Guthrie wins his 10th, O's top Cleveland, 6-1
After their pitchers had allowed 35 runs over three games, the Orioles sent Jeremy Guthrie to the mound tonight to restore some order. He did that and more as the Orioles beat the Indians 6-1 Wednesday night.
The O's turned a one-run lead into a five-run advantage in the top of the ninth. Nick Markakis delivered a two-run single to turn a 2-1 lead into a 4-1 edge. Markakis is 8-12 with four doubles and 8 RBI in this series. Aubrey Huff added an RBI double and the O's 6th run came in on a wild pitch.
Guthrie allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings as he improved to 10-8, 3.18. Guthrie, who threw 101 pitches, is 4-0, 1.23 over his last four starts. Guthrie is now 8-2, 2.80 in 14 starts since June 1st.
After getting just 3 wins in his first 16 starts, Guthrie has picked up 7 wins over his last 10 starts.
Losing pitcher Anthony Reyes allowed just two runs over six innings.
The O's ended Cleveland's five-game winning streak and their 3-game slide. The Orioles are 9-7 over the last 16 games.
The Orioles scored four in the 9th to open a 6-1 lead. Markakis had a two-run single to center, giving him 8 RBI in this series. Huff's double made it 5-1 and gave him 2 RBI in the game. The O's 6th run of the game scored on a wild pitch.
Cleveland got on the board with a run in the 5th to trail 2-1. Andy Marte doubled with one down and scored on a Grady Sizemore two-out double.
The O's went ahead 2-0 in the second. Huff led off with a solo homer, his 3rd in four games and his 25th of the season. Kevin Millar walked, went to second on Luke Scott's hit, advanced to third on a grounder and scored on Jay Payton's groundout as the O's led 2-0.
Balt 6-12-0
Clev 1-5-0
Postgame Notes
The Orioles Ace
It's been said a lot in recent days: The starting pitching sets the tone for everything. Jeremy Guthrie, facing his former organization, retired the first six batters he faced and the last seven in another rock solid effort. Three of the four hits he allowed were doubles. He's pitched to an ERA of 1.23 over his last four starts, giving up just 16 hits in 29 1/3 in that stretch. Here's another somewhat amazing stat. Over his last 13 starts, Guthrie has given up exactly one earned run 8 times. Last season, in two relief outings vs. Cleveland he gave up 6 ER in just 1 1/3. Not tonight Tribe.
Guthrie on a roll:
Last four starts: 4-0, 1.23
Six second-half starts: 5-1, 2.20
Since June first: 8-2, 2.80 in 14 starts
Quality starts: 17 in 26 starts
Allowed 3 ER or less: 20 of 26 starts
Wins: 3 in first 16 starts, 7 in last 10 starts
Final Notes
The O's team ERA over the previous three games was 11.88 and, after giving up 45 hits in those games, they allowed just five tonight.........Jamie Walker, Rocky Cherry and George Sherrill gave up just one hit the last two innings........Aubrey Huff went 2-5 with 2 RBI and is batting .376-6-17 over his last 21 games; he has 11 homers his last 36 contests.........Brian Roberts went 0-5 as his 14-game batting streak ended.....He had hit .368 during the streak.
Melvin Mora went 3-5 and is batting .457-2-12 over his last 8 games.....Mora has 10 RBI his last five games............Nick Markakis went 3-4 and is 8-12 so far in this series with 4 doubles, three runs and 8 RBI......His average is up to .307 and he has 11 RBI over 5 games and 18 in his last 9 contests.........The O's have scored 44 runs the last six games and 150 runs since the All-Star game, scoring 5.8 per game in that time.
The O's improve to 6-6 in August, 12-14 in the second-half and 26-38 in road games.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Suprise
I was sure suprised to see Guthrie out after 101 pitches. He was rolling with two strikeouts in the 7th and he retired the last 7 he faced. Still, he did not come out for the 8th, Walker is on.
Guthrie tonight: 7IP, 4H, 1R-ER, 1BB, 4K........101 pitches.
Guthrie has now allowed exactly one earned run in each of his last four starts, with an ERA of 1.23 over those four starts.
Price Was Not Right
The Norfolk Tides got a look at the 2007 number one overall draft pick tonight and could not have been too impressed with lefty David Price. Norfolk leads Durham 7-2 in the 6th. Price, in his Triple-A debut, gave up three runs and seven hits over four innings. He did fan six. He entered this start 11-0, 1.87 at two Minor League stops this year. Oscar Salazar has three hits and 3 RBI tonight and Eider Torres is 3-4 for the Tides.
Meanwhile, Guthrie has 101 pitches and a 2-1 lead heading to the 8th.
Reyes Out
Anthony Reyes pitched well tonight, but can't get a win. He's replaced by Betancourt to start the 7th.
Reyes' line: 6IP, 6H, 2R-ER, 2BB, 0K, 1 HR.....96 pitches.
Guthrie Solid Again
He probably wouldn't gloat at all, but if Jeremy Guthrie could beat the team that once let him go, it would probably be meaningful to him. He was nervous and got hammered by Cleveland in relief last year. Not this time. He's retired the side in order three times tonight and leads 2-1 after six frames. At 90 pitches, a complete game is probably out of the question.
Aberdeen All-Stars
The Aberdeen IronBirds will send three players to next Tuesday's New York-Penn League All-Star game. LHP Cole McCurry (7-1, 2.67) is tied for first in the league in wins and is 4th in ERA. He was the O's Minor League pitcher of the month for July, when he went 6-0, 1.31. McCurry was the O's 43rd-round pick last year.
Aberdeen CA Caleb Joseph (.283-5-21) is an All-Star. This year's 7th-round pick has already had 7 and 8-game hitting streaks. He has thrown out 36 percent trying to steal. Joseph has also played 1B and RF. OF Robbie Widlansky (.270-4-27) is headed to Tuesday's game. He batted .328 in July. Widlansky was drafted in round 11 last year out of Florida Atlantic University.
Detroit Probables
Fri 7:05pm: Chris Waters (1-0, 4.50) vs. LH Nate Robertson (7-8, 5.84)
Sat 7:05pm: Dennis Sarfate (4-2, 5.16) vs. RH Justin Verlander (8-13, 4.77)
Sun 1:05pm: Garrett Olson (8-6, 6.06) vs. RH Zach Miner (6-4, 3.41)
Brandon Snyder
Brandon Snyder went 4-5 today as the Frederick Keys beat Potomac, 8-6, this afternoon. Snyder is batting .419 over his last ten games. He's been on a roll for a while now, batting .326 in June, .330 in July and .411 in August. He would be making a run at the Carolina League batting title if Lynchburg's Jim Negrych weren't hitting .370.
I talked with Snyder about his hot season a couple weeks ago. Check out that interview in our Minor League Report.
Huff's Homer
His blast to right in the second was his 3rd in the last four games, his 7th since the All-Star break, his 11th over the last 36 games and his 25th of the season. Of his 25 homers, 15 have been solo shots, 7 were 2-run homers and 3 drove in three. No Slams in 2008.
No Runs in the First
Our first-inning "nightmare" is over. No first-inning runs allowed tonight. It took the O's "ace" but Jeremy Guthrie pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. He's just a joy to watch pitch right now. He enters tonight tied for 2nd in the AL in starts, 3rd in the AL in innings, 9th in ERA, 20th in strikeouts and tied for 21st in wins.
Play Ball!
The O's game with Cleveland has begun. It's game three of the four-game series. All O's fans are hopeful and expecting tonight that Jeremy Guthrie, a pitcher on a real roll, will restore some order to Orioles pitching. Check back during tonight's game for news and updates.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
DH Aubrey Huff
1B Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
C Ramon Hernandez
CF Jay Payton
SS Juan Castro
P Jeremy Guthrie
Indians
CF Grady Sizemore
DH David Dellucci
C Kelly Shoppach
SS Jhonny Peralta
LF Shin-Soo Choo
1B Ryan Garko
RF Franklin Gutierrez
3B Andy Marte
SS Asdrubal Cabrera
P Anthony Reyes
According to Elias Sports, this is the first time ever in O's franchise history, the team has allowed four or more first-inning runs in three consecutive games........Last night's 4 errors tied a season-worst, also done May 30th vs. Boston.......O's have had double-digit hits in 11 of last 15 games and are scoring 6.3 runs per game in those 15 contests......O's have just 3 steals in 25 games since the All-Star break........Brian Roberts is batting .368 during his 14-game hitting streak with six doubles and 16 runs scored during the streak.......The O's team average is holding at .267, its highest point since early April.......Birds have hit 33 homers since the break.....Cleveland has recalled LHP Zach Jackson fromTriple-A to start Thursday's game vs. the Orioles....Jackson was 3-1, 4.05 in 8 games, 4 starts, for Buffalo.
Trembley's Talk
Dave Trembley said today in Cleveland, at this point, Dennis Sarfate is still the scheduled starter for Saturday in Detroit.
"I haven't said he's not going to pitch. Until I say that, he's the starter. He threw in the pen today, his sideline session. Until something happens, he will pitch. To speculate is to draw attention to something that might not happen."
Trembley said he had not discussed Sarfate's rotation spot yet with Andy MacPhail. He said MacPhail was busy right now with the Brian Matusz negotiations. "I'd rather not bother him right now," the skipper said.
He was asked about Lou Montanez and his outfield throws Tuesday night.
"He's probably capable of better than he did last night. But let's not draw conclusions from just one game."
Game Preview
Orioles (56-62) at Cleveland (54-64)
The Orioles went 5-4 on their last road trip vs. the Yankees, Mariners and Angels. But they've started their current trip at 0-2. Tonight they'll play game three of a four-game series at Cleveland.
The O's have allowed 35 runs in losing the last three games. In each contest, the O's starter gave up four first-inning runs.
Cleveland scored twice in the 8th off Jim Johnson Tuesday to break a 5-5 tie and post a 7-5 win. The Indians have 25 hits in this series.
Aubrey Huff's 19-game hitting streak ended as he went 0-3 with an RBI. Brian Roberts' single in the 7th extended his current streak to 14 games. Nick Markakis is 5-8 in this series with 3 doubles, a triple and 6 RBI.
Cleveland has won five in a row to tie a season-high. The Tribe is 13-11 in the second half and 17-8 this year vs. the AL East.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Jeremy Guthrie (9-8, 3.26) tonight will make his 26th start of the season, his 14th on the road and the first of his career vs. Cleveland.
Guthrie is on a roll right now. Over his last three starts, he is 3-0, 1.21. Since June first, he is 7-2, 2.92 in 13 starts. He has allowed 2 ER or less 15 times on the season.
Guthrie's last three starts:
7-28 at NYY: 6 1/3 IP, 3H, 1R-ER, 2BB, 4K
8-2 at Sea: 9IP, 4H, 1R-ER, 1BB, 2K
8-8 vs Tex: 7IP, 5H, 1R-ER, 1BB, 4K
Total: 22 1/3IP, 12H, 3ER, 4BB, 10K
Guthrie gives up an average of .241 vs. right-handed batters, .235 vs. lefties and .231 with runners in scoring position. He has recorded 16 quality starts. In five starts since the All-Star break, he is 4-1, 2.38. In 13 road starts, Guthrie is 5-4, 3.06.
Guthrie has pitched twice in relief in his career vs. Cleveland. Both appearances came last year, and in just 1 1/3 he gave up six hits and six runs for an ERA of 40.50 vs. the Indians.
RHP Anthony Reyes (1-0, 1.42) tonight will make his second start of the season for Cleveland. He was traded to Cleveland from St. Louis on July 26 for RHP Luis Perdomo.
In his Indians debut last Friday he got the win at Toronto, giving up just one run and seven hits in 6 1/3. Before the trade, Reyes split time this year between the St. Louis bullpen and the Memphis rotation in Triple-A. With the Cards, he was 2-1, 4.91 in ten games in relief.
The 26-year-old Reyes was the starter and winner in game one of the 2006 World Series, when he held the Tigers to two runs in eight innings.
After Cleveland acquired him he was initially sent to Triple-A and went 2-0, 2.77 in two starts at Buffalo. From June 16 to July 15 he was on the St. Louis DL with a right elbow sprain.
Reyes, drafted by St. Louis in round 15 in 2003 out of USC, has a Major League career record of 11-24, 5.27 in 54 games, 39 as a starter.
O's Hitters Since the All-Star Game
Castro: .222-1-5
Cintron: .263-0-0
Hernandez: .318-4-12
Huff: .354-6-18
Markakis: .320-3-23
Millar: .250-6-13
Montanez: .429-1-2
Mora: .372-6-32
Payton: .276-0-5
Quiroz: .208-0-4
Roberts: .289-1-9
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