The Jays have won five of their last six...and have lost ground to the front-running Orioles, who have rattled off eight consecutive wins -- all against division rivals.
* General: The O's are now an outstanding 15-4 against AL East opponents, including 3-0 against the Jays ... They have several ways to beat you -- they've homered in 17 of their last 19 games, and stolen at least one base in 15 of their last 21 ... In fact, they're tops in the AL in home runs and stolen bases -- not to mention, runs, batting average and slugging percentage ... Their surprising pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts, but has issued 93 walks (compared to the Jays' 63 and the Twins' absurd 34) ... The Orioles are in the midst of a stretch that will see them play 21 of 28 games at home ... At 17-7, they're ten games over .500 for the first time since 1998 ...They've only committed six errors as a team over their last 17 games, and have allowed just 11 homers in their last 18 games ... The Jays are 53-42 all-time at Camden Yards ... A test for the Fighting Jays: Baltimore is 13-0 when leading after seven innings ... Walter Young, a 6'5", 295-lb 25-year-old first baseman, is hitting nearly .400 with the Ottawa Lynx ...
* Javy Lopez: Pull hitter with great power ... Can take pitches deep to centre, too ... Pitch him up and in, where he's less comfortable ... Can be induced to chase down and away ... Has thrown out 4 of the 12 runners to attempt steals against him ...
* Brian Roberts: Named AL Player of the Month for April ... Still locked in at the plate ... Keeping his head down on pitches really well ... Prefers the ball on the inner half of the plate ... Extremely patient; first-pitch strikes are essential ... Takes aggressive leads and often doesn't conceal his desire to steal ... 12-for-13 on the basepaths ... Roberts on his green light from Mazzilli: "Maz has given everybody the freedom to pretty much play to their strengths...You can't always wait for the home run" ... As if that weren't enough, he's a good defender with a good double-play pivot ... The first player since Orlando "Cha-Cha" Cepeda in 1974 to put up 30 hits, 20 RBI and 10 steals before May 1 ...
* Todd Williams: Just one earned run allowed on the season ... His slider has really been sliding thus far this season ... Tremendous movement on virtually every pitch ... One chink in his armour: he does not field his position well ...
* Luis Matos: An alert defender with a good throwing arm ... Fast, smart baserunner ... Like the ball down and in, and can turn on pitches on the inside corner ... Will inside-out pitches up and in ...
* Geronimo Gil: "Chief" has earned praise from the Orioles' brass for his ability to call a game ... For what it's worth, the club's ERA is a full run lower when he's catching ... Chases pitches down and away, and basically swings at everything with two strikes ... Not patient at all ...
* Miguel Tejada: On an absolute tear at the plate, homering in his last four games ... Drives fastballs to all fields ... Sometimes has a little too much faith in his throwing arm, opting to try risky throws rather than eating the ball on tough plays ... Poor instincts on the basepaths ... His 780 consecutive games played is easily the longest active streak ...
* Sammy Sosa: A lifetime .296 hitter in May ... Pitchers need to change speeds off him and make him swing off his front foot ... Has some difficulty catching up to good fastballs on the outside corner ...
* Steve Kline: Apparently misses St. Louis a lot less in light of his club's torrid April ... His last five appearances have resulted in five scoreless innings ...
* Melvin Mora: Went deep twice yesterday ... Waits on breaking pitches well ... Nice reactions at third ... Good ability to spoil two-strike pitches despite his vulnerability to the K ...
* Jorge Julio: Has retired the first batter in 11 of his 12 appearances ... Despite the rash of injuries among the closer community, co-GM Jim Beattie claims he hasn't received any calls about Julio's availability ... Seemingly "heavier" fastball this season. Hitters aren't driving his heater ...
* Rodrigo Lopez: Great changeup ... Tries to be too fine at times and will walk hitters ... Sparky will probably not get the start tonight, but he's 6-for-14 against Lopez all-time ... He's 1-4, 7.62 against the Jays over his career ...
* Daniel Cabrera: Was skipped in the rotation when Wednesday's game was rained out. He said he wasn't miffed about it; he used the day instead to refine his mechanics with Ray Miller ... Plenty of mistake pitches. An approach like the one the Jays employed yesterday should be awfully successful against him ... Inconsistent movement on his two-seam fastball ...
* Erik Bedard: Good fastball, especially when he's throwing it for strikes ... A steady diet of strike ones on first pitches this season ... Nice sharp curve against the Jays last Saturday ... Can he find the consistency that his career has lacked so far? ...
* Rafael Palmeiro: Has struggled badly with lefthanded breaking pitches and no longer starts against southpaws ... Great approach at the plate but has lost some of his renowned bat speed ... Still has soft hands at first base ...
* Chris Gomez: Yep, that's our old friend starting at first base against lefties. He works on his first-base defence every day ...
Baltimore bats have been fearsome thus far and present a tall order from a Jays rotation that is starting to round into form. The back end of the O's bullpen isn't forgiving, either, so Toronto has to get to the Orioles' more suspect starters.
After this series, the Jays will be either 1, 3, 5, or 7 games out of first place. Can the Fighting Jays continue to jockey in the seemingly (and stunningly) wide-open AL East?
On to the Advance Scout!
* General: The O's are now an outstanding 15-4 against AL East opponents, including 3-0 against the Jays ... They have several ways to beat you -- they've homered in 17 of their last 19 games, and stolen at least one base in 15 of their last 21 ... In fact, they're tops in the AL in home runs and stolen bases -- not to mention, runs, batting average and slugging percentage ... Their surprising pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts, but has issued 93 walks (compared to the Jays' 63 and the Twins' absurd 34) ... The Orioles are in the midst of a stretch that will see them play 21 of 28 games at home ... At 17-7, they're ten games over .500 for the first time since 1998 ...They've only committed six errors as a team over their last 17 games, and have allowed just 11 homers in their last 18 games ... The Jays are 53-42 all-time at Camden Yards ... A test for the Fighting Jays: Baltimore is 13-0 when leading after seven innings ... Walter Young, a 6'5", 295-lb 25-year-old first baseman, is hitting nearly .400 with the Ottawa Lynx ...
* Javy Lopez: Pull hitter with great power ... Can take pitches deep to centre, too ... Pitch him up and in, where he's less comfortable ... Can be induced to chase down and away ... Has thrown out 4 of the 12 runners to attempt steals against him ...
* Brian Roberts: Named AL Player of the Month for April ... Still locked in at the plate ... Keeping his head down on pitches really well ... Prefers the ball on the inner half of the plate ... Extremely patient; first-pitch strikes are essential ... Takes aggressive leads and often doesn't conceal his desire to steal ... 12-for-13 on the basepaths ... Roberts on his green light from Mazzilli: "Maz has given everybody the freedom to pretty much play to their strengths...You can't always wait for the home run" ... As if that weren't enough, he's a good defender with a good double-play pivot ... The first player since Orlando "Cha-Cha" Cepeda in 1974 to put up 30 hits, 20 RBI and 10 steals before May 1 ...
* Todd Williams: Just one earned run allowed on the season ... His slider has really been sliding thus far this season ... Tremendous movement on virtually every pitch ... One chink in his armour: he does not field his position well ...
* Luis Matos: An alert defender with a good throwing arm ... Fast, smart baserunner ... Like the ball down and in, and can turn on pitches on the inside corner ... Will inside-out pitches up and in ...
* Geronimo Gil: "Chief" has earned praise from the Orioles' brass for his ability to call a game ... For what it's worth, the club's ERA is a full run lower when he's catching ... Chases pitches down and away, and basically swings at everything with two strikes ... Not patient at all ...
* Miguel Tejada: On an absolute tear at the plate, homering in his last four games ... Drives fastballs to all fields ... Sometimes has a little too much faith in his throwing arm, opting to try risky throws rather than eating the ball on tough plays ... Poor instincts on the basepaths ... His 780 consecutive games played is easily the longest active streak ...
* Sammy Sosa: A lifetime .296 hitter in May ... Pitchers need to change speeds off him and make him swing off his front foot ... Has some difficulty catching up to good fastballs on the outside corner ...
* Steve Kline: Apparently misses St. Louis a lot less in light of his club's torrid April ... His last five appearances have resulted in five scoreless innings ...
* Melvin Mora: Went deep twice yesterday ... Waits on breaking pitches well ... Nice reactions at third ... Good ability to spoil two-strike pitches despite his vulnerability to the K ...
* Jorge Julio: Has retired the first batter in 11 of his 12 appearances ... Despite the rash of injuries among the closer community, co-GM Jim Beattie claims he hasn't received any calls about Julio's availability ... Seemingly "heavier" fastball this season. Hitters aren't driving his heater ...
* Rodrigo Lopez: Great changeup ... Tries to be too fine at times and will walk hitters ... Sparky will probably not get the start tonight, but he's 6-for-14 against Lopez all-time ... He's 1-4, 7.62 against the Jays over his career ...
* Daniel Cabrera: Was skipped in the rotation when Wednesday's game was rained out. He said he wasn't miffed about it; he used the day instead to refine his mechanics with Ray Miller ... Plenty of mistake pitches. An approach like the one the Jays employed yesterday should be awfully successful against him ... Inconsistent movement on his two-seam fastball ...
* Erik Bedard: Good fastball, especially when he's throwing it for strikes ... A steady diet of strike ones on first pitches this season ... Nice sharp curve against the Jays last Saturday ... Can he find the consistency that his career has lacked so far? ...
* Rafael Palmeiro: Has struggled badly with lefthanded breaking pitches and no longer starts against southpaws ... Great approach at the plate but has lost some of his renowned bat speed ... Still has soft hands at first base ...
* Chris Gomez: Yep, that's our old friend starting at first base against lefties. He works on his first-base defence every day ...
