American League Preview from The Sports Network
Wednesday, July 25th
(All times Eastern)
Tampa Bay Rays (50-47) at Baltimore Orioles (51-46), 7:05 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Tampa Bay - David Price (13-4, 2.64)
Baltimore - Miguel Gonzalez (2-1, 2.61)
(Sports Network) - Tampa Bay ace David Price will try to become baseball's
first 14-game winner on Wednesday as the Rays and Baltimore Orioles square off
in the second leg of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
The Rays took the opener of their nine-game road trip on Tuesday, when Jeremy
Hellickson pitched into the seventh inning to record his first win in more
than two months as Tampa held off the Orioles, 3-1.
Brooks Conrad belted a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning for the
Rays, who snapped a two-game skid. Jeff Keppinger added an RBI single in the
sixth.
Hellickson (5-6), who had lost his previous six decisions covering a span of
nine starts, allowed three hits, including a homer to Adam Jones in the fourth
inning. The right-hander didn't walk a batter and had four strikeouts to post
his first triumph since May 16 against Boston.
The Orioles, who had just three hits and have lost two in a row, continued
their woes at the plate, especially in clutch opportunities. They went 0-for-4
with men in scoring position and are batting .144 (14-for-97) in such
situations in their last 14 games.
Wei-Yin Chen (8-6) allowed four hits and three runs over 6 2/3 innings for
Baltimore and has lost four of his last five decisions.
"It's tough," said Orioles catcher Matt Wieters. "It's two in a row where our
starters have gone out there and given us a good effort and a chance to win
the game. That's all we can ask of them."
Baltimore is currently in second place in the AL East, seven games behind the
New York Yankees but just a game clear of the Rays, who can catch them tonight
behind Price, the All-Star who has a solid 2.58 ERA in 10 career starts versus
the O's.
Price has been especially dominant during his last six overall starts,
amassing a 5-0 mark with a 1.91 ERA, and is coming off an outing in which he
hurled seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits against Cleveland in a
6-0 Rays win.
The O's will counter with 28-year-old rookie Miguel Gonzalez, who has
performed well over his first three starts, going 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA.
Tampa Bay has won four of seven meeting with Baltimore this season, but the
Orioles took two of three games from the Rays at Camden Yards from May 11-13.
07/25 10:47:54 ET

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