Payton is 4 for 8, with a double and a triple. Corey Patterson is 2 for 3, which also included a double and triple, along with three walks.

Heathir’s Pick: I see Guthrie looking good in the beginning, but giving up several runs after a few innings. Seo finally has a decent start, and with the O’s luck, he’ll keep it up. Devil Rays win, 5-3.

Wednesday, May 9th

Erik Bedard’s ERA is finally under six. Hopefully we’ll see more of a drop this week as Bedard takes on the Devil Ray’s line up. Bedard went 5.2 innings earlier this year, giving up four runs, but picking up a win. His lifetime record against the Rays is good—Bedard is 8-3 with a 3.19 ERA.

While most of the line up has been mediocre against Bedard, a few of the Ray’s young hitters have found success. Ty Wigginton is 6 for 16 (.375) and Elijah Dukes is 2 for 2 with a double. Rocco Baldelli is 5 for 18, four of which were extra base hits (2 doubles, a triple, and a home run).

The Orioles have pretty much owned James Shields in the past. In three starts over the past two seasons, he is 0-0 with a 5.89 ERA in 18.1 innings. In April, the O’s faced Shields for the first time this season—he received a no decision have giving up 5 runs in 6.1 innings.

The O’s have knocked Shields around. Melvin Mora is 5 for 10 with a home run. Markakis (4 for 9) also has a home run. Tejada is 3 for 8. Some of our lefties have struggled against Shields, though, including Gibbons (0 for 6), Patterson (0 for 5), and Huff (0 for 3) .

Heathir’s Pick: I’m going to stick by the numbers and the O’s ace for this one. O’s win, 6-2.

Thursday, May 10th

Another O’s pitcher with a good history when facing the Devil Rays is Daniel Cabrera. He is 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA, including giving up only one run in 12 innings in 2006. Cabrera has yet to face the Rays in 2007.

Carl Crawford (5 for 16 with two doubles and a triple) and Rocco Baldelli (5 for 10) have had the most success against Cabrera. Jonny Gomes, while not getting a hit in three at bats, has also received three free passes.

Casey Fossum has had some tough starts this season. The only two that weren’t fairly disastrous was a 7.0 inning, three run outing against the O’s and 6 inning, 1 run outing against the A’s last week. Fossum is 6-4 with a 4.52 ERA against Baltimore.

Perhaps Jay Gibbons’ bat will finally heat up with some at bats against Fossum. He is 7 for 18 with two doubles and a home run. Miguel Tejada is 8 for 24 with two doubles. Perhaps it would be a good day off for Brian Roberts (4 for 25 with seven strikeouts) and to get Chris Gomez (2 for 5 with 3 walks).

Heathir’s Pick: I got to go with the O’s and Cabrera on this one. O’s win, 4-2.

Jeremy Guthrie photo from www.baltimoresun.com

Carl Crawford photo from www.sportsuniverse.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Series Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.