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BALTIMORE ( TILLMAN )
KANSAS CITY ( VENTURA ) |
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| 967 | BALTIMORE | +1.5,-170 | +1.5,-190 | | 968 | KANSAS CITY | -1.5,+150 | -1.5,+165 |
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| All Games | 63-63 | -5.2 | 54-65 | 4.4 | 0.255 | 0.304 | 0.425 | 0.730 | 4.0 | 0.252 | 0.311 | 0.409 | 0.720 | | Road Games | 24-37 | -11.9 | 26-31 | 3.9 | 0.243 | 0.290 | 0.396 | 0.686 | 4.1 | 0.256 | 0.328 | 0.416 | 0.744 | | vs Right-handed Starters | 45-49 | -6.6 | 43-47 | 4.5 | 0.255 | 0.307 | 0.431 | 0.739 | 3.9 | 0.245 | 0.307 | 0.399 | 0.707 | | Past 7 Games | 1-6 | -7.2 | 3-4 | 3.3 | 0.243 | 0.281 | 0.364 | 0.645 | 6.0 | 0.283 | 0.339 | 0.422 | 0.762 | | Grass Games | 56-56 | -5.6 | 48-58 | 4.4 | 0.258 | 0.306 | 0.433 | 0.740 | 4.0 | 0.253 | 0.309 | 0.407 | 0.716 | | Day Games | 23-19 | +3.5 | 19-19 | 5.0 | 0.266 | 0.311 | 0.445 | 0.756 | 4.0 | 0.260 | 0.323 | 0.408 | 0.731 |
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| All Games | 4.4 | 0.255 | 0.304 | 126 | 4268 | 1090 | 188 | 18 | 167 | 0.425 | 537 | 301 | 1027 | 36 | 749 | 122 | 55 | 103 | 52 | | Road Games | 3.9 | 0.243 | 0.290 | 61 | 2088 | 507 | 95 | 12 | 67 | 0.396 | 232 | 140 | 536 | 17 | 361 | 61 | 24 | 48 | 32 | | Righty Starters | 4.5 | 0.255 | 0.307 | 94 | 3173 | 808 | 138 | 12 | 133 | 0.431 | 411 | 242 | 776 | 29 | 565 | 92 | 42 | 83 | 38 |
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| All Games | 2.87 | 1.220 | 392.7 | 138 | 125 | 335 | 32 | 144 | 396 | 22-15 | 33 | 10 | 76.7% | | Road Games | 2.61 | 1.210 | 196.7 | 59 | 57 | 153 | 14 | 85 | 194 | 6-10 | 14 | 3 | 82.4% |
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| All Games | 77-49 | +24.9 | 54-60 | 4.4 | 0.270 | 0.315 | 0.408 | 0.723 | 3.8 | 0.246 | 0.306 | 0.391 | 0.697 | | Home Games | 44-21 | +18.2 | 28-32 | 4.6 | 0.279 | 0.329 | 0.422 | 0.751 | 3.5 | 0.244 | 0.297 | 0.380 | 0.677 | | vs Right-handed Starters | 53-27 | +24.6 | 37-35 | 4.7 | 0.273 | 0.322 | 0.418 | 0.740 | 3.6 | 0.243 | 0.307 | 0.392 | 0.699 | | Past 7 Games | 4-3 | +0.2 | 4-2 | 4.7 | 0.278 | 0.324 | 0.439 | 0.763 | 4.7 | 0.285 | 0.313 | 0.467 | 0.780 | | Grass Games | 76-46 | +26.7 | 52-58 | 4.4 | 0.272 | 0.318 | 0.411 | 0.729 | 3.7 | 0.245 | 0.304 | 0.389 | 0.693 | | Day Games | 24-14 | +11.2 | 19-15 | 5.0 | 0.274 | 0.322 | 0.432 | 0.755 | 4.5 | 0.257 | 0.318 | 0.423 | 0.741 |
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| All Games | 4.4 | 0.270 | 0.315 | 126 | 4298 | 1159 | 225 | 34 | 100 | 0.408 | 526 | 285 | 717 | 80 | 830 | 127 | 66 | 107 | 58 | | Home Games | 4.6 | 0.279 | 0.329 | 65 | 2124 | 592 | 123 | 20 | 47 | 0.422 | 289 | 160 | 333 | 55 | 427 | 59 | 29 | 59 | 31 | | Righty Starters | 4.7 | 0.273 | 0.322 | 80 | 2707 | 740 | 139 | 26 | 67 | 0.418 | 355 | 193 | 454 | 52 | 514 | 79 | 31 | 71 | 39 |
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| All Games | 2.32 | 1.088 | 411.7 | 116 | 106 | 313 | 30 | 135 | 380 | 26-8 | 45 | 12 | 78.9% | | Home Games | 2.19 | 1.062 | 213.7 | 59 | 52 | 175 | 12 | 52 | 194 | 15-2 | 23 | 6 | 79.3% |
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| 8/14/2015 | JIMENEZ(R) | OAKLAND | MILLS(L) | 8-6 | W | -185 | 8 ev | O | 16 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 0 | | 8/15/2015 | GONZALEZ(R) | OAKLAND | BASSITT(R) | 4-3 | W | -130 | 8.5 un | U | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | | 8/16/2015 | CHEN(L) | OAKLAND | GRAVEMAN(R) | 18-2 | W | -170 | 8.5 un | O | 26 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | | 8/17/2015 | TILLMAN(R) | OAKLAND | GRAY(R) | 4-2 | W | -105 | 7.5 ev | U | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | | 8/18/2015 | GAUSMAN(R) | NY METS | DEGROM(R) | 3-5 | L | +100 | 7.5 un | O | 7 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | | 8/19/2015 | JIMENEZ(R) | NY METS | SYNDERGAARD(R) | 5-4 | W | -130 | 7.5 ov | O | 10 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 0 | | 8/20/2015 | GONZALEZ(R) | MINNESOTA | DUFFEY(R) | 2-15 | L | -165 | 8.5 ov | O | 10 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 0 | | 8/21/2015 | CHEN(L) | MINNESOTA | MILONE(L) | 3-4 | L | -160 | 8.5 un | U | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | | 8/22/2015 | TILLMAN(R) | MINNESOTA | GIBSON(R) | 2-3 | L | -150 | 8.5 un | U | 7 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | | 8/23/2015 | GAUSMAN(R) | MINNESOTA | PELFREY(R) | 3-4 | L | -170 | 8.5 ov | U | 13 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | | 8/24/2015 | JIMENEZ(R) | @ KANSAS CITY | MEDLEN(R) | 3-8 | L | 125 | 7.5 un | O | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | | 8/25/2015 | GONZALEZ(R) | @ KANSAS CITY | DUFFY(L) | 2-3 | L | 110 | 8 un | U | 7 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1 | | 8/26/2015 | CHEN(L) | @ KANSAS CITY | CUETO(R) | 8-5 | W | 125 | 7 un | O | 13 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 0 | | 8/27/2015 | TILLMAN(R) | @ KANSAS CITY | VENTURA(R) | | | 8/28/2015 | GAUSMAN(R) | @ TEXAS | HAMELS(L) | | | 8/29/2015 | JIMENEZ(R) | @ TEXAS | PEREZ(L) | | | 8/30/2015 | GONZALEZ(R) | @ TEXAS | HOLLAND(L) | | | 8/31/2015 | CHEN(L) | TAMPA BAY | ARCHER(R) | | | 9/1/2015 | TILLMAN(R) | TAMPA BAY | SMYLY(L) | | | 9/2/2015 | | TAMPA BAY | | |
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| 8/13/2015 | GUTHRIE(R) | LA ANGELS | RICHARDS(R) | 6-7 | L | +120 | 8 un | O | 12 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 2 | | 8/14/2015 | DUFFY(L) | LA ANGELS | WEAVER(R) | 4-1 | W | -120 | 8.5 un | U | 6 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 2 | | 8/15/2015 | CUETO(R) | LA ANGELS | SHOEMAKER(R) | 9-4 | W | -150 | 7.5 un | O | 14 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 1 | | 8/16/2015 | VENTURA(R) | LA ANGELS | SANTIAGO(L) | 4-3 | W | -130 | 8 ov | U | 5 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | | 8/18/2015 | VOLQUEZ(R) | @ CINCINNATI | IGLESIAS(R) | 3-1 | W | 110 | 7.5 un | U | 12 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | | 8/19/2015 | GUTHRIE(R) | @ CINCINNATI | SAMPSON(R) | 4-3 | W | -115 | 8 ov | U | 11 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | | 8/20/2015 | DUFFY(L) | @ BOSTON | MILEY(L) | 1-4 | L | 100 | 9 un | U | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 1 | | 8/21/2015 | CUETO(R) | @ BOSTON | OWENS(L) | 2-7 | L | -150 | 8.5 un | O | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 1 | | 8/22/2015 | VENTURA(R) | @ BOSTON | BARNES(R) | 6-3 | W | -135 | 9 un | P | 12 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 1 | | 8/23/2015 | VOLQUEZ(R) | @ BOSTON | RODRIGUEZ(L) | 8-6 | W | 105 | 8.5 un | O | 14 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 3 | | 8/24/2015 | MEDLEN(R) | BALTIMORE | JIMENEZ(R) | 8-3 | W | -135 | 7.5 un | O | 13 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | | 8/25/2015 | DUFFY(L) | BALTIMORE | GONZALEZ(R) | 3-2 | W | -120 | 8 un | U | 6 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | | 8/26/2015 | CUETO(R) | BALTIMORE | CHEN(L) | 5-8 | L | -135 | 7 un | O | 11 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 0 | | 8/27/2015 | VENTURA(R) | BALTIMORE | TILLMAN(R) | | | 8/28/2015 | VOLQUEZ(R) | @ TAMPA BAY | RAMIREZ(R) | | | 8/29/2015 | MEDLEN(R) | @ TAMPA BAY | ODORIZZI(R) | | | 8/30/2015 | DUFFY(L) | @ TAMPA BAY | KARNS(R) | | | 9/1/2015 | CUETO(R) | DETROIT | VERLANDER(R) | | | 9/2/2015 | | DETROIT | | | | 9/3/2015 | | DETROIT | | |
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| |  | BALTIMORE: BALTIMORE (AP) - For the first time in 17 years, the Baltimore Orioles open a new baseball season as defending AL East champions.
The Orioles can only hope for better results than in 1998, when they followed a wire-to-wire run to the division crown with a 79-83 flop - launching a franchise-record run of 14 straight losing seasons.
Although Baltimore lost slugger Nelson Cruz, Gold Glove right fielder Nick Markakis and setup man Andrew Miller from a club that last year went 96-66 and advanced to the AL Championship Series, manager Buck Showalter has no intention of disappointing a fan base that has embraced a team coming off its second playoff appearance in three seasons.
''They come to Camden to watch us win,'' Showalter said. ''There's no more passionate, sincere group of fans than we have. Nothing would kick me in the chest more than for us to regress. I want to keep going forward.''
Baltimore made only one significant offseason acquisition, picking up outfielder Travis Snider in a trade with Pittsburgh. The big question is, do the Orioles still have enough good players to stay atop the AL East?
''It definitely stinks to lose Markakis, what he brought to the clubhouse, and Cruz, what he brought to the field. But we've got to move on,'' said Steve Pearce, who's coming off the best year of his career. ''You look around the locker room and there's a lot of talent here. All our pitching's returned, so we still have a really good team.''
The Orioles are counting on third baseman Manny Machado and catcher Matt Wieters to bounce back from injury-shortened seasons and for first baseman Chris Davis to regain the form he showed in 2013 before slumping miserably last year.
None of the three were available in the postseason, when the Orioles swept Detroit in the division playoff before being bounced in four games by the Kansas City Royals.
Davis' absence will extend into opening day, on April 6 in Tampa Bay, when he concludes his 25-game suspension for using a banned amphetamine. Wieters is expected to start the season in the disabled list as he continues his recovery from elbow ligament surgery, but at least Machado appears on target to make up for lost time.
The offense will be a work in progress, but the Orioles hope they won't need heavy hitting to back a starting rotation that remains entirely intact. Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez combined to go 54-29 last year, and the foursome could get some help from right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, who's looked good in spring training after stumbling in his Orioles debut last year.
The bullpen will be anchored by Zach Britton, who had 37 saves in 41 tries during his first season as a closer.
Some things to know about the 2015 Orioles:
TOP OF THE LINEUP: Alejandro De Aza is expected to take over for Markakis as the leadoff hitter. De Aza is faster than Markakis and had a .341 on-base percentage after being obtained from the White Sox before the trade deadline.
''I will just let the game dictate what to do,'' he said.
What De Aza needs to do is get on base ahead of Machado, Davis and cleanup hitter Adam Jones.
DAVIS SEEKS A FRESH START: Slowed by a muscle strain near his rib cage, frustrated by defensive shifts and embarrassed by his suspension, Davis is raring to go in 2015.
''I'm in such a different situation this year than I was last year, having been off for a month and a half more than these guys,'' Davis said.
He says his teammates have forgiven him for using Adderall, which led to his untimely suspension.
''The guys are just ready to move on and focus on what we need to accomplish this year,'' Davis said.
SNIDER STEPS IN: With Markakis gone, Snider will attempt to fill the void in right field.
He hit .264 with 13 homers, 15 doubles and 38 RBIs in 140 games with Pittsburgh last season.
''I'm not here to replace Nick Markakis, but to be another man on this roster and to come out here every single day with the goal of getting better,'' Snider said.
MACHADO CONFIDENT: After playing only 82 games last year, Machado is ready to go after knee surgery.
''I feel great,'' the 2013 All-Star said. ''I'm doing everything. I'm stealing bases and hitting the ball well, playing good defense, doing everything I've got to do to get ready for the year.'' | | KANSAS CITY: KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Every once in a while, Ned Yost will spin a story about his days on Bobby Cox's bench with the Atlanta Braves, back when the organization was winning NL pennants by the fistful.
Inevitably, Yost would start drawing comparisons to his Kansas City Royals - that they were building through the farm system in the same manner as the Braves, and Kansas City would embrace the franchise in the same way Atlanta did if it ever became a winner.
Last year, that narrative finally made sense.
After squeaking into the playoffs as a wild card, the Royals swept all the way to the World Series. If not for a virtuoso performance by Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants, the Royals might very well have been celebrating their second championship.
The postseason run led Yost to draw one more comparison when he arrived in Arizona for the start of a new season, and his players filed into the clubhouse for the first time.
''It definitely reminded me of that feeling in Atlanta,'' he said, ''when you came to spring training every year with the feeling that you have an opportunity to go to the World Series - instead of hoping, you know? And it's a different feeling.''
There is good reason for that feeling, too.
The Royals return most of the pieces from the club that ended a 29-year playoff drought, including one of the best bullpens in baseball history. And the pieces they did lose to free agency have been replaced with what could turn out to be upgrades.
Designated hitter Billy Butler is gone, Kendrys Morales signed in his place. Alex Rios is taking over for Nori Aoki in right field. Edinson Volquez was signed to fill the rotation spot of staff ace James Shields, who chased bigger money all the way to San Diego.
Even though a few faces have changed, the tenants that the Royals believe in have not: They will continue to rely on speed, defense and pitching to chase another playoff berth.
''Any time you're fortunate enough to keep those key pieces, you feel good,'' said Greg Holland, the Royals' All-Star closer. ''Yeah, we lost Billy and Shields and Nori, but for the most part, we're right where we need to be.''
Besides, the back end of the bullpen is still intact.
Kelvin Herrera harnessed his electrifying fastball to become a shutdown seventh-inning reliever last season. Former starter Wade Davis had a historically dominant year as the setup man. Holland further cemented his status as the AL's best closer.
''The way you tilt the field in your favor, in my opinion, is having quality pitching and really good defense,'' Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. ''Those are things that hopefully can show up every single day and perform for you.''
As the Royals approach opening day against the Chicago White Sox on April 6 at Kauffman Stadium, here are a few other story lines to watch this season:
THE ROTATION: Shields was the anchor in 2014, but he struggled mightily in the playoffs. So when the Royals signed Volquez to replace him, it was mostly met with a collective shrug.
Besides, the success of the rotation will more likely be determined by the success of young flamethrowers Danny Duffy and Yordano Ventura, both of whom have ace ability.
INJURY BUGS: The Royals stayed remarkably healthy last season. Will karma even out?
Second baseman Omar Infante already missed long stretches of spring training with a bone spur in his elbow that could require surgery next offseason. Left fielder Alex Gordon also got a slow start to the spring after undergoing wrist surgery this past offseason.
SLOW STARTS: The last couple of seasons, the Royals have gotten off to slow starts. They unsuccessfully dug out of a big hole two years ago, but pulled it off last season.
Considering every other team in the AL Central appeared to get better over the winter, the Royals can ill afford to let Detroit, Cleveland and Minnesota and the White Sox bury them.
RESTING SALVY: All-Star catcher Salvador Perez faded in the playoffs in part due to his heavy work load in the regular season, where he appeared in 150 games. Yost intends to give him more days off this year, though it's hard to take his bat out of the lineup.
BASEBALL TOWN: Did the World Series run turn Kansas City into a baseball town again? The club has been overshadowed for decades by the Chiefs, who play just across the parking lot in Arrowhead stadium. How will fans respond to having the reigning AL champions? |
| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER AL PREVIEW (BALTIMORE-KANSAS CITY) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Orioles-Royals Preview* ========================
By JON PALMIERI STATS Editor
Baltimore (62-63) at Kansas City (77-48), 2:10 p.m. EDT
A six-game losing streak dropped the Baltimore Orioles several spots in the wild-card race. Back-to-back wins against the team with the best record in the AL would at least take some of the sting out of that.
Baltimore tries to send the Kansas City Royals to rare consecutive home losses Thursday in the conclusion of this four-game series.
Mired in their longest skid of the season, the Orioles brought out their power bats Wednesday after going deep once in the previous four games. Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Jonathan Schoop hit two-run homers off Johnny Cueto, and Steve Pearce and Ryan Flaherty added solo shots as Baltimore (63-63) beat Kansas City 8-5 to end an eight-game losing streak in the series - including four defeats in last season's ALCS.
"You're facing the best team in the American League last year and they've added players to improve on that," manager Buck Showalter said. "So it's a challenge, but we've got a chance to split against the American League champions (Thursday) and move on to Texas."
The Orioles, who held a wild card before the skid, trail Minnesota by two games in the crowded chase for the final playoff berth.
Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer for the Royals (77-49), who had won four straight and nine of 11. They lead the AL Central by 12 games and remain comfortably ahead of Toronto and Houston in the race for home-field throughout the playoffs.
Kansas City is 44-21 at home, losing two straight there only once since early June.
Moustakas is batting .407 with four homers and 10 RBIs during a seven-game hit streak.
He's 3 for 8 with a home run off Chris Tillman (9-8, 4.51 ERA), who looks to rebound from his first loss in nearly three months. The right-hander had won a career high-tying seven straight decisions before allowing three runs over 6 2-3 innings Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Minnesota - his first defeat since May 31.
Tillman has recorded quality starts in six of his last seven outings, going 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP during that stretch.
He's 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in six career starts - playoffs included - against the Royals, but threw a five-hitter in a 4-0 victory in his last appearance at Kauffman Stadium on May 16, 2014.
Kendrys Morales (5 for 9) has had the most success of any current Royal against Tillman, while Ben Zobrist (6 for 37), Eric Hosmer (1 for 11) and Salvador Perez (1 for 8) have all struggled.
Yordano Ventura (8-7, 4.64) looks to continue his resurgence for the Royals. After allowing 11 runs over 12 innings in his first two starts in August, the right-hander has gone 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his past three outings. He was very sharp in a 6-3 victory at Boston on Saturday, yielding one run and six hits over six innings while walking one and striking out six.
"For him, like it is for anybody, it's a confidence-type of thing," Perez said.
Ventura limited the Orioles to two runs over 14 1-3 innings in two regular-season starts against them last season, but wasn't as effective in Game 2 of the ALCS, giving up four runs, five hits and three walks in 5 2-3 innings.
Adam Jones homered off Ventura in that game and is 2 for 10 in their matchups. Schoop, Davis and Pearce are a combined 0 for 12 when facing him.
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| | Last Updated: 6/27/2024 2:43:28 PM EST. |
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