Baltimore @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 12, 2009 ) Oakland 6, Baltimore 3

The Baltimore Orioles were likely very glad to get out of town on Wednesday after losing all six games in their homestand. As the losses mounted, the Orioles (1-8) saw the home crowds grow less patient by the day. In addition, the team lost second baseman Brian Roberts and closer Michael Gonzalez to injuries that landed both on the disabled list. But the question now is if Baltimore can find any success out on the road in its four-game series with the Oakland Athletics (6-4) that starts on Thursday night. The A’s have been one of the league's bigger surprises in the first two weeks, using a bunch of lesser-known stars to stay at the top of the AL West. The Orioles thought they’d find this kind of success in the first part of the season as they had a bunch of well-respected young pitchers ready to break through. And they’ve gotten some very good work from most of their starters. But the problem has been with the bullpen and clutch hitting. Baltimore has gone 10-for-66 (.152) with runners in scoring position in the first nine games, something far worse than last year when it hit .284 in the same situations, second in the American League. Manager Dave Trembley has been shaking up the lineup the last few days since losing Roberts. The skipper put Adam Jones in the leadoff spot Wednesday after batting him second and fifth in the two previous games. He moved Ty Wigginton to second after the utility player belted two homers the night before. The Orioles probably won’t have an easy time going against an Oakland starting rotation that’s done pretty well in the first two weeks. They match up against Ben Sheets, who will be making his third start this season. He threw five good innings in his first game against the Mariners and gave up three runs on 10 hits in six innings against the Angels. Sheets missed the 2009 season after elbow surgery. He’ll face against David Hernandez, Baltimore’s No. 5 starter, who pitched well in his first start last weekend, but was the losing pitcher as Toronto handed the O’s a 3-0 loss. The A’s need good pitching because their offense has been shaky so far. They had only two starters (Daric Barton and Mark Ellis) who had over a .300 average heading into the final game of their last series, but if the pitching stays strong, the hitting won’t matter as much. The offense again didn’t help as much in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Jake Fox’s early two-run home run was all the A’s could get in this game. He came into the contest on an 0-for-29 skid, and Oakland will need more offensive help from more people to get some balance and take the pressure off the pitching.