Baltimore Orioles v. Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, Ma
In their last series before the All Star break, the Red Sox are playing host to the Baltimore Orioles (49-43, .533). Baltimore is currently in 3rd place in the American League East, 12 games behind Boston (62-32, .660). They trail the Yankees by 4.5 in the Wild Card race.
So far this season, the Red Sox haven't been too successful against their rivals from the south. In nine games, Baltimore has beaten the Red Sox five times, including two of three in their previous meeting at Fenway. In fact, the Orioles are one of just four teams (out of 18) that have a winning record versus Boston this year.
Baltimore, led by quiet star Nick Markakis (.329, 14 HRs, 47 RBIs, .525 SLG), rank third in the American League in batting (.272 avg.) and sixth in runs scored (432). In addition, their pitching staff has been better than expected. The Baltimore starters have a 4.54 ERA (8th) while their bullpen has compiled a 3.73 ERA (7th). One bright spot for the Orioles has been the development of Daniel Cabrera (9-5, 3.60 ERA) at the top of their pitching staff. After years of teasing the team with his talent, Cabrera appears to have finally put the pieces together, lowering his ERA by almost 2 runs from last season (5.55 in 2007) in addition to lowering his BB/9 (3.93 v. 4.76) and H/9 (7.61 v. 9.12).
Top pitching prospect Radhames Liz (9-6, 3.89), who has defeated Boston in all three starts (3-0, 2.82 ERA) this season, will miss the series after landing on the disabled list with a strained Achilles tendon.
Pitching Matchup:
7/11: Jon Lester (9-5, 4.16 ERA) v. Jeremy Guthrie (4-4, 5.32)
7/12: Clay Buchholz (8-3, 4.50) v. Daniel Cabrera (9-5, 3.60)
7/13: Josh Beckett (8-4, 3.83) v. Adam Loewen (1-2, 9.22)