Adam Jones hits Grand Slam, O's belt 4 homers, hammer Yankees, 13-4
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Adam Jones hit his first career Grand Slam and had 5 RBI as the Orioles crushed the Yankees 13-4 in game one of a nine-game road trip. The Orioles scored a season-high in runs and hit four homers on the night.
Losing pitcher Mike Mussina got hammered for six runs and eight hits over five innings, in falling to 13-7. In two losses vs. the O's this year, he has allowed 13 runs, 7 earned in 5 2/3 for an ERA of 11.12 vs. Baltimore.
Winning pitcher Jeremy Guthrie gave up just one run over 6 1/3 and is 7-8. Guthrie recorded his 15th quality start of the season.
The Orioles, winners of two in a row after losing five straight, led 6-0 after five innings and 11-0 after six. The Birds are 6-4 vs. the Yankees this season. New York's 10-game home winning streak, its longest since 1998 ended, and the Yankees are now 8-2 since the All-Star break.
The O's lead grew to 13-4 on Aubrey Huff's two-run homer in the 8th. It's his 21st homer of the season and the O's 4th of the night. The Orioles' 13 runs is a season high.
New York got on the board with a 4-run 7th to trail 11-4. Xavier Nady's solo homer knocked Guthrie out of the game. Later Johnny Damon hit a three-run shot vs. Lance Cormier.
The Orioles scored five times in the 6th to take an 11-0 lead. Juan Castro's RBI infield single made it 7-0 O's. Two batters later, Jones hit a Grand Slam to left on a 3-2 pitch for an 11-0 edge. It's Jones' first Major League Grand Slam and the O's second of the year. Jones has 5 RBI tonight and 48 on the season.
The O's added two runs in the 5th to lead 6-0. Brian Roberts led off with a double and scored on Jones' triple to right. One out later, Huff's sac fly made it a 6-0 lead on his 65th RBI.
Kevin Millar's three-run homer in the second off Mike Mussina gave the O's a 3-0 lead. It's Millar's 15th homer and scored Melvin Mora and Luke Scott, who had singled. Ramon Hernandez followed Millar's shot with a solo homer to right for a 4-0 lead. His 12th homer of the season was also the 1,000th hit of his career.
In game two of this series Tuesday night, its Daniel Cabrera (6-6, 4.86) vs. the Yankees Darrel Rasner (5-7, 4.83)
Balt 13-17-1
NYY 4-9-0
Postgame Notes
Jones Slams One
Adam Jones came up with the first Grand Slam of his career tonight, a blast to left on a 3-2 pitch that gave the O's an 11-0 lead in the sixth. He hit the Slam off David Robertson after coming up with an RBI triple off Mike Mussina an inning earlier. Jones went 3-6 and when he batted in the 9th, he needed a double for the cycle; but he lined out to center.
His 5 RBI is a career-high, topping his 4-RBI night at Yankee Stadium on May 20th. It's the second Grand Slam by an Oriole this year after Jay Payton hit one off Boston's Hideki Okajima on May 14th.
Moose Hunting
Mike Mussina has allowed 13 runs in two starts this year vs. the O's.
May 20: 2/3 IP, 5H, 7R, 1ER, 2BB, 1K
July 28: 5IP, 8H, 6R-ER, 1B, 4K, 2 HR
Mussina is 1-4 since 2006 vs. Baltimore. He entered this start tonight with an ERA of 1.04 over his last four starts.
Guthrie Wins His 7th
Jeremy Guthrie picks up his 7th win, which ties Brian Burres and Garrett Olson for the team lead. He gave up just one hit through the first four innings and on the night allowed just one run and three hits over 6 1/3. He picks up his second career win vs. the Yankees. Guthrie has allowed 2 ER or less in 13 of 23 starts and has 15 quality starts this season.
The Longball
The Orioles hit four homers tonight. In addition to Jones, they got a three-run shot from Kevin Millar, a two-run shot from Aubrey Huff and a solo shot from Ramon Hernandez. Does that mean they homered for the cycle? The O's have now hit 21 homers in 12 games since the All-Star break. Millar's homer was his 5th vs. New York this year and the 20th in his career in 175 at bats vs. the Yankees.
Final Notes
The Orioles posted season-highs with 13 runs and nine extra-base hits.....They tied the season-high with 17 hits.....The Birds had four doubles and homers and one triple......Six Orioles had multi-hit games and five Birds drove in runs........The O's led 6-0 before the Yankees had their second hit.......Kevin Millar and Ramon Hernandez hit back-to-back homers off Mike Mussina in the second.....It's the 4th time this season the O's have homered back-to-back.
The Orioles are now 23-12 in series-opening games and are 6-4 vs. New York.....They are now 18-28 vs. the AL East and 9-15 in July.......New York's 10-game home winning streak ended and they were seeking their first winning streak of 11 or more games at Yankee Stadium since 1985.......Aubrey Huff was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI......Huff is batting .448 (13-29) during a seven-game hitting streak and has 7 homers his last 23 contests.......In 12 games since the All-Star break the O's are hitting .291 as a team with 71 runs scored and 21 homers......Ramon Hernandez's solo homer in the 2nd was the 1,000th hit of his career......Brian Roberts' double in the 5th was his league-leading 39th of the year and the 250th of his career.
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Down On The Farm
Triple-A Norfolk beats Columbus tonight 5-2 as Hayden Penn goes seven innings. He allowed five hits and two runs with one walk and five K's. He is 5-6, 4.98 and threw 88 pitches. Bob McCrory went the last two innings for his 5th save.
At Bowie tonight, Brad Bergesen pitched a six-hit shutout for his 13th win, as Bowie blanked New Britain 7-0. Bergesen is 13-3, 2.68 and ties the Baysox single-season record for wins. He did not walk a batter, fanned three and got 16 groundouts in a game that lasted one hour and 51 minutes. Between Frederick and Bowie this year, Bergesen is 14-4, 2.61.
Guthrie's Night
After Xavier Nady's homer spoiled the shutout bid, Lance Cormier came on for Guthrie.
Guthrie tonight: 6 1/3 IP, 3H, 1R-ER, 2BB, 4K.....1 HR......102 pitches.
He has allowed exactly one earned run in five of his last ten starts. He has given up 2ER or less now in 13 of 23 starts and has his 15th quality start of the season.
B-Rob Note
Brian Roberts began tonight leading the AL in doubles (38) and triples (8). He picked up his 39th double in the 5th. The last player to lead the league in both categories was the Twins Cesar Tovar in 1970. By the way, that double was also the 250th double of Roberts' career.
Touch 'em all Adam
Adam Jones made it 11-0 with his first career Grand Slam. He flashed a little talent at the Yankees in the 5th and 6th innings. A great piece of hitting for his RBI triple in the 5th and turned on a 3-2 for the Slam to left in the 6th. That's a season and career-high 5 RBI tonight for Mr. Jones. Jones had 5 RBI in the first 9 games this year vs. NY and matches that with 5 tonight.
Moose Bashing
The Orioles have Mike Mussina's number, and that's sweet for O's fans. He allows six runs tonight.
Mussina's line: 5IP, 8H, 6R-ER, 1BB, 4K......2 HR....95 pitches.
In two starts this year vs. the Birds he has worked just 5 2/3 giving up 13 hits and 13 runs, 7 earned, for an ERA this season vs. Baltimore of 11.12. The last time Mussina started vs. the Orioles, the O's won 12-2, tonight they lead 11-0.
Guthrie Solid
Solid is probably an understatement--Guthrie has been outstanding so far with a one-hitter through five, and he's thrown only 63 pitches. What a difference the last two days make when your starter pitches well. Guthrie retired the first nine hitters before Damon led off the fourth with a single. He has gotten good defense behind him as Roberts made a great diving stop in the first and Jones made a nice running catch in the fifth.
Longball for the Lead
Kevin Millar, a .436 career hitter vs. Mussina, hit the three-run shot and Ramon Hernandez went back-to-back with a solo blast to right. The O's have now hit 19 homers since the All-Star break. It's Millar's first homer since his two-homer night Friday vs. the Angels. For Hernandez, it's his 4th homer in his last seven games, and it was also his 1,000th career hit.
I Like It
Dave Trembley announced this afternoon at Yankee Stadium that Dennis Sarfate will start this Wednesday in New York and Brian Burres will move to the bullpen. This is a good move.
After two seasons in the rotation, the O's know what they have in Burres. He probably would not make the rotation for a lot of teams. Now let's see more of Sarfate and that power arm. He started a lot in the Minors and is a little stretched out after his 3 1/3 inning outing from Friday.
Sarfate is far from a finished product and still walks too many. But you can't teach a mid 90's fastball, and he certainly has plenty of potential. Plus, the O's simply had to do something with all the struggles by the starters.
Now, suddenly the O's have four lefties in the bullpen with Burres, Castillo, Walker and Sherrill. It gives them more matchup chances in the mid to late innings.
As I mentioned in my blog, which you can get to by clicking on the link at the top of this page, I still think the O's may look to that star-studded rotation in Bowie for another starter later. The O's brass had to act on the rotation and they did.
The Road Trip Is Underway
Game one of the O's-Yankees series is underway. It's also the start of a nine-game road trip. Mike Mussina is just 1-3, 6.18 in six starts vs. the O's since 2006. But he has pitched to an ERA of 1.04 over his last four starts. Check back here tonight for news and updates.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
DH Aubrey Huff
3B Melvin Mora
LF Luke Scott
1B Kevin Millar
C Ramon Hernandez
SS Juan Castro
P Jeremy Guthrie
Yankees
DH Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
RF Bobby Abreau
3B Alex Rodriguez
1B Jason Giambi
2B Robinson Cano
LF Xavier Nady
CF Melky Cabrera
C Jose Molina
P Mike Mussina
Game Preview
Orioles (49-55) at NY Yankees (58-46)
After ending a long homestand on a high note, the Orioles begin a three-city, nine-game road trip tonight in Yankee Stadium. This trip will also take the Orioles to Seattle and Los Angeles.
The Birds went only 4-7 on the homestand, but beat the Angels 5-2 Sunday, ending their 15-game Sunday losing streak. Garrett Olson pitched six innings to get his 7th win and catcher Guillermo Quiroz had a career-high 3 RBI. George Sherrill recorded his 30th save.
Now the O's face a hot Yankees team with their current ace, Jeremy Guthrie, pitching vs. their former one, Mike Mussina.
New York was 8-0 since the All-Star break until Sunday night's 9-2 loss at Fenway Park. Sidney Ponson allowed seven runs and 10 hits in four innings.
New York has won 8 of 9 and 13 of 17 games. The Yankees are 38-21 since May 21st, the most wins in the AL in that stretch. The Yankees' 8 consecutive wins to start the second-half was their longest winning streak out of the break since 1947.
The Yankees have won 10 straight at home, their longest Yankee Stadium winning streak since 1998.
The Orioles are 5-4 vs. the Yankees this season, 4-2 at home and 1-2 in New York.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Jeremy Guthrie (6-8, 3.58) tonight makes his 23rd start of the season, his 12th on the road and his 5th career start vs. the Yankees.
Guthrie's last start was cut short by rain. He pitched 5 2/3 last Wednesday vs. Toronto when the game was delayed and eventually suspended by rain. He took the loss allowing two runs on six hits.
Guthrie, who has allowed 2 ER or less in 12 starts, has made four starts in July and is 2-1, 3.96. The Orioles are 10-12 when he takes the mound.
Guthrie has made 14 quality starts on the year. In 11 road starts, he is 3-4, 3.47.
Guthrie took a loss vs. the Yankees May 28th, giving up three runs on six hits over seven innings.
Guthrie vs. New York:
2008: 0-1, 3.86, one start
2007: 1-0, 5.29, three starts
Career: 1-1, 4.50, five games, four starts covering 26 innings
RHP Mike Mussina (13-6, 3.26) tonight is set to make his 22nd start, his 15th at Yankee Stadium and the 25th of his career vs. the Orioles.
Mussina is having a big year--he's tied for second in the AL in wins and is 8th in ERA. In four July starts, he is 3-0, 1.04 with just one walk and 23 strikeouts in 26 innings. He pitched to an ERA of 3.18 in five June starts.
The five-time All-Star, who pitched with the Orioles from 1991-2000, has rebounded from a 2007 season when he was 11-10, 5.15. In 121 innings this year, Mussina has walked just 16 with 81 strikeouts.
He has been very tough on left-handed hitters, who bat just .221 against him, but right-handed hitters bat .328 vs. Mussina, and he has allowed 10 of his 12 homers vs. right-handed hitters.
In 14 home starts, he is 8-5, 3.18 and the Yankees are 13-8 in his starts. He has thrown over 100 pitches just six times on the season.
Mussina's worst outing of this year came vs. the Orioles, who knocked him out in the first inning of their 12-2 win at New York on May 20th. Mussina pitched just 2/3 of inning then, allowing 7 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits. He gave up a three-run double to Adam Jones and the outing tied for the shortest of his career of more than 500 starts.
Mussina vs. Baltimore:
2008: 0-1, 13.50, one start
2007: 1-1, 6.75, three starts
Career: 10-7, 4.56 with two shutouts in 24 starts
O's Hitters vs. Mussina
Roberts: .475-0-3......19-40 with 6 doubles
Millar: .436-2-8.......17-39
Castro: .400-0-1........2-5
Mora: .326-1-6.......14-43
Markakis: .308-0-2.....4-13
Huff: .300-1-5.........15-50
Hernandez: .263-0-5...5-19
Payton: .125-0-0........1-8
Jones: 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI
Yankees since All-Star break:
*8-1 record
*Outscored opponents 51-24
*Team ERA is 2.39
*Team batting average is .305
AL comeback wins:
31 - Balt-Det.
29 - CWS-Oak
28 - NYY
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Such a great game tonight offensively. Hitting for the home-run cycle, something that I've only seen in video games. Hope they can keep this up