No longer leery of Liriano
By Roch Kubatko
Who saw this coming?
Be honest.
The Orioles took a 5-2 lead over Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano in the fourth inning before Michael Cuddyer led off the bottom half with a shot into the left field seats. They've collected nine hits, including an assortment of bloops and well-placed ground balls.
At last count, the Orioles were 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position. All the runs have come with two outs - pretty impressive considering they were batting .176 with two outs and RISP this season.
Nick Markakis has three RBIs, the last on a grounder up the middle that never reached center field. Cesar Izturis and Julio Lugo have run-scoring singles.
Adam Jones singled to break an 0-for-14 spell.
As I pointed out yesterday, the players on the current 25-man roster were a collective 1-for-12 lifetime against Liriano.
The Orioles need to keep applying the offensive pressure. Jeremy Guthrie has surrendered two homers and a long foul ball. I'm not sure five runs will be enough for him.
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