Burres allows seven runs, O's fall 10-4 at Tampa
For the third game in a row Tampa put up double-digit runs against the Orioles. Tampa beat the Birds 10-4 Sunday to sweep the three-game series.
The Rays outscored the O's 34-17 in the series and O's pitching walked 25 batters in the three games. The O's have lost 8 of 9 and 10 of their last 12 games.
Jason Bartlett went 4-4 and hit a solo homer, his first of the year for Tampa. Seven different players drove in runs for the Rays, who have won five in a row and 16 of their last 21 games.
Winning pitcher James Shields, 12-8, gave up just one run over seven innings. Brian Burres, 7-9, took the loss, giving up seven runs in five innings.
Luke Scott had a two-run double during the O's three-run 8th. Kevin Millar added a sac fly as the O's trailed 10-4.
Tampa's lead grew to 10-1 in the seventh with one run scoring on Jason Bartlett's solo homer and another scored on a Millar error.
Tampa added three in the sixth to lead 8-1. With the bases loaded Alberto Castillo hit BJ Upton to force in a run, then walked Carlos Pena and Rocco Baldelli to force in two more runs.
The Orioles got on the board in the sixth to trail 5-1. Brian Roberts led off with a single and later scored on a Millar groundout.
The Rays scored twice in the third to lead 5-0. Ben Zobrist had a sac fly and Jason Bartlett made it 5-0 with an RBI single.
Shawn Riggans RBI double in the second gave Tampa a 3-0 lead.
Willy Aybar's two-run single in the last of the first gave Tampa a 2-0 lead. It scored Carlos Pena who singled and Baldelli who doubled.
Bal 4-7-1
TB 10-12-2
Postgame Notes
The O's allowed double-figure runs all three games in the series and were outscored 34-17 over the weekend.....Tampa scored in the first inning in all three games....The Rays are now 11-3 vs. the O's this season with 8 wins in a row....The Birds are 1-8 in Tampa and have lost 16 of the last 20 vs. Tampa Bay.
Aubrey Huff went 2-3 with a double and bloop single.....Huff is batting .486 (17-35) over his last nine games with 7 multi-hit games.....Luke Scott had a two-run double and has 5 RBI over his last 5 games.
The O's have allowed 7 runs or more in 11 of the last 20 games and in 5 of 9 games in Tampa this year.....They have allowed 7 or more 32 times on the season and are 4-28 in those games.......Brian Burres allowed seven runs in five innings and has pitched to an ERA of 14.54 over his last four starts.
Winning pitcher James Shields is now 9-2, 2.34 in 16 starts at home on the year......In four starts this season vs. Baltimore, he is 2-0, 2.57 and Tampa is 19-9 when he starts.....The O's have lost 10 of 12 and complete August with a record of 17-25....Tampa picked up its 8th home series sweep of the year and its second vs. the Orioles.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Burres' Day
Brian Burres had another poor start, giving up 5 runs over the first three innings.
Burres' line: 5IP, 9H, 7R-ER, 4BB, 4K.....104 pitches.
Of his 104 pitches, he threw just 54 strikes. Burres has now pitched just 13 innings over his last four starts, to an ERA of 14.54.
Lou and the Triple Crown
If you tie for first in a Triple Crown category can you still win the Crown ? I'm guessing the answer is yes. With two regular-season games left, here is where Lou Montanez stands going for the Eastern League Triple Crown.
Batting Average
.335 - Lou Montanez
.314 - Lou Marson, Reading
Homers
26 - Lou Montanez
25 - Ryan Roberson, Erie
24 - Jeff Nettles, Bowie
23 - Nolan Reimold, Bowie
RBI
97 - Lou Montanez
97 - Wes Hodges, Akron
Bowie has listed Jason Berken (12-4, 3.58), Brad Bergesen (15-5, 3.11) and David Hernandez (10-4, 2.68) as their starters for the first three games of the playoffs. Bowie will host Akron Wednesday and Thursday in the first two games of that best of 5 series.
Boston Probables
Mon 7:05pm: O's TBA vs. RH Paul Byrd (9-11, 4.55)
Tues 7:05pm: Radhames Liz (5-3, 6.9) vs. LH Jon Lester (12-5, 3.41)
Wed 1:35pm: Jeremy Guthrie (10-11, 3.57) vs. RH Daisuke Matsuzaka (16-2, 2.82)
Garrett Olson is expected to be the O's starter on Monday night at Boston.
AL Extra-Base Hits Leaders (through Saturday)
75 - Aubrey Huff, Bal
69 - Jermaine Dye, CWS
67 - Grady Sizemore, Clev
64 - Raul Ibanez, Sea
64 - Kevin Youkilis, Bos
Brian Roberts has 63 and Nick Markakis has 60.
First-Inning Tease
For the second day in a row, the O's starter got the first two batters out in the first inning. But for the third game in a row, Tampa scored in the first vs. the O's. Carlos Pena reached on a two-out infield hit. Jim Palmer felt on the MASN telecast that Burres was too late covering first base. But Brian Roberts was also playing well into right-field and it seemed like any throw from that far out in the outfield was going to be a close play. The O's have now allowed a first-inning score for the 62nd time on the year and 14th time in the last 19 games.
Game Time in Tampa
The O's and Rays are underway in their series finale. The O's are just 1-7 at the Trop this year. Check back during today's game for news and updates.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
CF Jay Payton
RF Nick Markakis
3B Aubrey Huff
1B Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
DH Oscar Salazar
C Guillermo Quiroz
SS Juan Castro
P Brian Burres
Rays
2B Akinori Iwamura
CF BJ Upton
1B Carlos Pena
DH Rocco Baldelli
3B Willy Aybar
LF Ben Zobrist
SS Jason Bartlett
C Shawn Riggans
RF Justin Ruggiano
P James Shields
Nick Markakis leads the AL in road batting average at .342.....Tampa has recorded seven home series sweeps this year.....The O's are 15-28 in series finales......The O's lead the AL in runs scored and team batting average in August and lead the league in both categories since the All-Star break.
Game Preview
Orioles (63-72) at Tampa Bay (83-51)
After giving up 24 runs on 28 hits with 18 walks the last two days, the O's hope for better pitching and a win this afternoon in Tampa. A win would avoid a sweep and halt the Orioles' seven-game losing streak vs. the Rays.
Tampa has posted 14-3 and 10-9 wins in this series. After Nick Markakis' homer in the top of the ninth tied Saturday's game, Rocco Baldelli's double won it in the last of the ninth. It was Tampa's 10th walk-off win of 2008.
Jay Payton hit a two-run homer and Aubrey Huff added a three-run shot for the O's who have lost 7 of 8 and 9 of their last 11 games.
Over his last 8 games, Huff is batting .469-3-11 and he has 25 RBI his last 19 games. The Orioles have scored 23 runs the last three games and are averaging 6.2 runs per game in the second-half.
After Saturday's loss, the O's are just 2-14 in their last 16 games decided by one run.
Tampa, now 32 games over .500, has won four in a row and 15 of 20 games. The Rays are 28-12 since the All-Star game and 51-19 at home.
Pitching Match-Up
Brian Burres (7-8, 5.79) today makes his 21st start of the season, his 9th on the road and his 3rd this year vs. Tampa Bay.
Burres has been hit hard over his last three Major League starts, going 0-2, 15.75 (14 ER - 8 IP). Burres took the loss Tuesday at home vs. the White Sox pitching five innings and giving up six runs and 10 hits. He allowed 6 extra-base hits and trailed 2-0 just two batters into the game.
From August 1st to the 25th, Burres was with Triple-A Norfolk. In four games, one start with the Tides, Burres went 1-0, 0.82.
Burres can struggle early in games:
Pitches 1-25: opponent average of .397
Pitches 26-50: opponent average of .292
Pitches 51-75: opponent average of .294
Burres, a 31st-round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2000, has made 10 appearances, 8 starts on the road this year and is 3-3, 4.62.
Burres has struggled this year vs. lefty batters, giving up an average of .356. The Orioles are 9-11 when he starts this season.
Burres vs. Tampa:
2008: 0-2, 6.94, three games, two starts
2007: 0-1, 12.71, six games, one start
Career: 0-3, 9.64 in 11 games, three starts covering 23 ½
RHP James Shields (11-8, 3.75) today makes his 28th start of the season, his 16th at home and his 4th this year vs. the Orioles.
Shields, who beat the Orioles allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings back on Opening Day, is coming off a loss Tuesday vs. Toronto. He pitched 6 2/3 and gave up 9 hits and four runs.
Shields pitches with tremendous control. While he has given up 175 hits this year in 177 2/3 innings, he has walked just 33 batters. In 19 of his 27 starts, he has allowed 0 or just one walk.
In eight starts since the All-Star game, Shields is 4-2, 3.58. In 15 home starts, he is 8-2, 2.41. The Rays are 18-9 when he starts this year.
Shields, who was drafted by Tampa in round 16 in 2000, gives up a batting average of .253 vs. lefty hitters and .261 vs. right-handed batters.
Shields vs. Baltimore:
2008: 1-0, 3.00, three starts
2007: 1-1, 3.16, five starts
Career: 2-1, 3.47 in 10 starts covering 70 innings
O's Hitters, Career vs. Shields:
Roberts: 9-31/0/2
Markakis: 9-30/1/3
Mora: 7-29/1/4
Huff: 6-25/3/6
Hernandez: 4-25/0/3
Millar 11-27/0/3 with 4 doubles
Scott: 3-7/0/2
Payton: 4-16/0/1
Cintron: 0-3/0/0
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