Cleveland @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Apr 17, 2011 ) Baltimore 2, Cleveland 4
THE STORY: A half-game behind Detroit in the AL Central, Cleveland opens the second half at woeful Baltimore on Thursday for the start of a four-game series. The Indians nearly led their division at the All-Star break for the first time since 1999, while the Orioles have lost seven straight and 12 of 13. Baltimore sits 18 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East, the largest deficit of any AL team. However, the Orioles are a respectable 22-22 at Camden Yards.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MASN, STO
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Jeremy Guthrie (3-12, 4.18 ERA) vs. Indians RH Justin Masterson (7-6, 2.64 ERA) –
Guthrie took the loss in relief Sunday against the Red Sox and has won just once in his past 10 outings. While the league is hitting .272 against him, current Indians are batting just .219 against Guthrie, with Orlando Cabrera a miserable 2-for-16.
Masterson has allowed one earned run over his last 23 2/3 innings and ranks sixth in the AL in ERA. He dominated the Orioles on April 15, yielding four hits and a run over eight innings. And he’s been just as tough away from Cleveland, posting a 2.34 ERA.
ABOUT THE ORIOLES (36-52): Matt Wieters, the first Orioles backstop to make the All-Star team since Mickey Tettleton in 1989, leads the majors with 24 runners thrown out this season. And he’s the only starting catcher without a passed ball. Baltimore is tied for 10th in the AL with 355 runs scored. They have the fewest triples (6) in the league. The Orioles also own a league-worst ERA of 4.76.
ABOUT THE INDIANS (47-42): Cleveland swept Baltimore in a three-game home series in April, outscoring the Orioles 20-7. All-Star SS Asdrubal Cabrera leads the team in batting (.293), homers (14), and RBIs (51), while C Carlos Santana has a team-high .363 on-base percentage despite hitting just .230. The switch-hitter has reached base in 66 of 84 games. DH Travis Hafner is on a 1-for-14 skid.
FINAL PITCH: The Indians are coming off a 3-4 homestand in which they gave up 42 runs, an average of five per game.