Cabrera allows six runs as O's fall to Boston, 7-2
Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer and knocked in three runs and Boston banged out 15 hits in a 7-2 win over the Orioles on Tuesday in front of a sellout crowd of 48,515.
Jason Varitek also homered for Boston, giving them an early 3-0 lead after two innings, and they never trailed. The Sox improved to 73-53 and are 12-5 in August.
Winning pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka improved to 15-2, 2.77. He gave up six hits and walked five, but the Orioles stranded 9 runners in the first five innings. Losing pitcher Daniel Cabrera, now 8-8, gave up six runs in 4 1/3. Cabrera is 2-11, 7.13 in his career vs. Boston.
The O's have lost three of four and are now 5-9 vs. Boston and 15-17 since the All-Star break.
Youkilis hit a two-run homer in the 5th to give Boston a 5-2 lead. His 24th homer traveled 425 feet into the Red Sox bullpen. Later in the inning Varitek's RBI double made it a 6-2 Boston lead.
The Orioles scored twice in the third to trail Boston 3-2. Ramon Hernandez and Luke Scott had RBI singles scoring Melvin Mora, who singled and Aubrey Huff, who walked.
Varitek's solo homer in the 2nd gave Boston a 3-0 edge. It's his second of this series and 10th of the year.
The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the first. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single, stole second and went to third on Ramon Hernandez's throwing error. After Dustin Pedroia walked, David Ortiz hit an RBI single to center. Later in the frame, Jason Bay's deep sac fly made it a 2-0 lead. Cabrera has allowed 28 first-inning runs this year.
Bost 7-15-1
Bal 2-9-1
Postgame Notes
Daisuke Matsuzaka improved to 15-2 and threw 105 pitches over five innings......He got two outs with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and opponents are 0-14 against him this year with the bases full......It was his 6th win of the year tonight with five or more walks, the first AL pitcher to do that since Bobby Witt of Texas in 1987.
After scoring 41 runs over their previous four games and 85 over the last ten games, the O's have scored just 5 runs on 14 hits in the first two games of this series......The Sox have held hot-hitting Melvin Mora to 1-8 the past two nights....Ramon Hernandez came up with an RBI single in the third to extend his hitting streak to ten games.....He is batting .317 during the streak.....Luke Scott was 1-2 with an RBI single and is batting .436 over his past 12 games.
O's starter Daniel Cabrera struggled again, allowing six runs in 4 1/3....His ERA is 7.15 since the All-Star break and he is now 2-11, 7.13 in his career vs. Boston.....He allowed a first-inning run for the 15th time in his 27 starts.
Tonight's attendance of 48,515 was the largest of the year and 5th sellout of the season....It's the 27th largest crowd in Camden Yards history.....The attendance for the season is now 1,504,927 for an average of 26,402......The O's have now lost this series and it's just their second loss in a series over the past seven.....The Birds are now 5-9 vs. Boston and 19-31 vs. the AL East.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog From Camden Yards
Cabrera's Night
Was like a lot of others for him this year since June first - not good. He gave up six runs in 4 1/3. He allowed first-inning runs, he allowed home runs, he walked a few. It was not his night.
Cabrera's line: 4 1/3 IP, 9H, 6R-ER, 3BB, 2K, 2 HR....92 pitches.
Cabrera's ERA:
In the second-half - 7.15
In 15 starts since June first - 6.24
Career vs. Boston - 7.13
Tonight's Attendance
Is 48,515. It's the largest crowd of the year and the 5th sellout of the year.
Blown Chance
The O's could not have scripted it any better. Bases loaded, just one out and their best RBI guys, Mora and Huff coming up. But Dice-K got Mora to swing at a slider that was about a half-foot outside for strike three and got Huff to pop to third. Not even a sac fly. O's have now left 8 on base through four at bats tonight. That might have been a game-turning inning.
Where's JD?
JD Drew has not yet played in this series and he's hit Orioles pitching well this year. He is 10-24 with four homers and 10 RBI vs. the O's. He has not played since leaving Sunday's game with Toronto in the third inning due to tightness in his lower back. Drew has just 6 hits his last 31 at bats and is hitting .209 his last 26 contests.
Dice-K Not Sharp
Daisuke Matsuzaka does not seem to have his "A" game tonight and the O's need to take advantage. They just scored two in the third to trail 3-2. But they have left five on base already in three innings. He is 6-1, 1.91 over his last nine starts, but looks more hittable than that tonight. Of course Daniel Cabrera will need to put up zeroes as well to help the cause.
First Inning Woes
Once again the O's are behind after the top of the first. Daniel Cabrera has now allowed 28 first-inning runs. He just seems incapable of putting up a zero in the first. Whatever he's doing with his pregame routine isn't working at the start. It's the 54th time this season, and 6th in the last 9 games, the O's have allowed a first-inning run or runs. They are 22-31 when doing so.
The First Pitch
Of tonight's game was thrown at 7:06pm and it's 91 degrees at first pitch. Just got back to the press box from our pregame radio show at the packed Bud Light Warehouse Bar. Check back often tonight for news and updates.
Congrats to 24-year-old Kevin Gracie of Ellicott City who is the 50 millionth fan. He is a law student and will use some of the 50-K to pay off student loans. He is a lifelong O's fan who entered Eutaw Street gate H at 5:20 pm. He said an O's employee asked for his ticket so they could scan it and he thought one of his friends had given him a fradulent ticket. He's here with three other friends and now he has a lot more friends than he did at about 5pm today.
Starting Lineups
Red Sox
RF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
DH David Ortiz
3B Kevin Youkilis
LF Jason Bay
1B Sean Casey
C Jason Varitek
SS Alex Cora
CF Coco Crisp
P Daisuke Matsuzaka
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
DH Aubrey Huff
C Ramon Hernandez
LF Luke Scott
1B Kevin Millar
CF Jay Payton
SS Juan Castro
P Daniel Cabrera
Trembley's Talk
Dave Trembley told reporters today at the Yard that George Sherrill had an MRI today on his left shoulder. As of his meeting with reporters, he did yet have the results. Sherrill was held out of last night's game due to some stiffness he felt in that shoulder during pre-game drills.
Trembley was asked if Sherrill's 2 1/3 inning outing in the All-Star game had any affect on his current situation.
"That would be pure speculation on my part and easy to fall back on and point fingers at. I would prefer to take the high road and stay away from that. My understanding is when these kind of things happen they are not something that just happens like that. It's something that happens over a long period of time. There is wear and tear, then you have to fix it."
Trembley was asked how it would impact the team to lose Sherrill for any length of time.
"It would be a void that would take something to fill it. Look at the amount of saves he's had, he's been a central figure on our team. I'm not going to look at the glass half full yet."
Trembley told reporters today that Chris Ray will pitch one inning tomorrow with Frederick and then one inning on Friday in Aberdeen. He said after that they'll determine the next move.
Matt Albers will pitch off a mound on Thursday and Saturday. He'll throw 30 pitches and use all his pitches for the first time. On Tuesday August 26th he is scheduled to throw live batting practice.
Greg Aquino will throw one inning in Frederick tomorrow and one inning in Aberdeen on Friday. Trembley said Danys Baez is not ready to throw off a mound yet and is about a month or month and a half behind Chris Ray's schedule.
Sarfate Back in the Pen
After four outings in the starting rotation, righty Dennis Sarfate is heading back to the bullpen. Sarfate felt he made progress in his last start, Saturday at Detroit. But he is 0-2, 10.34 as a starter and 4-1, 3.78 out of the pen. I talked with Sarfate about that last start and moving back to the bullpen.
Game Preview
Boston (72-51) at Orioles (60-64)
The Orioles began a long homestand with a 6-3 loss to Boston Monday. Tonight the O's look to get even in the three-game series at 7:05 p.m.
Jason Bay homered twice with 4 RBI as the Red Sox won Monday and out-hit the O's 9-5. It was Bay's 12th career two-homer game, but first with Boston.
The Sox are 11-5 in August and are 58-39 since April 29th. Boston is 55-18 when scoring first as the Sox did Monday.
The Orioles lost for just the second time in six games. The Birds have won 6 of 11 and are 12-9 over the last 21 games.
Melvin Mora went 0-3 in the game, but still has 18 hits in 31 at bats over his last seven games. Mora is batting .478-5-25 over his last 16 games.
Aubrey Huff homered and knocked in all three O's runs Monday. Over his last 9 games, Huff has 5 homers and 14 RBI.
The O's are 5-8 vs. Boston on the year, including a 3-4 mark at home.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Daniel Cabrera (8-7, 4.78) tonight makes his 27th start of the season, his 11th at home and his 5th this year vs. Boston.
Cabrera got off to a solid start this year, but has been inconsistent since the beginning of June.
Cabrera April-May: 5-1, 3.60, 12 starts
Cabrera since June: 3-6, 5.92, 14 starts
Cabrera is 2-2, 6.49 in six starts in the second-half. He gives up a batting average of .288 vs. left-handed batters, .253 vs. righty hitters and .209 when pitching with runners in scoring position.
Cabrera has allowed a whopping 26 first-inning runs this season and opponents hit .393 off him in the opening inning on the year. Cabrera is 4-1, 5.31 in ten home starts in 2008.
Cabrera vs. Boston:
2008: 1-1, 4.63, four starts
2007: 0-3, 4.96, three starts
Career: 2-10, 6.81 in 15 starts over 72 2/3
RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-2, 2.74) tonight makes his 22nd start of the season, his 10th on the road and his second this year vs. the Orioles.
Matsuzaka is 3-0, 1.29 over his last three starts. He pitched to an ERA of 2.65 in the first half, and since the All-Star game, he is 4-1, 2.97.
On the season he has allowed just 91 hits, only 8 homers, in 121 2/3. The Red Sox are 17-4 when he starts. He gives up an average of .197 vs. right-handed hitters, .221 vs. lefties and .188 when pitching with runners in scoring position.
The 27-year-old from Tokyo, Japan, has made 9 road starts and is unbeaten with a record of 6-0, 2.04.
In his two seasons with Boston, Matsuzaka is 29-14, 3.78 in 53 starts.
Matsuzaka vs. Baltimore:
2008: 1-0, 0.00, one start (July 13th, 6IP, 4H, 0 runs)
2007: 0-1, 8.38, two starts
Career: 1-1, 5.17, three starts covering 15 2/3
O's Hitters vs. Matsuzaka
Roberts: 3-7
Huff: 1-6, 3K
Markakis: 0-5, 3BB
Mora: 0-6
Millar: 0-3
Payton: 1-5
Hernandez: 1-3
Quiroz: 0-3
Scott: 0-2
Leave a comment