posted May 15, 2006 at 09:40 EST in MLB Betting Trends
Schilling still haunts Orioles
by Mark Rothstein
Could be a hall-of-famer
Glenn Davis last stepped to the plate in a Major League Baseball contest on May 23, 1993. Who cares, you ask? Well, fans of the Baltimore Orioles would care to forget all about Davis’ forgettable tenure with the team, but that’s hard to do when you have a constant reminder of one of the worst deals in franchise history sitting in your division.
That reminder is Curt Schilling, who was a developing young fireballer back in 1991 when the O’s dealt him, along with outfielder Steve Finley and pitcher Pete Harnisch, to the Houston Astros for the slugging Davis. Schilling, Finley, and Harnisch went on to be productive Major League players; Davis hit 24 home runs over three years and retired.
Schilling returns to Baltimore this week when his Red Sox head down the coast for a three-game series that begins on Monday. And along with dredging up memories of trades gone wrong, Schilling has given Baltimore batters fits at the plate all season long.
In two starts against the Orioles this season Schilling has a perfect 2-0 record. On April 8 the righty limited the O’s to one run on three hits over seven innings in a victory, while on May 5 he gave up three runs on eight hits in seven innings in another win over Baltimore. Boston had been favored in those games, and Schilling delivered the goods.
On the season Schilling is 5-2 with a 3.76 ERA, and he’s struck out 50 batters and walked only nine in 52 2-3 innings pitched. However, the Red Sox ace hasn’t been at the top of his game in his last four outings - he’s given up 17 runs in 24 2-3 innings over that span, and has a 1-2 record since getting knocked around by the Tribe on April 25.
Those numbers might be a cause for some concern for Red Sox fans, but O’s fans wish their ‘ace’ was performing even to that level. Rodrigo Lopez has been awful all season, allowing at least four runs in each of his eight starts, and compiling a 1-5 record and a 7.03 ERA. Lopez gave up four runs on eight hits in a 5 2-3 inning outing against Boston on April 9, and also allowed four runs in 5 2-3 innings in another loss to the Sox May 5.
It’s not just Lopez that’s had trouble against Boston though; the Orioles are 0-6 against their division rival in 2006, getting swept in three-game sets in early April and early May. Lopez took the loss in two of those games, while the other four members of the Orioles’ staff (Kris Benson, Erik Bedard, Bruce Chen, Daniel Cabrera) were all defeated as well.
Chen and Bedard should get a chance to exact some revenge in the next few days; Chen is slated to start Tuesday, while Bedard is scheduled to be Wednesday’s starter. Lopez will get the ball on Monday in the series opener; his spot in the rotation wouldn’t be secure on most teams, but Baltimore’s staff has bigger problems (eg. Chen) right now.
The last time the O’s came out on top of the Red Sox? That was September 2, 2005, or 12 meetings ago. Add it all up, and Baltimore’s outlook for this series is pretty grim. Bettors looking for action on this set might be tempted to wager on totals instead; in their six meetings this year, the Sox and O’s have split the OVER/UNDER results at 3-3.
With Boston’s two games against the Texas Rangers on the weekend getting rained out, their rotation has been shuffled around. Originally scheduled to start on Monday, Schilling now looks like he will be pushed back to Tuesday, with Josh Beckett taking the mound in the opener. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is the probable Wednesday starter.
The Red Sox and New York Yankees are currently tied atop the American League East division with identical 21-14 records. Boston has picked up a win in seven of its past 10 games, and is 10-8 on the road this season. The Orioles are 4.5 games back of Boston in the division, and have lost six of their last 10. At home Baltimore is 13-10 on the year.
