Wei-Yin Chen (2-4, 3.21 ERA) and the Baltimore Orioles (31-31) square off against Aaron Harang (4-7, 3.04 ERA) and the Philadelphia Phillies (22-42) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the first of a two-game series at Camden Yards. The Phillies come into this series in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Monday, Jun. 15 and can be seen on CSN-PHI and MASN.
Chen pitched 5.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs, striking out five and walking one in a 5-2 win over the Red Sox. Adam Jones (.305, 34 Rs, 10 HRs, 33 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. Harang is 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA when pitching against the Orioles. He is up against a good Baltimore offense which is hitting .257 this season. Jeff Francoeur (.271, 13 Rs, 4 HRs, 21 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Phillies, going 2 for 5 yesterday.
Baltimore is a -165 favorite against Philadelphia and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Orioles have recorded an overall money line of +114 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 19-12. Baltimore is unbeaten as the favorite and has an 8-2 SU record in its last ten outings. The Orioles have no trouble scoring as they rank fourth in the AL in offense with 4.3 runs per game. Baltimore’s pitching staff has been doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, only allowing an average of 2.6 runs per game, well under their season average of 4.0. The Orioles are the fifth-best team in the AL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 8.1 hits per game so far this season.
Over in the other dugout, Philadelphia is coming in with an overall money line of -1,508 and a disappointing record of 19-36 as the underdog. They played poorly as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 1-8 record, and a 2-8 record SU. Offensively, the Phillies have really sputtered in interleague games. They have decreased their season average of 3.1 runs per game by averaging 2.0 in those contests. The Phillies allow 4.6 runs per game, but does worse whenever an AL opponent is on the schedule. They bring that runs allowed average up to 5.3 against teams from the AL.
The Orioles have a 23-24 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Harang takes the mound. Chen (LHP) will be on the hill against the Phillies, who have inferior records against left-handed starting pitchers on the road and overall of 1-5 and 4-8, respectively.
Predictions: SU Winner – BAL, O/U – Under
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Baltimore is 15-11, while Philadelphia is 10-21.
The Orioles managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Phillies who are coming in with a 7-7 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Phillies are 6-32. The Orioles have a 4-21 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 30th in home runs, Philadelphia has hit 36 this season. Baltimore ranks sixth with 70 home runs.
Ranking 13th, Philadelphia is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.05 per game. Baltimore ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 8.61.
Ranking 30th, Philadelphia is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.638). Baltimore ranks in the top 10 at ninth with an OPS of .724.
The Phillies are 7-28 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Orioles are 17-21 when they allow at least one homer.
