Tampa Bay @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Apr 13, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 8, Baltimore 6
At some point in today’s series finale with Tampa Bay, Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley is going to have to go to his bullpen - and that’s something he clearly isn’t happy to do.
The bullpen has struggled in trying to close out games so far. Closer Mike Gonzalez already is in trouble he blew two saves in three appearances, and Trembley isn’t ready to use him.
Trembley said that Gonzalez has been working on his fundamentals, but the skipper certainly doesn’t have a lot of confidence in him.
Jim Johnson and Will Ohman both couldn’t hold a late lead in Tuesday’s 8-6 loss to the Rays. Matt Albers then gave up a game-deciding three-run homer in the 10th.
Trembley and the Orioles (1-7) have to get some consistency out of the bullpen or make some moves because these problems can ruin a team’s season very quickly.
Gonzalez will probably get another shot at the closer’s role, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen until Baltimore either has a very big lead or is playing on the road. The crowd booed Gonzalez unmercifully during the home opener last Friday, putting even more pressure on the left-hander.
If Trembley could hold out until the weekend, the Orioles would be on the West Coast in Oakland, leaving Gonzalez far from the Baltimore fans.
The Rays (5-3) also have had problems with their bullpen. They struggled again in Tuesday night’s victory but hung on thanks to Carlos Pena’s three-run homer in the 10th inning.
Tampa Bay has had great starting pitching once more this season, but the Rays – like Baltimore – need to get some confidence in their bullpen. They’ve gotten by so far, but left-hander Randy Choate now has an ERA of 27.00 and gave up a two-run, pinch-hit homer to Luke Scott.
But the Rays’ hitting has improved greatly in the past two seasons and they have shown the ability to come through in the clutch – much like the Orioles haven’t been able to do this season. Tampa Bay got five runs on seven hits in the eighth inning Tuesday - much of which came with two outs - after managing only two hits in the first seven.
In fact, the Rays couldn’t even get a runner into scoring position until the eighth. But they came through when needed, going 6-for-8 with runners in scoring position to steal a fourth win in five games against the Orioles.