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Re: 5-28-09
Dave m@linsky
4* BALTIMORE ORIOLES (Hernandez)-110 over Detroit Tigers (Galarraga)
For a team in last place, the Baltimore Orioles have played some decent baseball being in the A.L. East simply does that to a team. What is also does is to under-rate them when stepping out of that difficult division, one that is a collective 10 games over .500 against outside competition this season. This game provides a classic example. 28 of 47 Baltimore games have come against teams that currently sport winning records, while only 16 of 45 Detroit opponents are over .500. And the David Hernandez vs. Armando Galarraga matchup gives us the tools to take advantage this opportunity. The Orioles have been careful to not rush Hernandez, but his numbers show that he is more than ready for the challenge of a Major League mound. He was given a full season at AA ball LY, working to a 10-4/2.68 with 166 strikeouts vs. only 112 hits allowed, and in eight starts at AAA this season it was a 3-1/2.91 with a dominating count of 60 strikeouts vs. only 33 hits allowed. He enters on a run of back-to-back shutouts in which he struck out 20 while allowing only five hits, and not only does his presence bring a spark tonight, but also the fact that the rest of the team is on a major high after making that dramatic rally to beat Toronto on Wednesday, getting a season-high 18 hits in the process (six different players had multiple hits). They were particularly buoyed by the return of Luke Scott, who went 2-4 with a home run and three rbi?s, and the addition of another big left-handed bat matters in this matchup against Galarraga. There may not have been a bigger surprise in the Major Leagues Ly than the Detroit right-hander, an unheralded prospect that turned in a solid 13-7/3.03 campaign. But after getting off to a good start this season the wheels have come off ? he has worked to an 0-4/9.93 over five May starts, and has been every bit as bad as that suggests, with eight home runs allowed in 22.2 innings, and more walks than strikeouts through that span. And it was not as though he was pitching batting practice in the All Star game ? the five teams he has faced in May are a collective 30 games under .500. His biggest weakness is allowing the long ball to left-handed hitters, with 25 blasts in 466 at-bats the past two seasons, and the combination of the Oriole lineup and the friendly right field wall at Camden Yards makes this a particularly difficult matchup for him.
Dave m@linsky
4* BALTIMORE ORIOLES (Hernandez)-110 over Detroit Tigers (Galarraga)
For a team in last place, the Baltimore Orioles have played some decent baseball being in the A.L. East simply does that to a team. What is also does is to under-rate them when stepping out of that difficult division, one that is a collective 10 games over .500 against outside competition this season. This game provides a classic example. 28 of 47 Baltimore games have come against teams that currently sport winning records, while only 16 of 45 Detroit opponents are over .500. And the David Hernandez vs. Armando Galarraga matchup gives us the tools to take advantage this opportunity. The Orioles have been careful to not rush Hernandez, but his numbers show that he is more than ready for the challenge of a Major League mound. He was given a full season at AA ball LY, working to a 10-4/2.68 with 166 strikeouts vs. only 112 hits allowed, and in eight starts at AAA this season it was a 3-1/2.91 with a dominating count of 60 strikeouts vs. only 33 hits allowed. He enters on a run of back-to-back shutouts in which he struck out 20 while allowing only five hits, and not only does his presence bring a spark tonight, but also the fact that the rest of the team is on a major high after making that dramatic rally to beat Toronto on Wednesday, getting a season-high 18 hits in the process (six different players had multiple hits). They were particularly buoyed by the return of Luke Scott, who went 2-4 with a home run and three rbi?s, and the addition of another big left-handed bat matters in this matchup against Galarraga. There may not have been a bigger surprise in the Major Leagues Ly than the Detroit right-hander, an unheralded prospect that turned in a solid 13-7/3.03 campaign. But after getting off to a good start this season the wheels have come off ? he has worked to an 0-4/9.93 over five May starts, and has been every bit as bad as that suggests, with eight home runs allowed in 22.2 innings, and more walks than strikeouts through that span. And it was not as though he was pitching batting practice in the All Star game ? the five teams he has faced in May are a collective 30 games under .500. His biggest weakness is allowing the long ball to left-handed hitters, with 25 blasts in 466 at-bats the past two seasons, and the combination of the Oriole lineup and the friendly right field wall at Camden Yards makes this a particularly difficult matchup for him.
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