Just a quick report today, as I'm approaching a perfect 10.0 on the busy scale. Enjoy the weekend!
* A resounding sweep at the hands of the A's took the wind out of the Orioles' sails, after a lengthy hot streak that included taking two of three from the Jays ... Texas and Anaheim fans are hoping that Baltimore won't continue to unduly influence the AL West race. After taking six of seven from the Rangers and Angels and dropping all three to the A's, Baltimore again enters the Western fray next week with four in Oakland and three in Arlington ...
* Baltimore continues to hit the ball hard, as their .282 average is the second-best in baseball behind the surging Tribe ... Pitching, and specifically the issue of control among the staff, has kept these Birds out of contention. With an AL-leading 517 walks issued, the O's hurlers have overtaxed the (relatively talented) bullpen ... Strange but true: Despite a relatively high stolen base total of 85, Baltimore has hit only 12 triples, just one ahead of the plodding-and-conservative A's ... Apparently, the O's have speedsters, but those speedsters don't have gap power ...
* Tonight's starter, Dave Borkowski, wasn't too sharp on Saturday at the Dome, but he's been a respectable fifth starter since his July recall ... The O's are surely happy with only 10 walks in 45 IP ... Although his August control has been as tight as it was in July, his ERA for the month (5.17) is more than two full runs than his July mark. The difference has been in the ever-mercurial hits allowed (.324 opposition average in August) ... The Jays have roughed him up in both starts against Toronto -- one as a 2000 Tiger, the other as an '04 Oriole ... Borkowski was candid about his moundwork on Saturday: "I never really had it. I just wasn't that good today...[W]hen I got to the mound, I began to rush" ...
* Lightning-quick Brian Roberts is sizzling at the dish, hitting safely in 11 of his last 12 games (.438), with an impressive 11 runs scored over that stretch ... He's been caught in his last two steal attempts, and in fact has gone 15 games without swiping a bag ... The switch-hitter struggles badly from the right side (.212/.296/.298), but the Jays sadly have no lefthander this series to exploit that ...
* Lefty reliever John Parrish has been battling wildness of late. Over his last eight outings (comprising 10 1/3 IP), Parrish has issued 13 free passes ... By keeping the ball down, he's been a serviceable option out of the pen despite his walk problem. Parrish has only served up three gopher balls all season ... Here's where wildness will get you: In August, Parrish has held the opposition to a .185 average -- yet his ERA on the month is a swollen 6.43 ...
* Jerry Hairston Jr. is out for the season with a fractured ankle ... Meanwhile, left fielder Larry Bigbie strained his groin during warmups on Monday and was also placed on the 15-day DL. Val Majewski was called up to take his place ...
Probable Batting Orders
* Note: The Jays are not scheduled to start a lefthander this series.
vs. RH
4 Roberts
DH/7/9 Newhan
5 Mora
6 Tejada
3/DH Palmeiro
2 J Lopez/Machado
9/DH Gibbons
7/3 Surhoff
8 Garcia/McDonald/Majewski
Pitching Probables
Friday: RH Borkowski vs. Towers
Saturday: RH Cabrera vs. Bush
Sunday: LH Bedard vs. Miller
Bullpen Usage
Long: Parrish L, Rodriguez R
Short: Groom L, Williams R, Grimsley R
Setup: Ryan L
Closer: Julio R
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040820053033999