Baltimore @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 14, 2010 ) Baltimore 2, San Francisco 10
Freddy Sanchez felt short-changed.
After getting away from the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates through a July deadline trade to the San Francisco Giants, Sanchez had a chance to play for a National League postseason race for the first time only to come up lame.
The former batting champion played just 25 games – and hit .284 in 102 at-bats - for the Giants before needing left knee surgery to repair torn meniscus. Then he missed the start of this season because he ended up having left shoulder surgery in December.
Both injuries were known when the trade was made and Sanchez did his best to play through, but the pain in the knee became too much to bear.
Sanchez had to watch as the Giants fell short of the postseason, but now that he is healthy again, the All-Star second baseman has returned as the Baltimore Orioles found out Monday when he drove in four runs in the series opener.
The series continues Tuesday at AT&T Park with Sanchez hitting .341 with 14 RBIs in 24 games since returning on May 19.
The Giants (36-27) are playing well, entering Tuesday tied for second place with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a half-game behind the San Diego Padres in the NL West.
San Francisco will try to extend its four-game winning streak as right-hander Joe Martinez makes his first major league start of the season in place of the recently injured Todd Wellemeyer (quadriceps).
In 11 Triple-A starts, Martinez was 5-2 with a 3.07 ERA. In nine games - including five starts - with the Giants in 2009, he went 3-2 with a 7.50 ERA.
He will be opposed by one of Baltimore’s top prospects in Jake Arrieta, who beat the New York Yankees in his major-league debut.
Arrieta, 24, went six innings, allowed three earned runs, struck out six and allowed four hits and walks. It was a little bit of this and a little of that, but ended in a victory and that doesn’t happen very often with the Orioles.
Baltimore is on its second manager (Juan Samuel) and the Orioles sit 30 games under .500 at 17-47. Pennant hopes are long gone and getting players like Arrieta innings and experience will remain the theme for the rest of the 2010 season.
The Orioles field mostly a veteran team offensively and a few of them – Luke Scott and Ty Wigginton – are playing well enough to be trade bait as the organization looks to bring up more young players to give them a taste of the big leagues.