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After an off day the Guardians hit the road having won four of their last five. The pitching has been outstanding with opponents scoring just 15 runs in the last 7 games. Part of that was due to facing weak hitting teams, however.
The Orioles are in last place in the East as usual, however, it would be a mistake to think they are a bad team. After a rough April they have righted the ship and went 15-16 in May despite playing 20 of 31 games against the Twins, Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox.
The Orioles are 13-13 at home against 9-18 on the road. Offensively there’s not a big difference, but their pitchers are way more comfortable at home, with an ERA of 3.32 against 4.91 on the road. The first two pitchers the G’s will face have dramatically better ERA’s at Camden Yards.
That being said, the Guardians will lead off with their two best starters so far in Bieber and McKenzie, and finish with Zach Plesac, coming off a very good start against the Royals. The O’s have not announced their starter for Sunday so the G’s should have the advantage in starting pitching all three games. The O’s 4th and 5th starters have ERA’s of 6.00 and 6.82.
The Orioles are weak offensively, ranking 25th in runs per game and between 21-25 in all the other main offensive categories. Cedric Mullens, who hit .462 off Indians pitching last year, is at .245/.688. His OPS is down 190 points from his All-Star season last year.
Trey Mancini is having a strong year at .305/.797 while young outfielder Austin Hays is off to a great start at .302/.826.
Shane Bieber did not face the O’s last year. Mancini is 0-for-6 against him with 4 K’s.
Bruce Zimmerman, a 27-year-old lefty, gets the start against Bieber tonight. Zimmerman has a career record of 6-8, 4.98. He was excellent in his first seven starts this season with an ERA of 2.72, but has imploded in his last three starts, allowing 15 earned runs in 15.1 innings. He’s had a tough row to hoe, however. Four of his ten starts so far have come against the Yankees. Zimmerman has given up 21 hits but only 2 walks in his last three starts, so he makes you hit your way on.
Zimmerman has been awful from the windup; with nobody on batters are hitting .336 against him. But he turns into a tiger with runners on base - they’re hitting just .191. With RISP and two out it’s .167. He excels at pitching himself into trouble and then getting out of it. He’s allowed 14 home runs in 10 starts, but 11 have come with the bases empty.
It looks like when there is nobody on base he’s very aggressive and challenges hitters, but with men on he really goes to work and pitches to the edges of the zone.
The third time though the order opponents are hitting .469 against him (15-for-32). By the third time they see his stuff he’s in a lot of trouble. But with only 32 at-bats in 10 starts it’s obvious the O’s rarely let him go through the order more than twice. He averages just over 5 innings per start.
Tomorrow it’s McKenzie against Tyler Wells, who has a 2.29 ERA at home. I always thought Camden Yards was a good hitters park but the Oriole staff as a whole has been night and day between pitching at home and on the road.
This could be a low scoring series. The Guardians have been pitching very well lately and the O’s rank 25th in scoring. The Orioles’ team ERA at home of 3.32 would rank 5th in baseball if they could match it on the road.
The Orioles are in last place in the East as usual, however, it would be a mistake to think they are a bad team. After a rough April they have righted the ship and went 15-16 in May despite playing 20 of 31 games against the Twins, Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox.
The Orioles are 13-13 at home against 9-18 on the road. Offensively there’s not a big difference, but their pitchers are way more comfortable at home, with an ERA of 3.32 against 4.91 on the road. The first two pitchers the G’s will face have dramatically better ERA’s at Camden Yards.
That being said, the Guardians will lead off with their two best starters so far in Bieber and McKenzie, and finish with Zach Plesac, coming off a very good start against the Royals. The O’s have not announced their starter for Sunday so the G’s should have the advantage in starting pitching all three games. The O’s 4th and 5th starters have ERA’s of 6.00 and 6.82.
The Orioles are weak offensively, ranking 25th in runs per game and between 21-25 in all the other main offensive categories. Cedric Mullens, who hit .462 off Indians pitching last year, is at .245/.688. His OPS is down 190 points from his All-Star season last year.
Trey Mancini is having a strong year at .305/.797 while young outfielder Austin Hays is off to a great start at .302/.826.
Shane Bieber did not face the O’s last year. Mancini is 0-for-6 against him with 4 K’s.
Bruce Zimmerman, a 27-year-old lefty, gets the start against Bieber tonight. Zimmerman has a career record of 6-8, 4.98. He was excellent in his first seven starts this season with an ERA of 2.72, but has imploded in his last three starts, allowing 15 earned runs in 15.1 innings. He’s had a tough row to hoe, however. Four of his ten starts so far have come against the Yankees. Zimmerman has given up 21 hits but only 2 walks in his last three starts, so he makes you hit your way on.
Zimmerman has been awful from the windup; with nobody on batters are hitting .336 against him. But he turns into a tiger with runners on base - they’re hitting just .191. With RISP and two out it’s .167. He excels at pitching himself into trouble and then getting out of it. He’s allowed 14 home runs in 10 starts, but 11 have come with the bases empty.
It looks like when there is nobody on base he’s very aggressive and challenges hitters, but with men on he really goes to work and pitches to the edges of the zone.
The third time though the order opponents are hitting .469 against him (15-for-32). By the third time they see his stuff he’s in a lot of trouble. But with only 32 at-bats in 10 starts it’s obvious the O’s rarely let him go through the order more than twice. He averages just over 5 innings per start.
Tomorrow it’s McKenzie against Tyler Wells, who has a 2.29 ERA at home. I always thought Camden Yards was a good hitters park but the Oriole staff as a whole has been night and day between pitching at home and on the road.
This could be a low scoring series. The Guardians have been pitching very well lately and the O’s rank 25th in scoring. The Orioles’ team ERA at home of 3.32 would rank 5th in baseball if they could match it on the road.
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