Just how important was the Jays' come-from-behind victory last night? Time will tell. While it could just be a blip of Chris Gomez magic, it might also be the game when the Jays, facing a stud starter with nary a break to be found, reversed their slide and began their ascension into relevance in the American League East.
In recent years, the Jays have owned the Orioles, but the new-look Birds trounced Toronto in three straight at SkyDome last weekend. Will it be "road sweet road" for the Jays?
The Orioles' offensive acquisitions have been hitting up a storm. More impressive, though -- and possibly more important to the club's early success -- has been the outstanding work up and down the Orioles bullpen. Other than a Jorge Julio gag job in Tampa a week and a half ago, Baltimore's bullpen has been as lights-out as any in baseball. Here's hoping the Jays channel some of last night's late-inning magic -- but a few early leads wouldn't hurt, either.
On to the Advance Scout!
* Last weekend's embarrassing series at SkyDome was the Birds' first sweep of the Jays since 1994 -- and Baltimore had some good clubs in that span ... The Jays had swept the Orioles in six of their previous sixteen series ... Until this week, the 9-5 Orioles hadn't been four games above .500 since May 2000 ... New manager Lee Mazzilli has been impressed with his crew: "This team always finds a way to get it done" ...
* Tonight's starter, Eric DuBose, hopes to stymie the Jays again ... Not that anyone wants to relive the debacle of last Sunday's game, but DuBose went seven shutout innings, allowing just one walk and three hits while striking out five ...
* Leadoff man Brian Roberts has hit in nine of his last ten games (.348), but had his eight-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday ...
* Javy Lopez, continuing to improbably look like a bargain, had his career-high 13-game hitting streak snapped last night ... He also hit in his last three regular-season games of 2003 ... He's still hitting a robust .429/.508/.679 ... He's already racked up seven multi-hit games ...
* B.J. Ryan is coming into his own as a fine reliever this season ... His total stats on the year: 9 1/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 13 K ... Ryan credited Mark Wiley with helping him develop smoother mechanics -- and he also credited Mazzilli with using him against lefties and righties during spring training, enabling him to be comfortable during longer outings ... Mazzilli: "The key is try to put your guys in situations to succeed" ...
* His more veteran fellow lefty in the pen, Buddy Groom, also boasts an unblemished ERA ... Groom's season line: 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K ...
* Lefty long man John Parrish was off to a rocky start, but he tossed two perfect innings last night to earn his first win since September 2001 ...
* Tomorrow's starter, Ontario's own Erik Bedard, will start -- legally -- for the first time since his illegal start at Tropicana Field ...
* Rafael Palmeiro is hitting .300/.406/.460, but his 10/3 BB/K ratio is particularly impressive ... Interestingly, Raffy reached 17th place all-time in both the RBI and the total bases career ledgers on Tuesday ... Palmeiro is the all-time leader in Camden Yards homers with 102. Surprisingly, though, his 102nd last night was his first since May 1999, when he homered as a Ranger ... Palmeiro recently explained that he's struggling to undo his dead-pull swing that was well-suited to the Ballpark in Arlington. Raffy conceded that the pronounced shift most managers employ against him costs him about 20 net hits a year ...
* Melvin Mora continues to enjoy his hot start, as he's at .310/.385/.483 on the season ... Watch for the bunt single; Mora laid down a beauty last night ... Unfortunately, Mora is continuing to boot the ball all over third base as he struggles to adjust to his new position ...
* Jorge Julio has allowed only one run this season, and has chipped in with three straight scoreless outings ... Palmeiro: "If we can get to our bullpen with the lead, we're going to have a lot of wins" ...
* Jay Gibbons has made 13 starts this season. In one, he recorded two hits. In two, he went hitless. In the other ten, he's tallied exactly one hit ... Gibbons sat out Tuesday with a stiff lower back, but returned the next day ...
* Miguel Tejada has hit in six of his last seven (.400) ... He continues to hold the active ironman lead, having played in 608 straight games ...
* Crusty old David Segui has hit in six of his last seven (.355) ... He's putting up a .308/.386/.462 line thus far ... B.J. Surhoff gave Segui a day off to rest his sore knee on Tuesday ...
* Sunday's starter, Sir Sidney Ponson, was utterly brilliant in his last start on Tuesday ... In the O's' 9-1 win over Tampa Bay, Ponson went the distance, allowing just four hits and one walk ... Although he struck out just two, 71 of his 88 (!) pitches were for strikes ... Ponson: "My sinker was sinking and they hit the ball in the ground" ... Only six Tampa batters faced a 1-0 count in the game ... Ponson admitted that the Rays' propensity for first-pitch hacking helped him out: "I don't like strikeouts...When you throw strikeouts, you have to throw a lot of pitches. Why throw three, when you can throw one to get an out?" ...
* With the team winning, Larry Bigbie's sluggish start (.208 with a .271 OBP) hasn't cost him any playing time ... Bigbie did, however, hit the decisive home run off of Justin Speier in last Saturday's 5-3 win ... Bigbie's not concerned: "I'm putting good swings on the ball, but the hits aren't coming. If I was really struggling and hitting little tappers, I'd be worried" ...
* Last night's Tampa-Baltimore game featured a starting pitching match-up between two players who went the same way in the same trade last season -- Kurt Ainsworth and Damian Moss ...
* Luis Matos is also slumping, as he's 1 for his last 11 (.091) ... Mazzilli continues to pencil him into centre, despite his ugly .176/.296/.196 line ... Matos has just eight singles and one double -- which was all the way back on April 6 -- to show for his season ...
* Chris Smith, the Orioles' first-round pick (seventh overall) in 2001 and yet another lefthanded pitching prospect, hit 90 mph this week, delighting the O's brass ... Smith missed the entire 2003 season with rotator cuff surgery ...
* Tomorrow will mark the 50th anniversary of the debut of the Orioles' first African-American player, reliever Jehosie Heard ... Heard was a teammate with the 16-year-old Willie Mays with the Birmingham Black Barons. Heard's pre-majors journey included a stint on Vancouver Island, with Victoria of the Class A Western International League ... When Heard made his Oriole debut in 1954, Baltimore was the only AL city with segregated hotels ...
Probable Batting Orders
*Note: The Jays are not scheduled to start a lefthanded starter this series.
vs. RH
4 Roberts
5 Mora
6 Tejada
3 Palmeiro
2 J Lopez
9 Gibbons
DH Segui
8 Matos
7 Bigbie
Pitching Probables
Friday: LH DuBose vs. Towers
Saturday: LH Bedard vs. Hentgen
Sunday: RH Ponson vs. Halladay
Bullpen Usage
Long: Bauer R, R Lopez R
Short: Groom L, Parrish L
Setup: Ryan L, DeJean R
Closer: Julio R
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