Orioles Magic

Friday, July 10 - Sunday, July 12

Toronto Blue Jays (43-44) at Baltimore Orioles (38-47)

Pitching Matchups

Friday: TOR - Brett Cecil (2-1, 6.23)
BAL - Jason Berken (1-5, 6.25)

Saturday: TOR - Ricky Romero (7-3, 2.96)
BAL - Brad Bergesen (5-3, 3.59)

Sunday: TOR - Marc Rzepcyznski (0-0, 1.50)
BAL - Jeremy Guthrie (6-8, 5.35)

The last time I previewed a series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles the landscape of the AL East was quite different. The Blue Jays had gotten off to a hot start and were in control of first place in the AL East. However, since that time order has been restored and the Blue Jays now sit a game under .500, in 4th place.

It is kind of hard to understand why the Blue Jays are struggling. They have a +32 run differential, hit .273 as a team, and their pitching isn't that bad (4.33 team ERA). A lot of it probably has to do with them playing in the greatest division in baseball, the AL East. The Jays just got swept by the Tampa Bay Rays, and the last time they played in Baltimore they were swept.

3B Scott Rolen leads the Jays with a .330 batting average and brings a 25 game hit streak into the series. 2B Aaron Hill is having a fantastic season as well, hitting .298, leading the team with 20 HRs and 59 RBIs. Another dangerous bat in the Jays lineup is DH Adam Lind, .309 average, 19 HRs, and 59 RBIs.

The Orioles avoid the Jays ace Roy Halladay but do get to face underrated Ricky Romero on Saturday. Romero is not far behind Halladay with a 7-3 record and a 2.96 ERA. The Orioles Jason Berken takes the mound tonight and tries to just once have a quality start. Jeremy Guthrie starts Sunday, and his struggles continues this past week against Seattle when he couldn't make it out of the 4th inning due to control issues.

This is a great opportunity for the O's to head in to the All-Star break with some momentum. The Jays are reeling and aren't throwing out the best starters in this series. I like the Orioles to take 2 out of 3.