Listen Live: Baltimore at San Diego [Live Audio] MLB
Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California
The Baltimore Orioles are in pursuit of the June record for homers in a month but their next two games will be in pitcher-friendly Petco Park against the San Diego Padres. Baltimore has smacked 51 homers this month entering Tuesday's series opener against the Padres and is four shy of the major-league mark set by the 1996 Oakland Athletics.
Baltimore leads the majors with 120 homers and the power show could be helped by the presence of San Diego starter Erik Johnson on the mound. Johnson has served up seven homers in 14 2/3 innings since joining the Padres and has allowed 12 in 26 1/3 innings this season. Mark Trumbo (major league-leading 22 homers entering Monday) and Ryan Flaherty each hit homers off Johnson when the Orioles posted a 7-2 victory over the Padres last Wednesday. San Diego has won six of its last eight games as it begins a five-game homestand against American League East teams Baltimore and the New York Yankees.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Ubaldo Jimenez (4-7, 6.97 ERA) vs. Padres RH Erik Johnson (0-5, 8.54)
Jimenez defeated the Padres when paired against Johnson and allowed two runs on four hits over six innings while striking out seven. The strong outing followed a stretch in which Jimenez had a horrific 11.47 ERA over a seven-appearance stretch (six starts) and gave up five or more runs on five occasions. Jimenez is 8-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 14 career starts against San Diego and has struggled with Matt Kemp (14-for-41, two homers).
Johnson is 0-3 with a 9.82 ERA in three starts since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox as part of the package for starter James Shields. He has allowed five or more runs in each of the outings and was touched up for six runs and nine hits in four innings in the loss to the Orioles. "I think the No. 1 thing for him is we've got to keep the ball in the ballpark, give our defense an opportunity to make plays," Padres manager Andy Green told reporters. "If he does that, he's going to have the opportunity to be successful."
WALK-OFFS
1. The Orioles lead the American League East with a 45-30 record but are just 14-17 on the road.
2. San Diego LF Melvin Upton has seven multi-hit outings in the last 13 games and is batting .373 during the stretch.
3. Baltimore CF Adam Jones went 4-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's win over Tampa Bay and is 15-for-35 with two homers over the past eight games.
PREDICTION: Orioles 11, Padres 4
