Rays with three homers and 15 hits in 14-3 romp over O's
Jeremy Guthrie allowed a season-high seven runs in just three innings and Cliff Floyd went 3-4 with 5 RBI as Tampa Bay routed the O's 14-3 Friday night. It's the start of a three-game series and six-game road trip for the Orioles.
The Birds have lost six of their last seven and fall to eight games under .500
Guthrie, now 10-11, 3.57, allowed seven hits and six walks. He is 0-3, 7.56 over his last three starts.
Tampa broke the game open with a 7-run fourth that featured a Ben Zobrist Grand Slam, the first of his career.
Scott Kazmir pitched 5 1/3 scoreless to improve to 10-6. Tampa has won 8 of 11 and is 21-7 since July 29th. The Rays are 82-51 overall and improved to 50-19 at home.
The O's scored twice in the 8th to make it 13-3 on an Aubrey Huff RBI double and Luke Scott RBI single. Shawn Riggans solo homer in the last of the 8th made it 14-3 and completed the game's scoring.
Juan Castro's RBI double got the O's on the board in the seventh to make it 13-1 Tampa. The Rays scored three more in the sixth to lead 13-0. Floyd had a sac fly in the inning for his 5th RBI in the game.
The Rays knocked Guthrie out of the game during a seven-run fourth to take a 10-0 lead. The inning featured a Grand Slam by Zobrist off Fernando Cabrera and Gabe Gross followed that with a solo homer. Earlier in the inning Floyd had a 2-run double and has 4 RBI on the night.
With a man on first and two outs in the Tampa second, Guthrie issued four straight walks. The last two, to Carlos Pena and Floyd forced in runs as Tampa moved ahead 3-0.
Tampa took a 1-0 lead in the first. Floyd's RBI double scored BJ Upton who had reached on a fielders' choice. Guthrie pitched out of a second and third, one out jam as Tampa got just the one run.
Balt 3-8-1
TB 14-15-0
Postgame Notes
Huff's Hot Hitting
Aubrey Huff tonight had an infield single and RBI double and went 2-4 vs. his former club. Over his last seven games, Huff is batting .481-2-8 with 13 hits in 27 at bats. He has five multi-hit games in those seven contests. He has 22 RBI over his last 18 games. Over his last 69 games, Huff is hitting .367-20-64 with 26 doubles.
It Went This Well
Jeremy Guthrie gave up seven runs, the O's trailed 10-0 after four innings, Ramon Hernandez was ejected and Melvin Mora got hurt. Otherwise, things went pretty well. We can only hope the hot-hitting Mora's injury is not serious. He injured his left hamstring in the top of the third trying to beat out an infield hit. Alex Cintron played third the rest of the way. Hernandez was ejected by home plate ump Sam Holbrook in the last of the fourth. After the game on MASN, Dave Trembley said he didn't think Mora's injury was serious but he also said he might miss the rest of this series and the O's could make a roster move before Saturday's game.
Final Notes
After getting two hits Wednesday vs. Chicago, Juan Castro went 1-3 with an RBI double and a walk.......Kevin Millar went 0-4 and is 3-23 over his last six games......Luke Scott was 1-4 with an RBI single and is 5-11 over his last three games.....Jay Payton was 1-3 with a double and is 10-20 over his last six games.
The O's gave up 14 runs, one off a season-high....Texas scored 15 runs vs. the Birds on August 10th......Ben Zobrist and Gabe Gross hit back-to-back homers in the Tampa 4th, the 7th time the Rays have gone back-to-back this season.......Carlos Pena had 2 RBI and has 16 RBI his last 17 games and has 20 RBI this season vs. the Orioles.
Tampa entered tonight with the 2nd best record in the Majors, the 2nd best home record on the season and the 2nd best record in the Majors since the All-Star break......The Cubs lead in all three categories.......Tampa leads the Majors with a 44-20 record in games decided by two runs or less.
Tampa has won six in a row over the Orioles for the first time since 1999. Tampa now leads the season series, 9 wins to 3, including a 6-1 mark at home. The O's lead the all-time series with Tampa Bay, 96-84.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Their Seasons are Over
Bluefield's season ended at 29-36 and they finished third in the Appy League's Eastern Division. The Gulf Coast League O's were last in the South at 14-41. The Dominican Summer League O's finished 9th with a record of 22-48.
Manager Moves
Both managers have conceded with Tampa leading 10-0 in the 6th that the result of tonight's game is no longer in doubt. Dave Trembley sent Lou Montanez in to pinch-hit for Nick Markakis in the 6th and Joe Maddon took Kazmir out with a shutout going with just one out in the 6th.
By the way, the O's are 0-5 tonight with runners in scoring position.
Baysox Rainout
Something finally slowed the Bowie Baysox - rain. Heavy rain postponed their game tonight at Harrisburg. They will play a doubleheader there tomorrow, with a pair of seven-inning games beginning at 5:05 p.m. Bowie will host Akron in games one and two of the playoffs next Wednesday and Thursday. Game five, if necessary in that series, would also be hosted by Bowie on Sunday, September 7th.
Guthrie's Short Night
The Rays get credit for getting to Guthrie, but Sam Holbrook's at times postage-stamp strike zone didn't help his cause. It's Guthrie's shortest outing of the season, the previous shortest was 4 2/3 on June 12th at Boston. He issued a career-high 6 walks and season-high 7 runs.
Guthrie's line: 3IP, 7H, 7R-ER, 6BB, 2K.....85 pitches, 46 strikes.
Guthrie's ERA goes from 3.28 to 3.57 and he has allowed 12ER over 9 2/3 over his last two starts.
Hernandez Ejected
The O's frustrations are bubbling to the surface tonight. Ramon Hernandez has been ejected by plate ump Sam Holbrook in the fourth inning with the O's behind 10-0. I'm not sure exactly what happened but perhaps Ramon just got frustrated by that strike zone of Holbrook's.
Mora Injury
Melvin Mora has left tonight's game with what appears to be a leg and/or hamstring injury. Trying to leg out an infield hit in the top of the third, Mora's left leg hit the first base bag awkwardly and he fell to the ground. He walked off and was grabbing at the back of his leg in the hamstring area. Alex Cintron has gone in at third.
Bradford Update
The Orioles could face their former teammate, Chad Bradford in this series. Last night he gave up a run for the first time since his trade to Tampa. He is 1-0, 1.23 with the Rays, giving up just 1ER in 7 1/3. With the O's, Bradford went 3-3, 2.45. In 19 career games vs. Baltimore, he is 1-0, 1.48.
Bradford has been to the post-season six times and has NEVER given up a post-season run in 17 career games. No active reliever in baseball has thrown more innings without allowing a post-season run.
It Must Be Just Me
But I thought Jeremy Guthrie got squeezed by home plate ump Sam Holbrook in that Tampa second. I guess I'm the only one that thought that since Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer didn't mention it and the O's didn't seem to do any arguing. But come on, Guthrie walk four in a row ? Every close pitch seemed to be called a ball. Let's see if the strike zone stays that way for Kazmir. But, maybe its just me.
Of course, no runs would have scored had Millar held onto a throw from Castro that should have resulted in an inning-ending double play. Millar sometimes stretches one way and the throw is in the other direction. That's what happened on that play.
Arizona Fall League
The Orioles have announced that they are sending C Matt Wieters, SS Blake Davis, 1B Brandon Snyder and OF Nolan Reimold to the Arizona Fall League which begins play October 7th. They will play for Norfolk manager Gary Allenson as he manages the Surprise Rafters. They will be joined by prospects from the Dodgers, Indians, Rangers and Royals. All teams must send seven players to the League and the O's have yet to announce which pitchers they are sending.
Wieters: .357-11-48 at Bowie
Davis: .281 at Bowie
Snyder: .319-12-78 with 32 doubles at Frederick
Reimold: .283-22-78 with 22 doubles at Bowie
Cabrera Suspension Upheld
We now know Daniel Cabrera will not pitch on this road trip. Not due to any injury, but because his 6-game suspension has been upheld after an appeal hearing. So Cabrera can not take part in any of the games on this road trip. He can be in uniform and do pregame work, but must not be in any team area once the game begins. Works out fine for the O's, who now have time to figure out if anything physically is wrong with the the tall right-hander. The next game he can pitch in is a home game with Oakland on September 5th.
Play Ball in Tampa
Let's see if we get the expected pitchers duel tonight with Guthrie and Kazmir. Game one of this series and road trip is now underway. The O's have lost five in a row and 13 of their last 17 games vs. Tampa. Tampa has not won six in a row vs. Baltimore since 1999.
Starting Lineups
Orioles (career stats vs. Kazmir)
2B Brian Roberts (9-30/1/4....11K, 3 doubles)
RF Nick Markakis (7-14/1/4)
3B Melvin Mora (2-22/1/1......7K)
DH Aubrey Huff (4-8/1/3)
C Ramon Hernandez (6-15/0/2.......3 doubles)
1B Kevin Millar (7-30/1/3......8 walks)
LF Luke Scott (0-0)
CF Jay Payton (5-22/0/2)
SS Juan Castro (0-2/0/1)
P Jeremy Guthrie
Rays
2B Akinori Iwamura
CF BJ Upton
1B Carlos Pena
DH Cliff Floyd
3B Willy Aybar
LF Eric Hinske
SS Ben Zobrist
RF Gabe Gross
C Shawn Riggans
P Scott Kazmir
Game Preview
Orioles (63-70) at Tampa Bay (81-51)
After posting two straight winning road trips, the O's begin a very difficult six-game trip to Tampa and Boston tonight with game one of a three-game set with the first-place Rays.
The O's went 5-4 on a trip to New York, Seattle and Los Angeles and went 4-3 at Cleveland and Detroit on their most recent trip.
The O's take some momentum into Friday's game after Wednesday's 11-3 romp over the White Sox. Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff had 3 RBI each and the O's had 8 extra-base hits, matching the total of their previous four games combined.
The Orioles hope their 11-run breakout can continue on the road vs. solid pitching staffs in Tampa and Boston.
On the last trip vs. the Indians and Tigers the Orioles hit .343 as a team during those seven games with 60 runs and 38 extra-base hits.
Tampa beat Toronto Thursday to improve to 81-51 and increase its lead atop the AL East to 4 ½ games over Boston. The Rays have won 7 of 10, 13 of 18 and are 20-7 in their last 27 games.
The Rays have been without Troy Percival, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford the last 16 games, yet are 11-5 in those contests.
Tampa is 49-19 at home and has won 8 straight home series. Overall, Tampa has won 11 and tied one series in its last 12. The Rays are 26-12 since the All-Star break.
Tampa is one of four teams to be in first place this late in a season after finishing in last the previous year. Tampa had just 66 wins last year. The 1989 Orioles also are on that list.
The Orioles are 3-8 this season vs. Tampa and just 1-5 in Tampa. The clubs have not met since May 25th and the Rays have won five straight vs. the O's.
Pitching Match-Up
Jeremy Guthrie (10-10, 3.28) tonight makes his 28th start of the season, his 15th on the road and his 4th this year vs. Tampa.
For just the third time all year Guthrie allowed 5 runs in a start his last time out vs. the Yankees, and he has lost back-to-back starts for the first time since late May.
However, he is 4-2, 2.30 over his last six starts. Since June 1st, he is 8-4, 3.03 over 16 starts. He has allowed exactly one earned run in 4 of his last 6 starts and 8 of his last 15.
After picking up a win in just 3 of his first 16 starts of the season, Guthrie has earned a win in 7 of his last 12 starts. He has allowed 2 ER or less in 17 of his 28 starts.
Guthrie, who has recorded 19 quality starts, gives up an average of .233 vs. lefty hitters, .237 vs. right-handed batters and just .231 when he pitches with runners in scoring position. In 14 road starts in 2008, Guthrie is 6-4, 2.92.
Guthrie vs. Tampa:
2008: 0-2, 3.93, three starts
2007: 2-1, 4.43, three starts
Career: 2-3, 4.43, 8 games, 6 starts, covering 44 2/3
LHP Scott Kazmir (9-6, 3.27) tonight makes his 22nd start of this season, his 11th at home his first of 2008 vs. the Orioles.
Kazmir missed April with a left elbow strain but got off to a great start after that. The Rays are 15-6 when he starts.
Kazmir, the winning pitcher in the All-Star game, has won just 3 of his last 14 starts and has pitched to an ERA of 4.85 in August.
The 24-year-old has averaged more than a strikeout per inning with 134 K's in 121 innings. He can produce some high pitch counts and averages 18 pitches per inning, second-highest in the AL.
Kazmir is very tough to hit early in games. He allows a batting average of just .123 in the first two innings of his starts. He has allowed just 7 total runs in those innings all year.
Both of tonight's starters were first-round picks in 2002 but are no longer pitching for the teams' that selected them. The Mets chose Kazmir with the 15th pick and Cleveland took Jeremy Guthrie 22nd in the first round that year.
Kazmir vs. Baltimore:
2008: 0 appearances
2007: 2-1, 4.55, five starts
Career: 4-3, 4.70, 12 starts over 67 innings
O's Hitters, 2008 vs. Tampa:
Castro: 0-0
Cintron: .250-0-0 (1-4)
Hernandez: .259-1-6 (7-27)
Huff: .233-3-7 (10-43)
Markakis: .226-1-4 (7-31)
Millar: .184-0-3 (7-38, 9K)
Montanez: 0-0
Mora: .119-0-4 (5-42, 9K)
Payton: .158-0-1 (3-19)
Quiroz: .333-0-1 (3-9)
Roberts: .389-1-3 (14-36)
Scott: .152-1-4 (5-33)
O's team: .213 average, 8 homers, 39 runs scored in 11 games
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