News
O's hope to end sweep streak in NYC
Baltimore (58-83) at New York (91-52), 1:05 p.m. ET
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
09/12/09 6:14 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The Orioles will be looking for their first sweep in New York in a generation on Sunday, an accomplishment long in the making and perhaps long in the odds. The O's haven't swept a three-game series on the road against the Yankees since 1986, and starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie was just 7 years old when that happened.And if that's not amazing enough, consider the case of the two winning pitchers in the first two acts of the series. Neither Chris Tillman nor Brian Matusz were even alive the last time the Orioles managed a road sweep of the Yankees, a fact that speaks to New York's 23-year dominance over Baltimore.
The Yankees have taken the season series 24 times in the past 27 years against the Orioles, and Baltimore last came out on top in 1997. This season will go the same way in the results column, but it has wider implications for the Orioles, who are auditioning several young players and trying to teach them how to win in the Majors.
"I think you're on center stage when you come here to New York for a lot of reasons," said manager Dave Trembley, speaking of the benefits of playing under pressure. "I think it's great for our guys that they can step up and show everybody in baseball what the future holds -- not only for themselves, but for our whole organization."
And if the Orioles are going to reset the sweep streak, they'll need Guthrie to continue his current hot streak. The right-hander has thrown really well in recent weeks, but has some mixed history against the Yankees. Guthrie is 3-5 with a 4.65 ERA against the Bombers, and he's 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA on the road against New York.
Neither Tillman nor Matusz had started against the Yankees before, giving Baltimore confidence that this is a new situation with new personnel. Trembley and Andy MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations, have said that this season is all about development, and the series so far has given them cause for optimism.
"The opportunity that they've had, they've taken full advantage of," said Trembley. "You can't think of a better tandem -- two young guys to come in here in Yankee Stadium on center stage -- than Tillman [on Friday] and on the short turnaround, Matusz, the way he pitched [Saturday] against that lineup, pitching big when he had to. Boy, this has to make you feel good heading into the last few weeks of the season for what the future holds."
Pitching matchupBAL: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-13, 4.96 ERA)
As the lone veteran in the Orioles' rotation, Guthrie has scuffled for much of this season. But in his past four outings, the right-hander has pitched like the rotation leader and Opening Day starter the O's expected him to be. Guthrie has gone six or more innings in each of his past four outings, going 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA over that span. His seven-inning effort in Sunday's 7-0 Baltimore win over Texas was one of his best of the year, and it sparked just the third shutout of the year by the Orioles' staff. Guthrie reached 10 wins for a second successive season in his last outing. NYY: LHP CC Sabathia (16-7, 3.40 ERA)
Sabathia turned in another shutdown performance in his last start, striking out 10 Rays and allowing three hits in a no-decision on Monday. The lefty has now struck out 10 batters in three starts this season, and all have come since his Aug. 13 outing in Seattle. Despite walking four Monday, Sabathia still has a 63-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his past seven starts. He has a 1.67 ERA in that stretch. In four games against the Orioles this season, Sabathia is 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA. He struck out nine and walked one in the Yankees' 10-2 win in Baltimore on Sept. 2. Bird bites
The Orioles have now won back-to-back games against the Yankees after dropping 10 consecutive games, the longest drought in the series history between the two teams. ... Nolan Reimold bracketed a homerless week for Baltimore. The outfielder homered last Saturday, and after the Orioles went 42 2/3 innings without a dinger, he went deep again in Saturday's win over the Yankees. Brian Roberts hit a grand slam later in the same second inning. ... Before taking back-to-back games against the Yankees, the Orioles hadn't won a road series against an American League East team all season. ... Roberts tied a career high and a franchise record with his 51st double on Saturday. If Roberts manages to net six more two-baggers, he'd tie the all-time record for second basemen set by Billy Herman in 1935. Tickets
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• Monday: Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-7, 5.05) vs. Rays (David Price, 7-7, 4.65), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Orioles (Jason Berken, 4-11, 6.02) vs. Rays (Jeff Niemann, 12-5, 3.57), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Orioles (Chris Tillman, 2-3, 4.91) vs. Rays (James Shields, 9-10, 4.02), 7:05 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.
