O's can't solve Verlander, fall to Tigers 5-3
Justin Verlander entered tonight's start vs. the Orioles with an ERA of 9.97 over his past four starts. But he was back on form Saturday night pitching six innings without allowing an earned run as Detroit beat the O's 5-3, snapping Baltimore's three-game win streak.
Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen hit solo homers to put Detroit ahead 3-2 in the fourth and the Tigers never trailed after that. The O's had scored 28 runs in their three consecutive wins.
Verlander, now 9-13, gave up four hits and two unearned runs. He fanned six and is now 3-0, 1.29 in four career starts vs. the Birds. O's starter Dennis Sarfate took the loss, falling to 4-3. He gave up four runs in 4 2/3.
Melvin Mora continued his hot hitting for the O's going 2-3 and is now 13-22 over his last six games.
The Orioles scored one in the seventh to trail Detroit 5-3. Guillermo Quiroz led off with a double and later scored when Brian Roberts bounced into a double play.
Curtis Granderson's RBI single in the sixth gave Detroit a 5-2 lead. It scored Matt Joyce, who had led off the inning with a double.
The Tigers added to their lead with a run in the fifth to lead 4-2. With one out, Granderson singled. He would later score on a bases-loaded walk to Gary Sheffield to make it 4-2.
The Tigers hit two solo homers in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Cabrera hit his 25th and Guillen his 10th.
The Orioles scored twice in the third to take a 2-1 lead. With runners on second and third and two out, Mora hit a bouncer to third. Guillen's throw sailed over the first baseman's head and two runs scored as the O's gained the lead.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second. Cabrera led off the inning with an infield single and, after a wild pitch, scored on Gary Sheffield's single. His 36th RBI gave Detroit the 1-0 lead.
Balt 3-9-0
Det 5-10-2
Postgame Notes
Sarfate's Start
I felt like Dennis Sarfate pitched better, probably much better than his previous three starts, even if the final numbers don't really show that. He came right out attacking the hitters and had much better control this time early in the game. It looked like he got squeezed a bit by the ump on that bases-loaded walk to Sheffield. I felt he did better, it will be interesting to see if Trembley and Sarfate agree.
Sarfate's line: 4 2/3 IP, 6H, 4R-ER, 3BB, 5K, 2 HR......93 pitches.
Final Notes
After scoring 28 runs in three straight wins, the O's were held to three runs tonight......It's the fewest runs they've scored since an August 5th 3-0 win over the Angels.......Sunday's game will decide this series.....the O's are 3-1-1 in their last five series............Justin Verlander is 2-0 this year vs. the O's and 3-0, 1.29 in four career starts vs. Baltimore.
Melvin Mora went 2-3 and is now batting .411-7-37 since the All-Star break.....Mora is 13-22 in his last six games..........He has 19 RBI his last 14 games......Luke Scott went 2-4 and is batting .481 (13-27) during a nine-game batting streak......Aubrey Huff went 0-4 and his streak of driving in at least one run in six consecutive games came to an end.....The O's have scored 69 runs their last 9 games.
The Tigers won for just the 8th time in the last 22 games......They are now 5-11 in the last 16 games.
On the farm, Radhames Liz pitched 8 shutout innings as the Norfolk Tides beat Charlotte, 4-0, Saturday....Liz is 2-2, 2.67 in four starts since he left the O's for Triple-A.....Bowie's Jason Berken had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 Saturday in Bowie's 4-0 win over Binghamton. He finished up allowing just one hit over seven frames improving to 11-3 on the season......Delmarva beat Savannah 3-2 on a walk-off RBI bunt single by Matt Angle in the last of the ninth.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
No More No-No
Bowie's Jason Berken lost a no-hitter tonight with two outs in the 7th inning. He has allowed just the one hit through seven frames as Bowie leads Binghamton, 4-0. Berken, the Orioles 6th-round pick in 2006 out of Clemson, comes into this start with a record of 10-3, 3.74. In his last two starts, Berken had pitched to an ERA of 6.17.
Checking the Minors
Bowie Baysox pitcher Jason Berken has not allowed a hit through five innings tonight as the Baysox lead Binghamton 4-0. Jonathon Tucker is 2-2 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Radhames Liz is having another good outing for Triple-A Norfolk tonight. He has pitched five shutout innings as Norfolk is up on Charlotte, 4-0. Liz has allowed six hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Frederick leads Kinston 6-4 in the 8th, Savannah has an early 2-0 lead on Delmarva and Lowell beat the Aberdeen IronBirds, 7-2.
Sarfate vs. Guthrie
In one sense you can compare the two.
Batting average vs. lefty hitters: Sarfate .198, Guthrie .234
Batting average vs. righty hitters: Sarfate .240, Guthrie .236
The message is clear. Sarfate has good stuff and when he throws it over, they don't hit him much. But his command and control have been shaky all year and downright poor in his starts. The above numbers tell you he has some quality pitches and is a pitcher that no one should give up on. But he's walked 50 in 61 innings and almost no pitcher can overcome that.
Going For Four
O's look for a fourth straight win tonight in Detroit vs. suddenly slumping Justin Verlander. Can Dennis Sarfate relax and pitch a solid game? He's certainly capable of it. Check back here often tonight 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
CF Jay Payton
C Guillermo Quiroz
SS Juan Castro
P Dennis Sarfate
Tigers
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Placido Polanco
RF Magglio Ordonez
1B Miguel Cabrera
DH Gary Sheffield
3B Carlos Guillen
LF Matt Joyce
SS Edgar Renteria
C Brandon Inge
P Justin Verlander
Game Preview
Orioles (59-62) at Detroit (59-63)
After losing three in a row giving up a total of 35 runs, the Orioles have won three in a row scoring a total of 28 runs. The O's look for their fourth win in a row tonight in the second-game of a series at Detroit.
The O's offense is on a roll with back-to-back games with 11 runs scored. The O's have scored 66 runs the past eight games and since the All-Star break, the O's are averaging 6.1 runs per contest.
No Oriole is hotter than Melvin Mora. He has 11 hits and 6 RBI the last four games. He is 11-23 with 7 RBI on this road trip. He is batting .404-7-37 since the All-Star break and has a team-leading 85 RBI on the season. That's the third best total of his career. Mora was batting .233 at the All-Star break and now he is hitting .276.
In the O's 11-2 win on Friday, Mora had a 4-RBI night while Aubrey Huff knocked in two runs and Juan Castro had two doubles and scored three runs. The O's had 14 hits one night after producing 17 hits.
The O's are now 3-2 on this road trip with two games to go. They are 14-14 in the second half and 28-38 on the season in road games.
The Tigers are struggling, falling four games under .500 with Friday's defeat. Since July 30th, when they were three games over .500, Detroit is 4-11.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Dennis Sarfate (4-2, 5.16) tonight will make his 49th appearance of the year and his 4th as a starter. It will be his third game this season vs. Detroit, but first in a starting role.
Since moving into the rotation on July 30th, Sarfate has struggled each outing and in the three starts is 0-1, 11.45. He has allowed 14 ER in 11 innings and has failed to pitch more than four innings in any of the starts. His ERA as a reliever was 3.78.
Sarfate has allowed 8 runs in the first inning and a batting average of .533 (8-15) in that inning in his starts. In the second inning of his outings he has given up just one run and an average of .091.
The 27-year-old made 107 Minor League starts in his 174 games. He has struggled badly with his control on the season, walking 50 batters in 61 innings. The O's are 0-3 when he is the starter.
Right-handed batters hit .240 off Sarfate and lefties bat .198. He pitched two innings earlier this season vs. Detroit, in relief, and gave up 4 ER and 4 hits. That was his only career outing vs. the Tigers.
RHP Justin Verlander (8-13, 4.77) tonight makes his 26th start of 2008, his 15th at home and his second this season vs. the Orioles.
Verlander beat the Birds on July 20th, giving up just one run on three hits in 8 2/3. But since that great effort, he is suddenly winless in his last four appearances. In that time he is 0-4, 9.97 and in two August starts his ERA is 8.25
Verlander, who has a combined 35 wins the past two seasons, was the second overall pick in the 2004 draft out of Old Dominion University.
Right-handed batters hit .235 vs. Verlander this season and lefties bat .240 against him. In 14 home starts, he is 5-6, 4.69. The Tigers are 9-16 when he starts this season.
Verlander vs. the Orioles:
2008: 1-0, 1.04, one start (July 20 - 8 2/3IP, 3H, 1R-ER, 3BB, 3K)
2007: 0-0, 0.00, one start (0 runs in 7 IP)
Career: 2-0, 1.64 in three starts over 22 innings
O's Hitting On A Roll
During 3-game win streak: Batting .352 with 28 runs and 15 doubles
Last 8 games: Batting .354 with 66 runs and 28 doubles
Pre All-Star game: Batted .258, 4.7 runs per game, 101 homers
Since All-Star game: Batting .309, 6.1 runs per game, 35 homers
O's RBI Leaders
Mora 85
Huff 82
Markakis 75
Millar 63
Jones 50
O's Leaders, RBI per At Bat
Mora: 1 every 5.1 AB
Huff: 1 every 5.6 AB
Markakis: 1 every 6.2 AB
Millar: 1 every 6.9 AB
Jones: 1 every 8.0 AB
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