Baltimore @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 19, 2010 ) Baltimore 3, Texas 4
The Texas Rangers must be asking: “Will the real Scott Feldman please stand up?”
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles have no such concerns about rookie Brian Matusz, who is turning out to be everything they hoped for and more.
Feldman looks to get untracked against the highly-regarded Matusz and the Orioles in the finale of a two-game series today.
The Rangers (23-18) are 2 ½ games in front of Oakland (20-20) and 4 ½ in front of the Los Angeles Angels (19-23) in the American League West. However, Feldman (1-4, 5.89) has barely contributed to their strong start.
A 17-game winner in 2009, Feldman has looked like an imposter this season.
He has not won since April 11, which begs the question: Was 2009 a fluke? It may have been since the 27-year-old former reliever had made just 25 starts prior to last season.
It’s up to Feldman to prove the skeptics wrong. The right-hander was rocked for five runs and nine hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 6-0 loss to Toronto on Saturday. He is 0-2 with a 7.86 ERA in his last three outings.
The Orioles are one of many teams looking to kick Feldman while he’s down. He went 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA in three starts against them last season and is 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA in seven career appearances against Baltimore.
While the Rangers may be unsure of Feldman, the Orioles have to be pleased with Matusz – the fourth overall pick of the 2008 draft.
The 23-year-old left-hander has allowed more than three runs just twice in eight starts, though a lack of run support has left the O’s with only two wins when he climbs the mound.
Baltimore hopes he can help avoid the sweep after Nelson Cruz hit a walk-off sacrifice in the ninth to give the Rangers a 4-3 win on Wednesday.
The Orioles fell to a major-league worst 3-24 when scoring four runs or fewer.
Matusz has his work cut out for him against the Rangers, who have won three straight and lead the majors with 16 home wins. The Rangers are also in the top 10 in runs scored (190).
One Rangers’ hitter that enjoys seeing the Orioles in town is Vladimir Guerrero, who is hitting .348 (15 for 43) with six homers and 20 RBIs in his last 11 games versus Baltimore. Guerrero drove in a run in Wednesday’s win, giving him 33 for the season.
His teammate, Josh Hamilton is starting to heat up as well. Hamilton hit his eighth homer of the season Wednesday, and has four hits in the last two games after going 1-for-13 with nine strikeouts in his past three contests.