The Evil Empire 1A, The Red Sox, Roll Into Town Once Again...

After taking two of three from the New York Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles have yet another tough customer rolling into the Yard -- the Evil Empire 1A, the Boston Red Sox.

This will be the second visit for Boston in Baltimore, and so far, the Orioles are 2-0 against them. Right now, they are trying to snap a two game losing streak and are 5-5 in their last ten; moreover, they are only 11-19 on the road, so things may not seem so gloomy.

Meanwhile, the Orioles are at .500 -- a feat that perhaps few expected for them even approach by June. Thanks to amazing pitching, timely hitting, and the knack for making a comeback, they are still five games out of the AL division lead.

Despite Tuesday's amazing game, the Oriole offense is still struggling and that needs to improve against a patient Boston team that can mash.

Matchups:

Tonight: Josh Beckett (5-4, 4.43) vs. Daniel Cabrera (5-1, 3.70)
Saturday: Jon Lester (3-3, 3.55) vs. Garrett Olson (4-1, 4.09)
Sunday: Bartolo Colon (2-0, 2.25) vs. Brian Burres (4-4, 3.16)
Monday: Daisuke Matsuzaka (8-0, 2.53) vs.Jeremy Guthrie (2-6, 3.64)

Well, for starters, we will not be seeing Steve Trachsel in the series -- that may be a good thing. Things look to be pretty even on the mound, and I'm going to be paying attention to Beckett, Lester (especially), Colon and Matsuzaka (whether he pitches or not).

I can see the Orioles getting a split in this series; however, the offense really, really needs to get itself in order.

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I was sick for the past few days -- actually, still am now, but I wanted to get something up on the blog.