With a 3 game sweep of Toronto, and a series win over Oakland; the Baltimore Orioles are 14-8 as they head to New York.

1) Three of the O’s losses this year, were at the hands of the Yankees. New York swept the O’s in a 3 game series 4/9 – 4/11. Two of those losses were in extra-innings. The trip to the Big Apple, begins the O’s 2nd road trip. The first one was successful. This 6 game trip to NY, and Boston will be another test.

2) The O’s have won each of Hammel’s first four starts. Hammel is 3-0, with a 1.73 era. In his 26 ip, he has allowed 18 hits, 1 hr, with 8 bb’s, and 25 k’s. His OPS against is .537, and his G/F ratio is 1.62. He has been awesome. In his last 2 starts, he has had 17 k’s, and 22 grounders. In his last start of the Month, will he eat up bats in NY? The entire trip probably goes better, if you win that first game.

3) With 6 scoreless innings against the Jays, Matusz dropped his era a couple of runs overall. Despite it being his lowest pitch-count outing of the year (92), it was Matusz’s deepest outing of the year to date. It was a quality start, filled with positives. I really liked the success Matusz was having locating his change-up low and outside as a strike-out pitch. Hopefully Brian is feeling better about things, and can follow up with another quality outing.

4) Chris Davis had a strong home-stand, hitting 3 homers in the O’s 6 games. NY’s Yankee Stadium is built for lefty power-hitters. Does he stay hot?

5) The O’s bullpen has been excellent. How do they respond, if called upon in a close game in NY? After being released from the hospital, Johnson has yet to get back in a game. Will he be sharp, when he does?
5a) Which team goes to the 8th inning with the lead? If it is the O’s, you will like their chances with Strop and Johnson. If it is the Yankees, you will have your work cut out for you against Robertson, Soriano, and Rivera.

6) Adam Jones and Matt Wieters have been scorching all April. Obviously it would be a lot to ask them to stay at quite this level all year. However, if Baltimore is going to win games in locales like NY, and Boston; the O’s best players need to set the tone.

7) With Andino away for the birth of his child, Flaherty got time against Toronto. When Andino returned, Flaherty stayed in the lineup. Flaherty had 15 ab’s on the home-stand, with games played at 2nd, 3rd, and RF. Does he get time in NY?

8) Reynolds has a career .808 OPS. As April prepares to end, he is right around .500 so far in 2012. In 60 ab’s, he has struck-out 28 times, and has yet to homer. In his last 4 games though, he does have 3 hits, and 2 walks (10 for the year). He is certainly due to start producing.

9) Arrieta had a bad inning in LA, which knocked him out of the game. Arrieta had a bad inning against Oakland, which led to a loss Friday. After 5 bb’s, in his first 20.1 ip this year, Arrieta has walked 5 in his last 10 innings. One thing I’ve noted in his last two starts, is that he seemed to be deeply impacted when something went wrong, and I think it made things worse. He does not need to be perfect, and he has to know he won’t. When things go wrong, he needs to be able to maintain his focus on the next batter. Adair, Wieters, and someone like Hardy needs to remind/help him with that. There were some good signs from Arrieta in April. As May begins, the O’s need him to take the next leap.

10) The Yankees will be throwing 3 RHP’s in the series, which means Betemit should be in the lineup each day.

Projected Pitchers:

4/30: Hammel vs. Kuroda (RHP)
5/1: Matusz vs. Hughes (RHP)
5/2: Arrieta vs. Nova (RHP)

Kuroda: 1-3, 4.38 era, 24.2 ip, 28 hits, 4 hr’s, 8 bb’s, 17 k’s, .809 OPS against, 1.08 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/493133/

Hughes: 1-3, 7.88 era, 16 ip, 24 hits, 5 hr’s, 6 bb’s, 17 k’s, 1.053 OPS against, 0.47 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/461833/

Nova: 3-0, 5.18 era, 24.1 ip, 36 hits, 4 hr’s, 5 bb’s, 25 k’s, .997 OPS against, 0.78 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/467100/

C: Martin .668 OPS
1st: Teixeira .663 OPS
2nd: Cano .714 OPS
SS: Jeter 1.033 OPS
3rd: Rodriguez  .789 OPS
LF: Jones  .806 OPS
CF: Granderson  1.003 OPS
RF: Swisher  .972 OPS
DH: Ibanez .784 OPS

Bench: Stewart, Nunez, Chavez,
Rotation: Sabathia, Nova, Kuroda, Hughes, Garcia
Bullpen: Rivera, Soriano, Robertson, Logan, Phelps, Rapada, Wade, Eppley

Current Ranks (going into Sunday):

New York
Runs: 3rd
Batting Average: 4th
On Base: 2nd
Slugging: 2nd
ERA: 26th
Quality Starts: 29th
WHIP: 25th
BAA: 26th

Baltimore
Runs: 12th
Batting Average: 15th
On Base: 19th
Slugging: 7th
ERA: 7th
Quality Starts: 20th
WHIP: 12th
BAA: 9th

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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