Baltimore lost a tough one last night as they blew a save in the 9th and lost 3-2 after holding a 2-1 lead. This has been a very resilient team under Buck Schowalter and I think we see that come full circle on Wednesday afternoon when they face the Padres again. The Orioles are 36-15 in their last 51 following a loss and theyâll face Jason Marquis who has been pitching well this year, but a closer look reveals heâs been pretty lucky along the way facing teams who have struggled offensively. The Padres also have to play a game at 9:35 AM their local time so I think they could struggle here big time and they already are 30th in the league in OPS during day games while the Orioles are #1 in OPS during day games and carry a 9-5 record.
Marquis has walked over 4 batters per 9 and has 5.32 K/9 heâs been pretty lucky with a .223 BABIP and his ability to get ground balls has certainly helped considering heâs giving up a 16.7 % HR/FB ratio. Over the last three years he has had a 5.45 ERA on the road and a 5.55 ERA during day games. He has a small sample of road starts (only 2) with good numbers. Adam Jones and Nick Markakis have really good numbers against Marquis going 8-14. His only start at Camden Yards was a disaster as he went 4 innings giving up 8 hits 3 walks and 5 ER. He has to face a tough Baltimore team thatâs 8th in OPS vs. RHP and 29-14 in their last 43 games vs. RH starter. Baltimore has good home/away splits compared with the Padres including over one run more per 9 innings and a bullpen ERA thatâs nearly a run and a half better.
