If the Orioles played the rest of the American League East the way the play the Red Sox, they would be well on their way back to prominence. Problem is, even at Baltimore’s best, Boston remains a formidable foe.
With one head-to-head series remaining after Thursday’s finale, the clubs are even for the season, 7-7. That’s a marked difference from last season, when the Red Sox dominated the Orioles, taking 16 of 18 games. Baltimore is 5-31 this season against the rest of the division.
Much of Baltimore’s resurgence — the Orioles went 17-11 in August for the club’s first winning month since 2008 — is attributable to the club’s starting rotation. It’s a group that has posted 19 quality starts over its past 28 games, with a 3.07 ERA.
All of the Orioles’ starters are getting into the act, including Brad Bergesen, who will get the call in the series finale against the Red Sox. He’ll be opposed by Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Bergesen was sweltering in August, posting a 3-0 record and a 2.72 ERA in five starts. He was stellar in his most recent outing, allowing four hits and one run in eight innings in a win over the Angels. The run was scored on a balk, one of Bergesen’s two on the day. Bergesen credited his strong start to his rediscovered four-seam fastball.
“For me, the biggest thing is, I relied so much on my two-seam [fastball] last year, I’d throw that 80 percent of the time,” Bergesen said. “I had that [shoulder] injury this offseason, and I never was able to really find it. So I kept trying to go to it and go to it, and I’d get myself in trouble. So I’ve really tried to work more off my four-seam [fastball].”
Matsuzaka is working on 11 days’ rest because he was scratched from his most recent turn in the rotation after experiencing back trouble. When Dice-K last threw, he was solid, allowing four runs over eight innings against the Jays. He fanned eight and walked only three. The only lamentable pitch Matsuzaka threw, according to his manager, was one that Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay yanked for a two-run homer.
“The big pitch to Overbay, we’re sitting on a lead, and it probably caught way too much plate,” manager Terry Francona said. “We’re trying to make him chance something there, and it’s obviously something he could handle, and that was disappointing. Other than that, [Matsuzaka] was pretty good.”
Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis hit his 40th double of the season on Tuesday, making him the first Oriole to reach the mark in four consecutive seasons. That’s tied with Hall of Famer Tris Speaker for the third-longest streak of all time. … Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre is three RBIs short of 1,000 for his career. He leads the Red Sox with 91 for the season, including three on a homer on Wednesday.
This is a must win for the Red Sox, and we look for the bats to keep up what they started in Wednesday’s 9 run outburst. Matsusaka is coming off an 11 day rest, so do not look for him to be especially sharp. With that being said, we are taking the over 9 (-105) in this contest. Good luck!
