Baltimore @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 10, 2010 ) NY Yankees 3, Baltimore 4
Against all odds, the Baltimore Orioles are playing important baseball in September. Well, maybe that's a bit misleading since these games' importance rest primarily with their opponent.
As is the case, the New York Yankees will try to return to their winning ways and move another step closer to the playoffs when they open a three-game series with the Orioles on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
The teams are total opposites in just about every aspect - save for the fact that they are both playing pretty good baseball right now.
The Yankees are 86-51, in first place in the ultra-competitive AL East and won eight straight games before a 7-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Likely heading to the playoffs to defend their World Series title, the Yankees are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the division lead.
Baltimore just took two of three from the Rays, but is still last in the AL East with a 51-86 mark. However, they have been revitalized by the hiring of manager Buck Showalter.
The Orioles overcame four home runs by the Rays on Sunday for an 8-7 victory. The win improved Baltimore to 19-13 under Showalter, who was the American League Manager of the Year with the Yankees in 1994.
New York has dominated the season series with Baltimore, holding a 10-2 edge in the season series, including seven straight at home.
Despite Sunday's loss, the Yankees did get some good news as third baseman Alex Rodriguez returned from his stint on the disabled list with a left calf strain and had two hits and an RBI. However, the return of their slugging third baseman may not be all it's cracked up to be for the Yankees. New York went 11-3 when Rodriguez was on the disabled and is 21-3 without him in the lineup this season.
Then again, it's hard to argue that the Yankees are better without Rodriguez at third base.
For its part, improved pitching has been a key part of the Orioles' recent turnaround.
Baltimore has a 3.64 ERA since Showalter took the reins, this after an ERA over five in 105 previous games. On Monday, one of the biggest contributors to the pitching turnaround gets the call.
Brian Matusz (7-12, 4.72 ERA) will start for Baltimore and try to maintain his recent success. Matusz has won four of his last five decisions, including each of his last three starts. In those recent three outings, Matusz has yielded just three runs in 21 innings and posted wins over the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
The fourth pick in the 2008 draft, Matusz has pitched well against New York in his career but just has not been given any run support. He is 1-3 in four career starts against the Yankees with an ERA of 2.10.
New York counters with A.J. Burnett (10-12, 5.15), who had lost four straight decisions and three consecutive starts before a win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
Burnett does have a history of success against Baltimore, posting an 11-3 record in 16 career starts with an ERA of 4.47.