Lou Montanez homers, but O's fall 9-4 to the Angels
Vladimir Guerrero homered and knocked in four runs and Ervin Santana picked up his 13th win as the LA Angels beat the Orioles 9-4, Wednesday afternoon. The O's lost the series at Anaheim but finished 5-4 on this road trip.
Losing pitcher Garrett Olson gave up six runs and seven hits in just 2 2/3. He is now 8-6, 6.06. It ties for his shortest start of the year. Santana improved to 13-5, giving up four runs over seven innings.
The Angels, in picking up their Major League leading 71st win, led 6-1 after three and 9-1 after four innings.
Lou Montanez, in his first O's start, homered in his first at bat and singled in his second. He finished 2-4. Nick Markakis hit a three-run homer in the fifth for the O's, who are 9-11 in the second half.
Markakis' homer in the fifth cut LA's lead to 9-4. It's his first homer since July 22nd and 16th of the season. Markakis has 7 RBI in this series.
Guerrero knocked in two runs with a single off the wall in right as LA scored three times in the fourth to open a 9-1 lead. Guerrero has 4 RBI in the game.
The Angels added two runs in the third to lead 6-1 and knock Olson out of the game. Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a triple and scored on a wild pitch and later in the inning Garret Anderson made it 6-1 with an RBI single.
Montanez hit a solo homer for the O's to make it a 4-1 Angels lead in the third. Montanez, who hit 26 homers at Double-A Bowie, homered in his first-ever Major League at bat.
Number nine hitter Jeff Mathis hit a solo homer in the second and the Angels' lead grew to 4-0. It's his 9th of the season.
The Angels took a 3-0 lead in the last of the first. Teixeira came up with a two-out single and scored on Guerrero's two-run homer. It's his 20th of the year and 385th of his career. After a walk to Torii Hunter, Anderson ripped an RBI double to center for a 3-0 edge. All the damage came with two outs and no one on.
Bal 4-8-1
LAA 9-11-0
Postgame Notes
The Legend of Lou
It didn't take new Oriole Lou Montanez long to prove his bat is hot whether it's the Eastern League or American League. He became the second Oriole ever (after Buster Narum) to homer in his first big league at bat. He later singled and went 2-4 in this game and 2-3 vs. All-Star Ervin Santana. Montanez went 18-31 last week for Bowie and was Eastern League player of the week. He ended his time with Bowie with a 19-game batting streak during which he hit .473. Check back here at Masnsports.com tomorrow and I'll have a more in-depth story on Lou.
Olson's Struggles
After back-to-back solid outings, including one vs. LA, the Angels got Garrett Olson today. Six runs in just 2 2/3, ties the May 21st outing in New York as his shortest of the year. He allowed two homers and four extra-base hits. His ERA is up to 6.06.
Since July 1st, even with the previous two starts, Olson's ERA is 8.35. The last 7 weeks will be critical for this lefty. He'll either leave the O's brass with the impression that he can be a part of next year's rotation or pitch his way back on the bubble, so to speak.
Final Notes
O's pitchers (Castillo, Bradford and Walker) combined to retire 12 of the last 13 batters in the game.........Meanwhile, O's hitters produced just one hit and no runs from the sixth inning on.......The O's are still struggling in final games of series and are now 10-26 on the year in series finales.......An O's win and they would have won three straight road series for the first time since 2005......The O's finish the trip 5-4 and have won 6 of their last 10.
Aubrey Huff had a bloop hit in the 4th, his only hit today, to extend his batting streak to 15 games.....He is hitting .417-3-12 during the streak, which has included 8 multi-hit games......Nick Markakis hit a three-run homer, his 16th.....He is batting .354-1-10 over his last 11 games and went 5-12 with a homer and 7 RBI in this series.....Brian Roberts went 1-4 to extend his batting streak to nine games.
On the nine-game trip, the O's team average was .301 and they scored 52 runs (5.8 per game) with 17 doubles and 11 homers.
The Angels improve to 71-43 and have won 7 of 10 and 16 of 21 games.....They are now 24-13 vs. the AL East and 15-0-3 in their last 18 series vs. AL teams.....Their last series loss vs. an AL foe was when they were swept three in a row by Tampa, May 9-11.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Pitching Probables, Texas Series
Fri 7:05pm: Jeremy Guthrie (8-8, 3.35) vs. RH Luis Mendoza (3-4, 7.00)
Sat 7:05pm: Daniel Cabrera (7-7, 4.97) vs. RH Vincente Padilla (12-5, 4.59)
Sun 1:35pm: Dennis Sarfate (4-2, 4.58) vs. LH Matt Harrison (3-2, 6.46)
There will be a fireworks show after the game on Friday night at Camden Yards.
Cormier Struggling
You may not have noticed, but Lance Cormier has been scored on in five of his last six appearances. He has allowed 11 ER in that span over just 6 1/3 innings. His ERA has gone from 3.06 to 4.97 since July 20th.
First at bat Homers
The Orioles Lou Montanez today became the 98th in Major League history to homer in his first at bat in the majors. The only other Oriole to do it was Buster Narum on 5-5-63. Buster, apparently, was a pitcher. The list includes Carlos Lee, Gary Gaetti, Gates Brown, Chris Richard, Benny Ayala, Will Clark, Esteban Yan, Hoyt Wilhelm, Chuck Tanner, Jay Bell and Elijah Dukes.
Nick Note
Nick Markakis' three-run shot in the 5th was his 16th of the season, matching the total of his rookie season. Last year he hit 23. Markakis is now 5-11 with 7 RBI in this series and on this road trip is 14-35 (.400) with a homer and 9 RBI. He has knocked in 32 runs over his last 40 games.
Making an Impact
Chris Waters and Lou Montanez have certainly made an impact in their first days with the O's. Montanez is now 2-2 today with a solo homer and line single to left. Waters and Montanez are the 842nd and 843rd to wear the Orange and Black in O's history.
Olson Rocked
After two straight solid starts, Garret Olson was rocked today by the Angels for six runs in just 2 2/3. It ties for his shortest outing of the year. He gave up 8 hits and 6 runs in 2 2/3 May 21st vs. the Yankees. His ERA is now up to 6.06. The Angels went 7-15 at bat with four extra-base hits off Olson.
Olson's line: 2 2/3IP, 7H, 6R-ER, 2BB, 3K, 2 HR........65 pitches.
Streaking
Aubrey Huff's single in the 4th extends his battiing streak to 15 games. Huff is 13-34 (.382) this season vs. LAA pitching.
Baysox Walk-Off Win
Bowie today won an afternoon game with Binghamton 9-8 on Steve Torrealba's two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. It was his second homer of the game for the Baysox, who trailed 8-2 after five and a half frames. Ryan Finan added two homers and 5 RBI for Bowie, now 68-51. The Baysox had 14 hits. Starter Jason Berken did not get a decision, allowing 5 runs in 5 innings.
Trembley Says
Dave Trembley told reporters in Anaheim today that when he needs another starter Hayden Penn will get "strong consideration." He was asked what he told Lou Montanez about making his first big league start today. He told Lou "it's the same game as in Bowie, maybe a little faster, just keep doing what you did in the minors and don't look at this as a tryout."
Trembley said Chris Ray has thrown some simulated games in Florida and in a couple of weeks he could be ready to throw some on a rehab assignment perhaps in the Gulf Coast League. He said he still thinks they should take it real slow with Ray. Matt Albers continues his throwing program, but has not yet thrown off a mound yet.
Today's Game is Underway
The O's and Angels are underway. Today's game is the finale of this series and this road trip. LA has not lost a series to an AL team since May vs. Tampa. Their last loss in a series was vs. the Dodgers June 27-29. A win today would give the Orioles three straight road series wins for the first time since 2005. However, the O's are just 10-25 in series finales this year.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
SS Alex Cintron
RF Nick Markakis
3B Aubrey Huff
1B Kevin Millar
DH Luke Scott
CF Jay Payton
LF Lou Montanez
C Guillermo Quiroz
P Garrett Olson
Angels
3B Chone Figgins
SS Erick Aybar
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Vladimir Guerrero
CF Torii Hunter
LF Garret Anderson
2B Howie Kendrick
RF Juan Rivera
C Jeff Mathis
P Ervin Santana
Game Preview
Orioles at (54-58) LA Angels (70-43)
After Chris Waters pitched the Orioles to a win Tuesday night in his Major League debut, the O's have a chance to end their current road trip on a real high note this afternoon.
With a win today, the O's would become the first AL team to take a series from the Angels since Tampa took three straight May 9-11.
Since then, the Angels are 14-0-3 in series vs. AL opponents.
The O's have clinched a winning road trip with a 5-3 mark and a victory today would give the O's three wins in three series on this trip which started in New York and moved to Seattle before this last stop in Anaheim.
After pitching over 1,000 innings in the Minors, Waters had a memorable debut Tuesday, giving up just one hit over 8 shutout innings in the Orioles 3-0 victory. He retired the last seven and 14 of the last 15 batters he faced. George Sherrill pitched the 9th for his 31st save.
Nick Markakis went 2-3 with an RBI in the win and Luke Scott hit his career-high 19th homer. As a team the O's are batting .310 and have scored 48 runs on this trip.
Aubrey Huff has hit safely in 14 straight. During the streak he is batting .429-3-12 and he has 42 RBI his last 48 games.
The Angels have the Majors' best record and have won 15 of 20 games and are 13-5 since the All-Star break.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Garrett Olson (8-5, 5.67) today will make his 19th start of the season, his 10th on the road and his second vs. the LA Angels.
After going through a stretch where his ERA was 10.53 over four starts, Olson has now won back-to-back starts vs. LA and Seattle. Olson pitched a career-high 8 1/3 in his last outing vs. the Mariners and his ERA is 3.14 over the past two starts.
In that outing last Friday in Seattle, Olson took an 8-hit shutout into the 9th before Seattle broke through to score five times.
Left-handed hitters bat .302 vs. Olson while right-handed batters hit .298 and he gives up an average of .250 when working with runners in scoring position.
Olson has now posted consecutive quality starts and has recorded six on the year. In nine road starts, he is 4-4, 6.19. The Orioles are 9-9 when he takes the mound.
Olson got the win July 27th in his only career outing vs. the Angels. He gave up just two runs and seven hits over six innings.
RHP Ervin Santana (12-5, 3.38) today will make his 23rd start of the season, his 9th at home and his second vs. the Orioles.
In 149 innings on the season, Santana has fanned 143 and walked 39. The Angels are 13-9 when he starts this season.
After pitching to an ERA of 3.86 in June, Santana went 2-2, 4.36 in July. In his first start of August, last Friday at New York, he pitched 8 shutout innings vs. the Yankees, giving up just five hits. He has pitched seven innings or more in five of his last six starts.
The 25-year-old from the Dominican is having a bounce-back season, after going 7-14, 5.76 in 2007.
This season, right-handed batters hit .215 off him and lefties bat .247 against Santana. In eight home starts, he is 3-3, 3.25.
Santana vs. Baltimore:
2008: 0-1, 9.00, one start (July 27th allowed 5ER, 7H, 5 IP)
2007: 0-0, 3.86, one start
Career: 1-2, 4.50 in six starts (has allowed 8 homers in 40 career IP vs. O's)
O's Hitters, This Road Trip:
Castro: 3-23
Cintron: 3-6
Hernandez: 6-22, HR, 3 RBI
Huff: 13-31, 2 homers, 9 RBI
Jones: 8-25, 7 RBI
Markakis: 13-32, 6 RBI
Millar: 11-32, 2 homers, 6 RBI
Mora: 11-33, 7 RBI
Payton: 3-16, 3 RBI
Roberts: 11-34, HR, RBI
Scott: 7-28, HR, 2 RBI
Leave a comment