Felix Doubront

The Red Sox and Orioles will match up two young lefties in Tuesday night’s game at Camden Yards, as 24-year-old Felix Doubront will face off against 25-year-old Brian Matusz.

After not getting a decision in his first three starts, Doubront has become one of the most reliable arms on the Red Sox staff, earning a 4-1 record and winning his last three. Doubront has a 4.09 ERA and leads the Red Sox in strikeouts with 44, living up to the high hopes that many had for the Venezuelan entering his first season in the Red Sox rotation.

In his last start, Doubront struck out seven and only allowed one earned run in the Red Sox’ 4-1 win over the Rays. Of the six hits he allowed, only one was an extra-base hit. However, Doubront walked four hitters and hit one with a pitch in the outing.

As this is only his third season with Boston, the first two of which he made fewer than 15 appearances, Doubront has had limited experience with the Orioles lineup. However, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Chris Davis all have hits off of him.

While Matusz is only one year older than Doubront, he has been in the big leagues for an extra year and has started 49 more games. Matusz was a former top-50 prospect in the league but has struggled to find consistency in his first few years in the majors.

Since his 5-2 record in 2009, Matusz’s record has worsened each year, as he recorded a 10-12 record in 2010 and a dismal 1-9 record last year. Matusz won his first decision of last year before losing his next nine major league starts, in the middle of which he was sent to the minors.

Matusz has improved from last season’s performance but has been inconsistent. The Grand Junction, Colo., native lost his first three starts of the year but has won three of his last four. Matusz has a 3-4 record and a 5.36 ERA.

Matusz has performed very well against David Ortiz, striking him out eight out of his 10 times facing the left-handed slugger. However, Matusz has struggled against another left-handed Red Sox power-hitter, as Adrian Gonzalez has three hits and two walks in his five plate appearances against Matusz.

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Rays outfielder Luke Scott ripped Red Sox fans. (AP)

Luke Scott was unable to play for the Orioles in the final game of the 2011 season. Even so, when Baltimore beat the Red Sox to complete the biggest September collapse in major league history, Scott — now a member of the Rays — was elated.

Scott told MLB.com that he took immense satisfaction in being on the team that ended the Red Sox’ season owing to his contempt for Sox fans.

“[Red Sox] fans come in and they take over the city. They’re ruthless. They’re vulgar. They cause trouble. They talk about your family. Swear at you. Who likes that? When people do that, it just gives you more incentive to beat them,” Scott told the website. “Then when things like [the last game of last season] happen, you celebrate even more. You go to St. Louis — classiest fans in the game. You do well, there’s no vulgarity. You know what? You don’t wish them bad.”

Scott described an Orioles clubhouse that celebrated the victory like it had won the World Series, and then took the celebration to another level when the Rays won on a walkoff homer over the Yankees to eliminate the Sox.

“We’re like, ‘Go home Boston! Pack your bags. See you next year,’” Scott told the website.

“I got to see a priceless thing driving back to my apartment,” Scott continued. “I see all the Boston fans walking around, and I mean they were crying crocodile tears. … It was like someone shot their dog. I rolled down the window and I’m like, ‘Ah, hah, sucks doesn’t it, when someone laughs or makes fun of you when things aren’t going your way.’”

While one might think that Scott’s outspoken criticism would make him vulnerable to anger from the Sox or their fans, it is worth noting that the outfielder — whom the Rays signed to a one-year, $6 million contract for 2012 — carries weaponry in the clubhouse.

According to FoxSports.com, Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava turned down the Orioles offer to become Baltimore’s general manager, filling a vacancy that was created when Andy MacPhail stepped down as Orioles president of baseball operations at the end of the season. LaCava made the decision after meeting with Orioles owner Peter Angelos on Monday.

The Orioles went 69-93 and finished in last place in the American League East in 2011. They have had 14 straight losing seasons, a streak that dates to 1998.

LaCava will remain with the Blue Jays in his current capacity as Assistant GM. The Orioles have also interviewed Dodgers Assistant GM De Jon Watson and Orioles farm director John Stockstill about the job. It remains to be seen whether the O’s conduct further interviews for the position.

Andrew Miller

The Red Sox and Orioles will face off again at Camden Yards Wednesday, and Andrew Miller and Jake Arrieta will take the mound opposite one another for the second time this month. Back on July 7, Miller got the win on five innings of three-run, six-hit ball, while Arrieta struggled through 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on six hits, including two home runs.

Miller (3-1, 5.68 ERA) took his first loss of the season in his last start, and it wasn’t pretty. The 26-year-old failed to get through the third inning Friday vs. the Rays, surrendering seven runs on five hits while walking five and striking out none. The big blow came on a Ben Zobrist grand slam in the second inning. Aside from that outing, Miller’s ERA has been well under 4.00, although he’s yet to pitch over six innings in a game this season.

The Orioles have faced Miller a combined 51 times, hitting .263 with two doubles and six RBI. Mark Reynolds leads the way with four hits and three walks in 10 plate appearances against the Boston starter. No other Orioles hitter has more than two hits against Miller. The right-hander has handled Derrek Lee well in eight matchups, holding him to 0-for-5 with three walks. Recently extended J.J. Hardy is an even 2-for-4 off Miller with a sacrifice fly. Overall, Miller has struggled with his command against Baltimore, issuing 10 walks while recording just five strikeouts.

Arrieta (9-6, 5.10 ERA) has had a miserable month of July, dropping all three of his starts thanks to an 8.79 ERA. The right-hander gave up five runs in each one of those outings and hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning since June 15. Arrieta has struggled to keep the ball in the park, allowing seven home runs in his last five starts. It’s been a dramatic collapse since his performance in June, when Arrieta went 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA.

Arrieta has been a better pitcher at home, going 5-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 10 starts at Camden Yards. However, he surrendered five runs on eight hits, including two home runs, in his last start in Baltimore.

The Orioles starter has only faced the Red Sox twice in his career, and he has struggled with Boston’s lefty-heavy lineup. Adrian Gonzalez is 3-for-5 with a double and a home run in his team-high five plate appearances against Arrieta. As a team, the Red Sox are hitting .364 with 10 RBI in just 37 plate appearances. Ten Boston hitters have faced Arrieta five times or less, and all but two of them have hits. Jacoby Ellsbury is 0-for-1 with two walks, and Josh Reddick is 0-for-2.

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Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is confident that he’ll get a contract extension before the July 31 trade deadline. However, The Baltimore Sun Reports if a deal isn’t struck soon, the Orioles will likely consider shopping Hardy to avoid losing him to free agency.

Hardy is hitting .278 with 13 home runs and 33 RBI this year. He joined the Orioles last offseason in a trade from Minnesota, and has expressed a desire to stay in Baltimore.

“If [an extension] doesn’t get done during the [All-Star] break, hopefully we’ll make some good progress,” Hardy said.

The Red Sox and Orioles will get their last swings in before the All-Star break Sunday in an interesting matchup of two pitchers who have just one career start between them. Boston will send 24-year-old Kyle Weiland to the mound to face Baltimore’s 25-year-old Mitch Atkins.

Weiland (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will be making his major league debut in place of the injured Jon Lester, taking on an Orioles lineup that ranks 20th in runs scored and 10th in batting average. The right-hander out of Notre Dame has impressed in the minor leagues this year, posting a 6-2 record and a 2.33 ERA in 10 starts with Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox drafted Weiland in the third round, 108th overall in 2008.

In his last start with Pawtucket, Weiland tossed 6 2/3 innings of two-run, six hit ball and picked up the win. Overall, he’s shown tremendous control, striking out 59 hitters and walking just 19 in 58 innings this season.

Of course, major league hitting is a different beast altogether, but Weiland will be up against a Baltimore squad that has been outscored 20-7 through the first two games of this series. This being his first ever appearance in a major league uniform, Weiland has obviously never faced any Orioles hitters.

Atkins (0-0, 1.50 ERA) has very limited big league experience, logging just 18 total innings since 2009. As a reliever with the Cubs in 2010, Atkins struggled to a 6.30 ERA. He made his first major league start just last Tuesday, and pitched relatively well despite giving up eight hits. The right-hander held the Rangers to one run over six innings while striking out four and walking none.

Atkins managed to dance out of trouble against a potent Rangers lineup, but he’ll have an even tougher task against the Red Sox, who rank first in runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage entering Sunday. However, Boston’s lineup has yet to face Atkins, so the young starter may have the upper hand, at least the first time through the order.

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Red Sox DH David Ortiz and Orioles pitcher Kevin Gregg clashed in the middle of the field on Friday night. (AP)

On the Red Sox bench, the tension built over the course of the at-bat between Sox DH David Ortiz and Orioles reliever Kevin Gregg. A game that the Sox led by a drama-free 10-3 score in the bottom of the eighth inning suddenly assumed a different complexion.

A fastball came inside. Then another, prompting Ortiz to glare at the mound. Then another, which came further inside and convinced Ortiz, bat in hand, to start walking towards the mound while yelling, and led both benches and bullpens to empty as players flooded the infield.

The Sox felt there was little doubt as to what was taking place, even as they wondered why it was happening.

“You go to the well three times, something’s looking pretty bad. I don’t know why they were trying to do that, but it was pretty obvious to me that they weren’t just trying to pitch him in,” said Sox starter Josh Beckett. “I hope [Gregg's pitches weren't a byproduct of the Sox having scored 10 runs]. We’re a good hitting team.

“You can’t just be hitting our [expletive] guys because we’re scoring a lot of runs. That’s how the game is played. Maybe they saw something different. Maybe they saw something they didn’t like or whatever. But if it’s just because we scored eight runs in the first inning and they start throwing at our [expletive] guys, it’s going to be a long year.” Read the rest of this entry »