NewsOrioles hope home cooking is sweet
Baltimore (42-55) vs. Kansas City (38-59), 7:05 p.m. ET
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
07/26/09 6:43 PM ET
BOSTON -- The Orioles will rarely enjoy a trip home to Camden Yards as much as this one. Baltimore endured a truly difficult start to the second half, a road trip somewhat salvaged by a series-ending win on Sunday in Boston. The Orioles will get their chance to turn things around at home, though, starting on Monday against the Kansas City Royals."Obviously, we haven't played as well as we would have liked," said manager Dave Trembley on Sunday. "We've lost some close games. This isn't the way we wanted to start after the All-Star break, but that's what's happened. So we'll do our best to get this one under our belt and go home and hopefully get on a winning streak."
Baltimore finished its trip with a 2-7 record and needed Sunday's win to avoid back-to-back series sweeps. Now, the Orioles will face off in a crucial four-game series against the Royals before things get difficult again. Baltimore will face Boston at home before going on the road to face Detroit and Toronto.
The Royals will arrive having lost 11 of their past 12 games, and their 15-27 road record is second only to Baltimore (16-34) for the worst in the American League. The Orioles have seen progress from their rookie contingent, though -- a group headed by Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Brad Bergesen and David Hernandez.
That group's maturation, coupled with continued development by outfielders Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, has led Trembley to believe the team is nearing a crossroads. The Orioles have made no secret that they're trying to work through a rebuilding movement, a process Trembley has seen come closer to fruition.
"Our young guys have gotten better," Trembley said. "I told [some of them] today and used Jones as an example. The amount of improvement Jones made from last year to this year is tremendous. We expect the same thing out of Wieters, Reimold, Bergesen and Hernandez, and if we get the kind of improvement we got from Jones -- and that we got out of Markakis after his first year -- we're going to have a very good team. That's where you've got to stay the course. You've got to be patient. You have to understand the big picture and give your guys a whole lot of credit."
Pitching matchupBAL: LHP Rich Hill (3-3, 7.64 ERA)
Hill has struggled to hang onto his job, and after his last start, he admitted that his time with the Orioles could be drawing short. The southpaw will get at least one more start, and he'll get it against the lowest-scoring team in the league. Hill, whose troubles revolve around not throwing his fastball efficiently, will be closely monitored on Monday. KC: LHP Bruce Chen (0-5, 6.58 ERA)
Chen began the season with Triple-A Omaha before being called up on June 27. He allowed just two earned runs in his second start against Chicago on July 2, but it's been a tough road ever since. He allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings on July 7 against the Tigers, and he lasted just three innings against the Red Sox on July 12. Bird bites
Reimold went 7-for-10 against the Red Sox this weekend, with three doubles, two walks, three runs scored and two stolen bases. The rookie's two-hit game on Sunday was his fifth multihit game in his past eight starts, and he's batting .429 (12-for-28) over that span. ... Markakis hit safely in six straight games and in eight of the nine games during Baltimore's road trip, posting a .368 (14-for-38) average, with seven extra-base hits and nine RBIs. ... Baltimore's 11-game losing streak at Fenway Park -- a trend snapped on Sunday -- was its longest\ in Boston. ... The Orioles scored six runs on Sunday after being held to two or fewer runs in each of their previous five games in Boston. ... Baltimore is 26-21 at Camden Yards this season and 16-17 in series openers. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Orioles (Jason Berken, 1-8, 6.55) vs. Royals (Brian Bannister, 6-7, 3.76), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Orioles (Chris Tillman, Major League debut) vs. Royals (Zack Greinke, 10-6, 2.04), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Orioles (Brad Bergesen, 6-5, 3.56) vs. Royals (Luke Hochevar, 6-3, 4.84), 12:35 p.m. ET
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
