Projected Matchups
Game 1: Vicente Padilla vs. Daniel Cabrera
Game 2: Kevin Millwood vs. Kris Benson
Game 3: John Rheinecker vs. Erik Bedard
Game 4: John Koronka vs. Rodrigo Lopez
Game 1 Matchup Notes
Padilla: Has been excellent over his last 6 starts going 3-1 with a stellar 3.07 ERA. He has struggled on the road this season however, going 2-3 with a 5.49 ERA. Padilla is 1-2 with a 6.17 ERA in 3 career appearances against the Orioles.
Cabrera: Danial has struggled this year posting a 5.15 ERA so far, and while he has potentially dominating stuff (88 K's in 80 innings) he suffers from severe control problems (70 walks in 80 innings). He has walked 5 or more batters in 9 of his 16 starts this year but dominated Texas the last time he faced them allowing just 1 run in 7 innings.
Game 2 Matchup Notes
Millwood: Has been hit hard in his last starts with an ERA near 11. He is an excellent 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA on the road this season though. In his only other start against Baltimore this year (in Texas), Kevin pitched a 4 hit complete game for the win.
Benson: Kris has had a mediocre first season with the Orioles so far posting a 4.79 ERA, although he does have 9 wins. He has been hit hard his last 3 starts going 1-2 and allowing 17 runs on 25 hits over 13 innings. This is his first start of the year against Texas.
Game 3 Matchup Notes
Rheinecker: John has been one of the Rangers more solid starters this year posting an ERA of 3.96 thus far. He has been hit hard in 3 starts on the road though posting an ERA of 5.09. He is currently 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 2 July starts. This will be his first career apperarance against the Orioles.
Bedard: Erik has been the ace of the Orioles staff having won 10 games with a respectable 4.28 ERA. He has been tough at home going 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA and has won his last 5 starts allowing just 5 runs on 17 hits over 35 innings.
Game 4 Matchup Notes
Koronka: Over his last 5 starts Koronka has bone 3-1 with an excellent 3.38 ERA and has pitched well on the road also going 3-1 with a 4.23 ERA. In his only other start against the Orioles this year, John allowed just 1 run on 6 hits over 8.1 innings.
Lopez: Rodrigo is basically fighting for survival right now. He has given up 17 runs on 26 hits over 15.1 innings in his last 3 starts, currently holds a 6.77 season ERA, and the lowest his ERA has been all year was 5.66 back on April 14th. He has actually pitched better at home than on the road winning 4 games with an ERA of 6.52. This is Lopez's first start of the year against the Rangers.