SERIES PREVIEW: Baltimore Orioles (59-71) @ Texas Rangers (67-65)

by user ASwaff

Business First: Frank Francisco’s fastball was clocked at 91-94 miles per hour in his most recent outing for Double-A Frisco. After spending much more time than expected on the DL recovering from Tommy John surgery, Francisco is finally making real strides towards returning to the bigs. When asked if Francisco would be a September callup, Buck Showalter gave a response that’s so typically Buck, I couldn’t help but smile. Said Showalter, “He’s making a late-season drive.” Thanks for clearing that up, Bucko.

The Lowdown: We said this last series against the Oakland Athletics had to be a sweep for the Texas Rangers to even keep thinking about playoff contention. Their response was so typically Texas that I couldn’t help but scream in disgust. Just like the Tampa Bay series - three games, three runs each. Awfully weak for the team that’s supposed to have one of the best offenses in baseball, even against such pitchers as Barry Zito, Joe Blanton and Danny Haren. They manged to win the last game of the series, but the two losses left them sitting in a very distant third place, eight games out of first and 2.5 games behind second place Anaheim. Texas has won just two out of their last seven.

The Baltimore Orioles are coming off a three-game series sweep of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and have won eight out of their last 11 games. They are in fourth place in the A.L. East, 18.5 games behind the first place New York Yankees. They may be 59-71, but I’m always wary of A.L. East teams. I think many teams, including our Texas Rangers, would be 59-71 if they had to play in the same division as the Boston Red Sox and the Yanks. The Rangers are 5-2 against the Orioles this season.

Players to Watch:

Rangers outfielders - Batting a combined .375 against the Baltimore Orioles this season. Granted, a number of them aren’t with the club right now (Brad Wilkerson, Kevin Mench, Adrian Brown, Freddy Guzman), but you still have to look out for Gary Matthews and Mark DeRosa. Matthews has been in a funk lately, batting just .185 in his last two series. But, his 3-4 performance yesterday may indicate he’s returning to form, and it never hurts to turn around and play a team that you have a .475 average against on the season.

Bullpens - Both of these bullpens have been amazing in the five games they’ve played against each other this year. Rangers relievers have held the O’s to one run over 16.2 innings (0.54 ERA) and the Orioles have put up a 3.53 ERA against the Rangers. Both bullpens have also helped nail down some close wins lately, so look for some dominant pitching in the late innings.

Brian Roberts - Baltimore hitters have really struggled against the Rangers this season, with a very few exceptions (one of them, Jeff Conine, just got traded). Roberts is one exception that is still on the team. In four games against the Rangers, Roberts is batting .357 with two doubles and a stolen base. Rangers pitchers will need to keep him off base, as his speed can really agitate and help ignite big innings.

Nick Markakis - The Rangers faced the Orioles earlier in the season, before Markakis had a chance to turn into one of the hottest hitters in the American League. Since the end of May, Markakis is batting .364, with 10 homeruns and 37 RBI. Last time they played, Markakis went 5-14 (.357).

Probables:

Tuesday, August 29, 7:05 CST

TEX: RHP Kevin Millwood (12-9, 4.73)
BAL: RHP Rodrigo Lopez (9-13, 6.03)

Millwood has really struggled in the second half of the season, going 2-5 with a 5.08 ERA in his last seven starts, and 4-4 with a 4.58 ERA since the All-Star break. He has to face the Orioles at Ameriquest, where he is 4-6 with a 6.14 ERA this year. The good news is that he’s 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA against the Orioles this year.

Although Lopez has posted a respectable 3.90 ERA in August, he continues to be very spotty. He has two starts this month in which he’s allowed four or more earned runs, and another start where he lasted less than five innings. He’s coming off a loss to the Minnesota Twins that saw him surrender 13 hits in six innings of work. He has one start against the Rangers this season and picked up the win by holding them scoreless over 5.2 innings.

Wednesday, August 30, 7:05 CST

TEX: RHP Robinson Tejeda (3-3, 6.42)
BAL: RHP Kris Benson (10-10, 4.88)

Where was this Robinson Tejeda when the Rangers needed him earlier in the season. He posted a first half record of 1-3 and a first half ERA of 9.79. But, in two starts in August, he’s 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA. His last start ended a three-game losing streak to the Devil Rays. Maybe this start can ignite a winning streak.

Benson hasn’t been the dominant pitcher his wife said he’d be when the New York Mets traded him. He was good in April and June, going 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA. In the remaining months, however, he is 4-7 with a 6.26 ERA, including a winless month of July. Like Lopez, Benson got worked over in his last start against the Twins, taking the loss after allowing six earned runs in 3.2 innings. He lost the one start he had against the Rangers earlier this year, although it was a very good start - nine innings, two earned runs.

Thursday, August 31, 7:05 CST

TEX: RHP Adam Eaton (3-4, 5.17)
BAL: RHP Daniel Cabrera (7-8, 4.63)

After back-to-back wins against Seattle and Anaheim, Eaton has lost two consecutive starts to Tampa Bay and Oakland. In those two starts, he pitched a total of eight innings, allowing 17 hits, six walks and eight earned runs. Even with that, he is 3-3 with a 4.88 ERA in the month of August. Unlike Millwood, Eaton has been very sharp at home, holding opponents to a .211 batting average. As always, pitch count is crucial for Eaton. He’s effective when he’s coming after hitters and getting easy outs, and he struggles when he tries to nibble. In his last two losses, he threw 188 pitches in just eight innings.

Cabrera is a pitcher the Orioles have high hopes for, but he’s been constantly up and down. Since returning from a minor league stint, however, he’s 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA. He has not allowed a run in his last two starts, stringing together a stretch of 16 scoreless innings. In two starts against the Rangers this year, Cabrera is 0-1 with a 3.66 ERA. He took a tough luck no-decision in one of the starts, when he held the Rangers to one run over seven innings.

Date

Mon 08/28/06, 10:47 am EST