McClung pitches Brewers to 3-2 win over Orioles
Brewers pitcher Seth McClung held the Orioles without a hit for four innings and without any runs over six as Milwaukee beat the Birds, 3-2 Saturday, ending the Orioles' four-game winning streak.
McClung improved to 5-3 and gave up just two runs over 6 2/3. He threw 103 pitches and gave up just three hits as the Brewers won for the 5th time in six games. They are 20-10 since May 20th.
Daniel Cabrera gave up three runs over six innings and took the loss, falling to 5-3.
The O's finally got on the board vs. McClung in the top of the seventh. Adam Jones walked with one out, and with two down, pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar hit a two-run homer to left. That cut Milwaukee's lead to 3-2 and is the O's first pinch homer of the year.
Corey Hart's two-run homer in the third gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead. His long blast to left center scored Prince Fielder, who had singled with two outs in the inning. It's Hart's 11th home run.
Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the last of the first. Craig Counsell led off with a single and went to third on JJ Hardy's single. Counsell scored on Fielder's groundout for a 1-0 lead. It's Fielder's 39th RBI.
Balt 2-4-0
Milw 3-9-0
Postgame Notes
Albers gives the 'Pen a rest
A night after the O's bullpen threw 7 combined innings, Matt Albers took over for Daniel Cabrera and gave the rest of the relievers a night off. Albers went the final 2 innings on the mound for the Birds, pitching scoreless ball and keeping the Orioles in the game. The O's bullpen has not allowed an earned run in the last 16 1/3 innings. After the loss, Albers talked with Amber Theoharis.
Final Notes
Aubrey Huff went 0-4, snapping his six-game batting streak......Ramon Hernandez was 1-4 and is hitting .333 (6-18) during his five-game batting streak......Brian Roberts went 1-3 with a double and is batting .368 (14-38) during a nine-game hitting streak.....Roberts has 12 doubles in the last 17 games.......The Orioles picked up one homer and have homered now in 8 consecutive games.........The Orioles fall to 17-11 in one-run games while Milwaukee is 16-6 in one-run contests.....The Brewers have the Majors' best one-run winning percentage.
The Orioles, batting .313 the past four games and hitting .298 as a team in June, were held to four hits........Daniel Cabrera allowed three runs over six innings for a quality start, just the 4th O's quality start in the last 17 contests.......The Orioles had a four-game interleague win streak snapped and are now 8-3 vs. the National League...........The Orioles are 16-23 in road games.........Milwaukee won for the 5th time in six games, the 14th time in 20 and the Brewers are 20-10 since May 20th.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Both Starters Are Out
Cabrera's line: 6IP, 7H, 3R-ER, 3BB, 8K, 1 HR.............98 pitches
McClung's line: 6 2/3IP, 3H, 2R-ER, 5BB, 6K, 1 HR......103 pitches
It was a better outing for Cabrera, who had pitched to an ERA of 6.67 over his last five starts. It's just his second quality start in the last six starts.
Frustrating At The Plate
The O's had McClung in trouble in the 5th and 6th but could not score and still trail, 3-0. They had first and third and none out in the 5th and got a Roberts leadoff double in the 6th and still no runs. They are 0-6 with runners in scoring position over the last two innings. They have just two hits tonight throught six at bats.
Every Night Is Different
In this game of baseball. At this point of the game last night, the O's had 7 runs and 11 hits. Tonight they have no hits in their first four at bats vs. Seth McClung. They are behind 3-0, but maybe that's a good thing.
Cabrera So Far
Hope I am right about this. Cabrera has given up four hits in two innings already, but to me, he looks better tonight than he has in several recent starts. He's around the plate with all his pitches and his curve looks real good. Velocity seems to be there. Hope he can give the O's a big effort tonight.
Gametime at Miller Park
The O's and Brewers are underway in game two of their series in Milwaukee. Check back here during tonight's game for news and updates.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Aubrey Huff
1B Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
C Ramon Hernandez
CF Adam Jones
SS Freddie Bynum
P Daniel Cabrera
Brewers
2B Craig Counsell
SS JJ Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
3B Russell Branyan
CF Gabe Kapler
C Jason Kendall
P Seth McClung
The Orioles bullpen, which pitched seven shutout innings last night, has allowed just one earned run over the last 16 2/3 frames. The pen in June is 7-2, 2.90 with 8 saves. The pen ERA on the season is 3.13, third best in the American League. Cabrera, in 14 career interleague starts, is 2-9, 6.31. The O's can tie the season high of five games over .500 with a win tonight.
Game Preview
Orioles (38-34) at Milwaukee (39-34)
The Orioles, no longer struggling in road games, began a nine-game trip Friday with an 8-5 win over a hot Milwaukee club. The Birds are 6-4 in their last ten on the road.
With a win tonight, the O's would move to five games over .500 and tie the season-high set when the club was 6-1 and later, 14-9, on April 26th.
Aubrey Huff hit a pair of solo homers last night and it was the seventh two-homer game of his career. Huff had four hits and 3 RBI while Brian Roberts added three hits as the O's produced ten or more hits in a game for the 10th time in June. They are 9-1 in those contests.
The Orioles, now 8-2 in interleague play, have won four in a row, six of seven and are 12-5 over the last 17 games. They are 12-6 in June.
Milwaukee's four-game winning streak ended Friday. Still, the Brewers have won six of nine and 13 of 19. Milwaukee is 19-10 since May 20th.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Daniel Cabrera (5-2, 4.45) tonight makes his 16th start of the season, his 10th on the road and the 132nd start of his career, but his first ever vs. the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cabrera is looking for his first win in over a month, since beating the Yankees on May 20. The tall right-hander has pitched to an ERA of 8.47 over his last three starts and 6.67 in his last five.
Cabrera's first 10 starts: 5-1, 3.48
Cabrera's last 5 starts: 0-1, 6.67
From April 12 to May 20, Cabrera recorded a career-best, eight straight quality starts. He has just one in five starts since then.
In nine road starts in 2008, Cabrera is 3-2, 3.98. He has pitched out of a lot of jams this year and gives up only a .200 average when pitching with runners in scoring position.
In 131 career starts, Cabrera is 45-51, 4.93.
RHP Seth McClung (4-3, 3.94) tonight makes his 17th appearance and his 6th start of the season, his 4th home start and the 6th start of his career vs. the Orioles.
McClung, a former Tampa Bay Ray, began this season in the bullpen and, in 11 games, was 1-1, 3.54. He has made his last five outings as a starter and is 3-2, 4.23. Over his last three starts, McClung is 2-1, 2.50 (5ER - 18IP).
The 27-year-old right-hander was drafted by Tampa in round five of 1999. In 115 career games, 42 starts with the Rays and Brewers, he is 21-28, 5.82.
He got the win vs. Minnesota Sunday in his last start. He gave up just two runs and four hits over six innings with four strikeouts and no walks. He has allowed 40 hits, six homers, in 48 innings this year.
Left-handed batters hit .263 off McClung while right-handed hitters bat .202 vs. him. In seven games, three starts, at home, he is 3-2, 6.04.
He has made 12 appearances, 5 starts in his career against the Orioles and is 4-3, 4.70 (20ER - 38 1/3IP).
The Starting Pitching Needs Work
The O's have just three quality starts in the last 16 games. Over that stretch, the starters ERA is 6.16 (60ER - 87.2IP). It's rather amazing that the O's are 11-5 in those games. That shows what the improvement of the offense and bullpen has meant this month.
Huff's Hot Streak
The team single-game record for total bases is 13. Friday night, with two homers, a double and single, Huff had 11 total bases. He has six hits, three homers, in his last two games. Huff is batting .480 during a six-game hitting streak and, over his last 10 games is batting .476 with 5 homers and 11 RBI.
He has hit five homers the last five games and 14 on the season, one shy of his total from all of 2007. Huff has four multi-hit games in the last five and seven in his last 10 contests. Over that time, his average has gone from .239 to .275.
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