Huff and Scott homer, but Angels outslug O's, 11-6
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Torii Hunter blasted a pair of homers and knocked in five runs as the Angels beat the Orioles 11-6 Saturday night. The O's have lost five in a row and fall to a season-low seven games under the .500 mark.
Juan Rivera hit a three-run homer and Casey Kotchman hit a two-run shot as the Angels hit four out of the park. The Angels have won 9 of 10 games and are now a season-best 25 games over the .500 mark.
O's starter Radhames Liz allowed six runs and seven hits over 5 2/3, falling to 4-3. O's starters have pitched to an ERA of 8.35 on this homestand and have failed to pitch six or more innings in eight straight games.
Hunter hit numbers 14 and 15 in picking up his 3rd two-homer game of this season and the 11th of his career.
Ramon Hernandez doubled in the 9th and scored on Brian Roberts sac fly for the O's 6th run.
Hunter's second homer of the game, a two-run shot, gave the Angels an 11-5 lead in the 9th. Hunter has 7 RBI in this series.
Rivera's second homer in two nights, a three-run shot, gave LA a 9-5 lead in the top of the 8th. His 5th of the year scored Hunter and Garrett Anderson, who had walked.
The Orioles pulled within a run of the Angels on Luke Scott's two-run homer in the last of the sixth. His 18th of the year traveled 400 feet to right center and knocked Jon Garland out of the game.
The Angels hammered a pair of homers in the third to lead, 5-3. Kotchman's two-run shot made it 4-3, LA and was his 11th, to tie his career high. Hunter's 14th, a solo shot, made it a 5-3 game. Howie Kendrick's RBI single in the sixth gave LA a 6-3 lead.
The O's moved ahead in the last of the first on Aubrey Huff's three-run homer to right center. His 20th of the year scored Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, who had singled. It's Huff's 11th homer in the last 39 games.
The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the first. With two outs, Liz walked Maicer Izturis and Vladimir Guerrero and they moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Hunter scored both with a single to left center for the 2-0 edge.
LAA 11-10-0
Balt 6-8-1
Postgame Notes
Hunter Hammers Homers
For Torii Hunter a two-homer, 3-3, 5 RBI game and he scored four runs. And, oh yeah, he made that great catch in the 8th to rob Kevin Millar. And he walked twice, so he was on base five of five times up. It's his 11th career two-homer game. In this series, he is 4-7 with 7 RBI. The seven-time Gold Glove winner now has an 8-game batting streak in which he is hitting .393.
Melvin's Sore Knee
He's been the O's hottest hitter since the All-Star break. But Melvin Mora got hit by a pitch on his left knee in the 8th inning. He is hopeful he can play on Sunday. Mora is 0-7 in this series, but since the break he is 15-39 (.385) with 4 homers and 15 RBI.
Huff's Hitting
Aubrey Huff went 2-4 with a first-inning, three-run homer. It was his 20th of the year, his 6th in the last 21 games and his 11th in the last 39 games. Huff is 9-21 during a five-game batting streak and since the break is 14-40 (.350) with 2 homers and 5 RBI. It was the 175th homer of his career and he now has homered 20 times in six of the last seven seasons.
Final Notes
The Angels have hit six homers in the series and and have hit 28 in 20 games in July......Casey Kotchman and Juan Rivera have homered two straight nights........Huff's three-run homer was the first by the O's since July 9th when Adam Jones hit one at Toronto.......the O's allowed two runs in the first inning and have given up 77 runs in the first this season and outscored 77-51 in that frame.
Luke Scott hit his 18th homer tonight matching his total from last year......Then he did it in 369 at bats, this year he did it in 301........Garret Anderson scored his 1,000 career run tonight and, with two hits, Ramon Hernandez how has 999 career base hits......The O's five strait losses ties a season-high mark......they have also lost 9 of 12 and 18 of 26 games......The Angels will win the series with this victory, making the O's 0-6-2 in their last 8 series and LA 13-0-2 in its last 15 series vs. AL teams.
Quotable
Dave Trembley said
"The Angels showed tonight why they have the best record in baseball.......Liz ball-strike ratio was not what it needs to be, he was pitching behind a lot......Leadoff walks and two-out walks have a way of catching up to you in a hurry."
Mike Scioscia said
"For a long time our pitching has been driving this whole machine and in the last two games we haven't been as crisp on the mound but offensively we picked them up so that's a good sign."
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog From Camden Yards
The Walks Kill You
O's pitching has issued seven walks tonight. Five of the seven have scored runs. Juan Rivera's three-run homer in the 8th may have put this game out of reach. It's his second homer of this series and the Angels 5th in two nights.
Yankees Series Probables
Mon 7:05p: Jeremy Guthrie (6-8, 3.58) vs. Mike Mussina (13-6, 3.26)
Tues 7:05p: Daniel Cabrera (6-6, 4.86) vs. Darrell Rasner (5-7, 4.83)
Wed 1:05p: Brian Burres (7-7, 5.37) vs. Joba Chamberlain (3-3, 2.30)
Radhames Is Out
The O's have not had a starter pitch 6 innings in eight games, now that Liz is out after 5 2/3 tonight. He allowed six runs. He also picked up an error when he roamed into foul territory to try and catch a popup but dropped it. Should have let Ramon handle it.
Liz tonight: 5 2/3 IP, 7H, 6R-ER, 4BB, 1K, 2 HR.......102 pitches.
His ERA rose from 7.19 to 7.47. O's starters have pitched seven innings or more just once in the last 20 games.
Halo Notes
The Angels scored first tonight and they are 43-5 this year when they score first. At 63-39, the Angels are on pace for 100 wins. Their team record is 99 wins in 2002. They were the first team in the Majors this year to 60 wins and in each of the last four years the first team to 60 reached the World Series. (2007-Boston, 2006-Detroit, 2005-Chicago White Sox, 2004-St. Louis).
Andy MacPhail on Radio
Join me tomorrow at 12 Noon on O's Baltimore flagship radio station, WHFS, 105.7 FM, for the O's Roundtable show. Andy MacPhail will be on live and certainly there are many interesting topics to discuss with Andy. Catch the show Sunday at 12 noon on WHFS.
Another Shaky Start
Every night Dave Trembley hopes for a solid outing from his starter. And, at least on this homestand, it never happens. Radhames Liz is behind 5-3 after three innings. If you read Dave Trembley's pre-game quotes on this page, he has something in mind to alter the rotation but what will it be. Sarfate to get a start, Hayden Penn from Triple-A or one of the young hotshots from Double-A, a trade maybe ?
Liz has allowed two homers tonight and O's starters have now allowed 12 homers in 48 innings on the stand.
Play Ball in Baltimore
The O's and Angels are underway, Saturday night baseball at the Yard. First pitch was at 7:07 pm and it's 84 degrees. Check back here tonight for news and updates live from the Yard.
Starting Lineups
Angels
3B Chone Figgins
1B Casey Kotchman
SS Maicer Izturis
RF Vladimir Guerrero
CF Torii Hunter
DH Garret Anderson
2B Howie Kendrick
LF Juan Rivera
C Jeff Mathis
P Jon Garland
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 Radhames Liz
Sherrill Wants To Stay An Oriole
Although his name has come up in trade talks and pitching in the playoffs would have to be exciting, George Sherrill wants to stay with the Orioles. I talked with Sherrill today about the trade rumors, his desire to stay in Baltimore and his hopes for his future with the O's.
Listen to Steve Melewski's interview with George Sherrill
Trembley's Talk
In his pregame meeting today with reporters, Dave Trembley was asked if he's considering removing Brian Burres from the rotation ?
"I've had an opportunity to think about it, we'll see what happens. I don't know what my options are at this time. We'll see. Right now he's scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, if that changes I'll let you know."
Trembley was asked if trade deadline rumors can be a clubhouse distraction.
"It comes with the territory every year. It's a part of the game and guys have to deal with it as best as they can. That's more in Andy's area. You can let yourself get carried away with it if you allow your mind to wander. Focus on what you have to do and don't worry about things you can't control."
As usual in recent days, the talk moved to the O's rotation and its recent struggles.
The skipper was asked if he'd consider someone currently on the team, like perhaps Dennis Sarfate after his 3 1/3 inning outing last night, to move into the rotation if its struggles continue.
"You have to consider every possibility, just from the standpoint of doing something to keep the morale of your team from going bonkers. Look at the last x-amount of games and how quickly we've been behind in the first and second inning. That is going to take its toll on a team. They're waiting and looking to see if you're going to do something.
"The last thing in the world I'm going to do is accept it. And the last thing I want the players to do is accept it. I hope people are upset about it. I wish someone would light a fire under somebody and say 'enough is enough.' Sometimes you have to do something to give yourself a shot in the arm. It's not okay, what we will do about is 'stay tuned.' If it ain't working, we have to do something. We don't have anything to lose by trying something different. I'm not saying that's going to happen tomorrow or next week, but I think it has to be considered."
Trembley was reminded a few weeks back he said the last road trip before the All-Star break and the first homestand after would be a key time for this team.
"We blew ourselves out of the water. We didn't play well and it's a direct reflection of what the ERA of the starting pitchers is. And that's telling like it is. We want to play better, we need to pitch better."
Game Preview
LA Angels (63-39) at Orioles (48-54)
The Orioles can even their three-game series vs. the LA Angels with a win tonight at Camden Yards as the Birds host the second game of this series and ninth game of an 11-game homestand.
The Birds fell to 3-6 on the homestand with Friday's 6-5 loss to the Angels. LA took an early 5-0 lead and held off the Birds' late rally to win. The Orioles scored three in the 7th and pulled to within 6-5 in the 9th when Kevin Millar hit his second homer of the game.
Millar hit a pair of solo shots for his 7th career two-homer game and second this season. He also homered twice May 27th vs. the Yankees.
The Orioles, now 28-22 at home, have lost four in a row, 8 of 11 and 17 of their last 25 games.
The Angels, who have baseball's best record, 63-39, and a 10 ½ game lead atop the AL West, have won three in a row and 8 of their last 9 games.
LA is 3-1 vs. the Birds this season, but only 12-13 in its last 25 contests at Camden Yards.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Radhames Liz (4-2, 7.19) tonight will make his 10th start of this season, his 5th at home and the first of his career vs. the Angels.
Liz hopes to build on a winning outing Monday at home vs. Toronto. He gave up three runs and five hits over 5 2/3. He did walk six batters that night and threw just 44 strikes among his 89 pitches.
But, still, that was much improved over his two previous starts which resulted in 12ER allowed on 13 hits over just 6 innings.
Right-handed batters hit .295 off Liz and lefties .260. He gives up an average of .343 when pitching with runners in scoring position. Despite his high ERA, the Orioles are 6-3 when he starts.
Liz pitched to an ERA of 5.70 in June and it is 9.17 in four July starts. He has recorded just one quality start among his 9 outings. He has thrown over 100 pitches just twice.
In four home starts, he is 2-1, 5.82. Liz has never faced the Angels.
RHP Jon Garland (8-6, 4.12) tonight is set to make his 21st start of this season, his 9th on the road and the 9th of his career against the Orioles.
Garland, who was traded by the White Sox to the Angels last November, is 1-1, 4.91 in three July starts. Garland had pitched to an ERA of 1.78 in May and 4.17 in June. The Angels are 11-9 when he starts.
The 28-year-old allows an average of .295 vs. right-handed hitters, .282 vs. lefties and .283 with runners in scoring position. In eight road starts, he is 5-2, 4.17.
Garland vs. the Orioles
2008: 1-0, 1.13, one start (May 3rd, 8IP, 3H, 1R-ER, 96 pitches)
2007: 1-0, 2.57, one start
At Camden Yards: 2-1, 9.60, three starts
Career: 6-2, 4.00 in 10 games, 8 starts
Garland has allowed 58 hits in 54 career innings, but just 2 homers in that time, vs. Baltimore batters. In 243 career starts, the 2005 All-Star, is 100-87, 4.38 with 9 complete games and 6 shutouts.
Norfolk's Hot Hitting
The O's Triple-A team in Norfolk beat Columbus, 9-3, Friday night. The Tides lead the International League in team batting at .273 and lead the league in runs scored in July. Norfolk has scored 129 runs in 21 games this month to average 6.1 per game.
The Tides Chris Roberson is hitting .607 (17-28) during his seven-game hitting streak and Eider Torres is batting .381 (16-42) during his nine-game batting streak.
O's Hitters On This Homestand:
Castro: 2-15
Fahey: 4-16, 2 RBI
Hernandez: 8-26, 3 HR, 7 RBI
Huff: 12-36, HR, 2 RBI
Jones: 9-32, HR, 2 RBI
Markakis: 7-34, HR, 4 RBI
Millar: 9-32, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Mora: 15-36, 4 HR, 15 RBI
Payton: 4-15, 2 RBI
Roberts: 7-36, 5 2B, RBI
Scott: 9-26, 3 HR, 8 RBI
What a coincidence!! Brian Roberts gets a day off. WIll he be traded to the White Sox TODAY(Sun 7/27/08)....I think the trade is a done deal....The SUNDAY JINX WILL be broken TODAY as well.....enjoy the day...steve 1:22pm