Orioles To Play Padres In First Interleague Game Of The Season
The Baltimore Orioles had to take an unwanted detour during their nine-game homestand, flying to Texas on Monday for a makeup game against the American League's best team. After dropping a one-run decision to halt a modest two-game winning streak, the Orioles return to Camden Yards to host the San Diego Padres on Tuesday in the opener of a two-game interleague series.
Baltimore erupted for a season-high 19 hits in an 11-6 win over Toronto on Sunday but was unable to hold an early three-run lead against the Rangers despite producing 15 more hits. Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Jonathan Schoop are a combined 16-for-27 over the last two contests for the Orioles, who hold a one-game advantage over Boston atop the AL East. The Padres were on a 1-6 slide before taking the final two against Washington over the weekend to salvage a split of their four-game series. San Diego's Wil Myers has clubbed eight homers in his last 15 games but is a lifetime .224 hitter in 19 contests against Baltimore.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Luis Perdomo (2-2, 8.79 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Tyler Wilson (3-5, 4.16)
Perdomo is attempting to make the transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation after opening the season with 15 appearances in relief. His first two starts - both against Colorado - were shaky, as he allowed a total of 10 runs and 16 hits while being taken deep three times over 10 innings. A Rule 5 draft pick who managed to stay with the Padres, Perdomo offered reason for optimism last time out by earning the win with six innings of three-run ball versus Miami.
Wilson shares some similarities with Perdomo - he also began the season in the bullpen and is coming off his best performance of the year. The 26-year-old Virginian worked a career-high eight innings and held Boston's potent offense scoreless on three hits while recording a season-high six strikeouts to post his first win since June 11. That victory snapped an ugly five-start stretch for Wilson, who yielded 22 runs and 34 hits over 28 1/3 frames in that span.
WALK-OFFS
1. Myers is riding a five-game hitting streak and is batting .371 with nine homers and 22 RBIs in June.
2. Schoop is 8-for-14 with two homers, four RBIs and six runs scored in his last three games.
3. Padres RHP Fernando Rodney is 14-for-14 in save chances and has a scoreless streak of 25 1/3 innings - second to Randy Jones (26) to start a season in team annals.
PREDICTION: Orioles 7, Padres 3