Blue Jays, Orioles set to begin stretch of divisional games
Baseball Betting Lines
05/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Already 18 games out of first place in the American League East, the Baltimore Orioles can at least try to have some fun by shaking up the standings with 12 straight matchups against their division opponents.
The Orioles will kick off their tour through the AL East tonight with the first of three straight meetings with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. They will also visit the Yankees for three games before hosting Boston and New York for six encounters at Camden Yards.
Baltimore has dropped four of five and nine of its last 12 games, including the final two portions of a three-game home series versus the Oakland Athletics. In Thursday's 7-5 loss to the A's, Mark Hendrickson gave up three runs during a decisive five-run eighth inning to absorb the loss and blow a three-run lead for the Orioles, who got seven innings out of starter Brad Bergesen. Bergesen permitted four runs on four hits and three walks.
"You take a three-run lead in there to the eighth and a lot of things happen that don't go your way," said O's manager Dave Trembley. "You make the decisions that you think are the right ones and you hope they work out."
Miguel Tejada drove in two runs, Matt Wieters had two hits and an RBI and Julio Lugo finished 3-for-5 with a run scored in defeat.
Orioles outfielder Adam Jones finished with two hits and has hit in a career- high 13 straight games, going 16-for-50 with a .320 batting average in that time. He has hit safely in 18 of his last 19 contests.
Innings-eater Kevin Millwood could use some offensive firepower when he takes the mound tonight for the O's. Millwood is 0-4 with a 3.71 earned run average in 10 starts and has posted three straight no-decisions. He previously took the hill at Nationals Park in Washington on Sunday and gave up three runs, struck out eight and allowed eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-3 loss.
Millwood is 0-3 in five road starts this season and will face Toronto for the second time in 2010. He lost to the Blue Jays in a 5-2 decision on April 11 at Camden Yards, where he yielded four runs (1 earned) over 7 2/3 frames. The veteran right-hander is just 2-5 with a 4.80 ERA in 10 career starts against Toronto and is 1-3 in six lifetime starts at Rogers Centre.
Toronto commences its own barrage of matchups with the American League East and will kick off a nine-game homestand Friday versus the Orioles, Rays and Yankees. It will then visit Tampa Bay for three meetings to complete the 12- game journey against division foes.
The Blue Jays have dropped five of seven games and just lost the last two installments of a three-game road set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They suffered a 6-5 loss in Wednesday's series finale as Angels outfielder Bobby Abreu drove in the game-winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth.
Scott Downs was saddled with the loss, while Edwin Encarnacion and Jeremy Reed had two RBI apiece for the Blue Jays, who went 3-5 on an eight-game road trip.
"Our guys never quit. It's another tough loss," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "I like the way our guys kept battling."
Brandon Morrow started for the Jays and did not factor in the decision after allowing three runs and three hits in five innings.
Toronto is currently tied with Boston at 6 1/2 games off the AL East lead.
Shaun Marcum will lead the Jays into tonight's series opener and has been on a roll since late April. Marcum opened the season 0-1 with a 4.00 earned run average in his first four starts, but is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA in six starts since. He is coming off last Sunday's 12-4 win at Arizona in which he scattered three runs through five innings. Marcum also struck out eight batters to push his 2010 mark to 4-1 in 10 starts.
The right-hander faced Baltimore earlier this season in a 5-2 win at Camden Yards, but did not record a decision with six innings of two-run ball. Marcum is only 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA in 11 career games -- nine starts -- in this series.
Toronto swept the Orioles in three games back in early April and has won eight of the past 11 contests between the clubs. Baltimore is winless in its last five visits to Rogers Centre.
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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