SERIES PREVIEW: Texas Rangers (45-43) @ Baltimore Orioles (41-49)
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by user ASwaff
Business First: The Rangers sent outfielder/DH Jason Botts to Triple-A Oklahoma and recalled outfielder Freddy Guzman. In 20 games since being called up, Botts was batting just .220 with one homerun. The main factor for sending him down, however, was probably playing time. With DeRosa becoming a regular starter and Jerry Hairston getting plenty of playing time for his defense, the Rangers have a serious backup in the outfield. There’s only so much time manager Buck Showalter could give Botts along with DeRosa, Hairston, Gary Matthews, Kevin Mench and Brad Wilkerson. Botts is expected to be a big piece of the Rangers future, so they would probably rather have him playing regularly in the minor leagues than sitting on the bench in the Majors.
This is Guzman’s second call up of the season. During his first stint, he played in four games, recording zero at-bats and one walk.
The Lowdown: The Rangers are coming out of the All-Star break with good momentum, having won four out of their last six, including a victory over Johan Santana to take the weekend series over the Twins. Those four wins also helped them regain a tie for the division lead with Oakland. It also can’t hurt that one of their teammates (Michael Young) had the game-winning hit in the All-Star Game.
The Orioles won their last two games going into the break, but have lost five out of their last eight. Their last three series came on the road, however, and they have been much better in Baltimore. On the season, they are 24-21. The Rangers are 20-18 on the road. The last time the Rangers met the Orioles, the Rangers swept the Lords of Baltimore in a two-game series in Arlington.
Players to Watch:
Mark DeRosa: There wasn’t enough room on the All-Star team for DeRosa, but that won’t affect the player that the folks down in Texas know was as deserving of a spot on that roster as anyone. The last time the Rangers and Orioles played, DeRosa went 4-for-8 with a homerun, three runs and two RBI.
Short Stops: The last time these two teams met, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada combined to go 1-for-18. Don’t expect these two All-Star short stops to turn in the same kind of performance this time around.
Bullpens: Both teams have had serious bullpen issues this year, but they sparkled the last time these teams played. The Orioles held Rangers hitters to one run in 8.1 innings, and the Rangers threw 3.2 shutout innings against the O’s. They were surprisingly good last time, and the bullpens are both much stronger than the last series. The Orioles are much better with the emergence of Chris Britton and Kurt Birkins, and closer Chris Ray is still doing his job, with 22 saves in 23 chances. The Rangers are still struggling with middle relief, but it seems everyone has gotten a little better since Akinori Otsuka moved into the closer’s role. And who knows - maybe Rick Bauer will have another good outing against his old team, as in the last series when he picked up the win in relief in a 12 inning game.
Brian Roberts: The Rangers were lucky to miss Roberts (who was on the DL) the last time they played the Orioles. He is batting just .222 so far in July, but he’s still batting .280 on the season. He’s also a constant base stealing threat. Even missing almost all of May, he has 22 stolen bases this year and has been caught just three times.
Probables:
Thursday, July 13, 6:05 CST
TEX: RHP Vicente Padilla (8-5, 4.44)
BAL: RHP Daniel Cabrera (4-6, 5.15)
Padilla looked good down the stretch of the first half, making better use of his fast ball to go 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA in his last six starts. He could struggle with an Oriole team that has a good distribution of left-handed hitters, as leftys are batting .312 off Padilla this season. He is holding right-handed batters to a .199 average.
The fact that Cabrera averages more than 4.5 walks per game is not something the Rangers were able to take advantage of the last time they faced him, as they drew just two walks. He doesn’t have the best numbers this year, but he really seems to be at home against AL West opponents. In three games against AL West teams, Cabrera is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA.
Friday, July 14, 6:05 CST
TEX: RHP Kevin Millwood (8-5, 4.83)
BAL: RHP Kris Benson (9-7, 4.79)
One of the nice things about writing your own sports articles is that you can write about Kris Benson without mentioning his obnoxious wife. Dangit, I did it anyway! This is your fault, Maxim!
Kevin Millwood appeard to have turned a corner last month, but suffered a serious set-back at the end of June, culminating with an injury after his first start of July. Millwood was 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in the first three weeks of June. Then, he lost his last two starts before the break, allowing 11 earned runs in just 9.1 innings (10.65 ERA). This is his first start since straining his biceps, so we’ll see just how much he’s recovered. He will go against Benson, who has had a similar slide after an impressive June. Benson has also lost his last two starts, allowing 11 earned runs in his last eight innings. However, those two starts were on the road. At home this year, Benson has a 3.38 ERA. It should be fun to see how he does against Millwood, who is 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA on the road.
Saturday, July 15, 3:35 CST
TEX: LHP John Rheinecker (4-3, 3.96)
BAL: LHP Erik Bedard (10-6, 4.28)
Bedard’s numbers are very slanted because of a May that would charitably be described as bumpy. He went 1-3 with a 7.85 ERA that month. He allowed as many earned runs in May as he did in April and June combined. Outside of May, Bedard is 9-3 with a 3.01 ERA. He’s also won his last five starts, posting a 1.29 ERA and 38 Ks in 35 innings. Those five games included a stretch of 16 shutout innings for Bedard. As if that weren’t enough, even with his bumpy month of May, Bedard is 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA at home.
Rheinecker will attempt to continue a good start to the month of July. In his first two starts this month, he has an ERA of 2.77. In order to keep rolling, Rheinecker will have to overcome his previous road performances this year. In three starts on the road, Rheinecker is 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA. He is holding left-handed batters to a .163 average, but rightys are batting .371 against him.
Sunday, July 16, 12:35 CST
TEX: RHP John Wasdin (2-1, 4.26)
BAL: RHP Rodrigo Lopez (5-10, 6.77)
Wasdin has been no less and no more than servicable as a starter for the Rangers this season. In fact, his mediocrity has been remarkably consistent. In each of his three starts, he has lasted between five and six innings, allowed three earned runs, allowed between five and seven hits, and allowed three walks. Considering that the Rangers can’t count on him to go deep into games, they will be counting on their other three starters in this series to keep the bullpen fresh.
Lopez has not been good at any point in the season, but he has been particularly bad of late. He is 0-2 in his last three starts with an 8.83 ERA. For what it’s worth, his home ERA is 0.65 points better than his road ERA. But, that still makes his home ERA a fairly stunning 6.52.
Date
Thu 07/13/06, 2:52 pm EST
