The 68-44, first-place LA Angels arrive in Baltimore to face the 47-67 Orioles for 4 games starting tomorrow.

The Angels are 20-9 against the American League East, and have won 3 games in a row.

Heading into this series, the O’s are 1-5 against Los Angeles.

The pitching match-ups are pretty interesting.

8/14: Tillman vs. Weaver
8/15: Matusz vs. Lackey
8/16: Guthrie vs. O’Sullivan
8/17: Hernandez vs. Santana

Tillman will be making his 4th Major League start, and just his 2nd at Camden Yards. In 6.2 innings against Toronto, Tillman allowed just 2 er. Tillman was battling a groin-injury which impacted his velocity. Tillman is still looking forward to his first-decision, and hopefully first Major League win. Tillman has allowed 3 walks in both of his last-two starts, and 5 homers in his 17.1 ML innings. After allowing 5 homers in his 96.2 innings at Norfolk, I am sure he has found the Majors eye-opening. Watch to see if he can keep the fast-ball down tonight.

Jered Weaver is 12-3, with a 3.73 era. In 149.2 innings, he has allowed 130 hits, 47 walks, with 137 k’s. Weaver has won his last 5 decisions, and has struck-out 11 in both of his most recent starts.

Matusz will be making his 3rd Major League start, and his first at Camden Yards. He got pounded at Toronto, as his control was off. I do not expect that to happen again Saturday.

John Lackey is 7-5, with a 3.88 era. In 111.1 innings, he has allowed 108 hits, 32 walks, with 98 k’s. There have been some whispers about the O’s being interested in the Free Agent to be. I am not sure I see a real fit there, but it will be a good opportunity for Oriole fans (and the Organization) to evaluate where Lackey is currently at. Lackey turns 31 in October, and has pitched over 1,400 innings in the Majors. If you were going to pursue him, you have to determine just how much you think he has left.

Guthrie has lost his last 4 decisions, and needs to end that slide. Guthrie has roughly 7 starts, and 50 innings left in his 2009 year. You want him to finish as strong as possible. If Guthrie is back for 2010, you want him to go into his off-season with something to build-on. If Guthrie is used as trade-bait, you want his value as high as possible. All I want to see from Guthrie the rest of the year, is him keeping his fastball down in the zone, and improved control.

O’Sullivan is a rookie that is turning 22 on September 1st. In his last 9.2 innings of work, O’Sullivan has allowed 10 er.

Hernandez is coming off of a strong 6.2 innings, 2 er outing against Oakland. In that game, Hernandez had his career high in K’s with 6. The 2 er were both solo hr’s, which gave him 9 homers allowed in his 59.1 innings. His grounder to fly-ball ratio is 0.50. I want to see if he can keep the ball in the park, and continue to get a better feel for his slider.

Santana had an exceptional 2008 season, but has had a tough 2009 dealing with injuries, and poor performance. That was not the case Tuesday, when Santana threw a shut-out against Tampa, allowing just 3 hits, 2 bb’s, with 6 k’s. The O’s beat him on July 3rd, with Scott, Mora, and Markakis each doubling off of him, and Huff homering.

The Angel offense is filled with true-professional hitters.

Switch-hitting 1st-baseman Kendry Morales has a .303 average, 25 homers, 76 rbi, and a .932 OPS.

Abreu, and Rivera are having strong years.

Guerrero is getting back into the swing of things, with 10 hits in his last 6 games.

Catcher Mike Napoli has a .914 OPS, and 16 homers.

They even have up the middle production with Aybar, and Kendrick; and it is possible that Torii Hunter will come of the DL for this series.

Oriole fans will be watching 31 year-old Chone Figgins at 3rd, who will be a Free Agent, and like Lackey has been mentioned as someone the Orioles could be interested in. Figgins has rebounded from a poor 2008, to have a .392 on-base %, and again has over 30 steals.

A series like this against one of the best teams in baseball can only be a learning experience for the young Orioles.

You want to see the O’s be willing to compete. You want to see the young-pitchers have some success against a very capable line-up. You want to see Markakis, Jones, Wieters, and Reimold against Weaver, Lackey, and Santana.

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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