Florida @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Mar 23, 2010 ) Baltimore 2, Florida 5
After handling one of the best teams in the AL East - not to mention all of baseball - the Florida Marlins have a chance to keep moving forward against one of the worst.
Fresh off taking two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays for the second straight weekend, the Marlins travel to Baltimore on Tuesday for the opener of a three-game interleague series with the Orioles.
There is a long way to go in the season, but Florida already has some work to do in the competitive NL East. Winning two series against the Rays should give the Marlins some confidence, but they have also been swept twice this month in three-game series by the New York Mets and Texas Rangers.
The Marlins swept a three-game series from the Orioles last season and have won nine of the last 10 meetings between the clubs.
Florida has another good chance to win a series from Baltimore because the Orioles have had trouble picking up wins anywhere, especially at home.
At 19-50, the Orioles have the worst record in the majors and have dropped 19 of their last 23. Baltimore's 11 home wins are the fewest in baseball and it is coming off a 2-4 road trip. They capped their West Coast trip with a loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday despite taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
With numbers like that, it's no wonder that Baltimore fans are keeping their eyes on who will replace former manager Dave Trembley.
Interim manager Juan Samuel isn't working any miracles and Buck Showalter and Eric Wedge are rumored to have emerged as top candidates for the job. Former Mets manager and current ESPN talking head Bobby Valentine is always lurking as a managerial candidate as well.
Whoever gets the job has a lot of work to do.
Not only do the Orioles have some young talent that needs to be motivated, they need a first baseman that can actually hit a home run. No Oriole has gone deep playing as a first baseman this season.
Jeremy Guthrie (3-8, 3.97 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles on Tuesday and will be trying to break a four-start losing streak. Guthrie had won three consecutive decisions before his recent slide.
Anibal Sanchez (6-4, 3.22) will take the mound for the Marlins and is also on a slide after a recent hot streak. Sanchez has dropped two of three decisions following a stretch where he won four starts in a row.