Florida @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 23, 2010 ) Florida 7, Baltimore 5

A curious decision by Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria did not adversely affect his team – at least, not yet.

Loria fired manager Fredi Gonzalez on Wednesday but the Marlins went out and beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5, anyway. Florida goes for a sweep of the three-game interleague series with Baltimore on Thursday.

Loria's timing with the firing of Gonzalez seemed a bit puzzling as the Marlins had won two straight and three of four prior to Wednesday's victory. Florida also took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays on consecutive weekends but none of that was enough to save Gonzalez's job.

Edwin Rodriguez, who has spent the past 1 1/2 seasons as manager of Triple-A New Orleans, was named interim manager and Brandon Hyde and John Mallee were hired to replace bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley, who were fired along with Gonzalez.

Former New York Mets and Texas Rangers manager Bobby Valentine is reportedly the front runner to replace Gonzalez on a permanent basis, but the next manager might want to be careful when dealing with Loria as he expects the Marlins to contend in a loaded division on a tight budget.

The Marlins' $47-million payroll is the smallest in the National League East and 26th among big-league teams. Still, the Marlins played hard under Gonzalez and, at 35-36, are still within striking distance in the division.

Rodriguez won his debut despite Florida falling in an early 4-0 hole. He'll hand the ball to Nate Robertson as he goes for second career victory.

Robertson (5-5, 4.44 ERA) had gone 0-2 in five starts before posting a win over the Rays on Friday. The former Tiger is no stranger to the Orioles – he has a record of 4-2 with a 4.36 ERA in 10 games against Baltimore, including nine starts.

The Orioles counter with Kevin Millwood (1-8, 5.12), who is looking for his second consecutive win. Millwood earned his first victory of the year Saturday, going six innings and allowing three runs and seven hits in a 5-4 victory in San Diego.

Millwood will be making his 24th start against Florida. He is 6-9 with a 5.29 ERA versus the Marlins.

Baltimore has dropped three straight, five of its last six and is 2-8 in its last 10 games. The Orioles, who have the worst record in baseball as well as the worst home record with only 11 wins at Camden Yards, will try to avoid being swept for the third time this month.