Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees: Series Preview for Early April Battle

Apr 12, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; The Baltimore Orioles mascot waves the American flag during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Blue Jays won 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

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On Monday, the Baltimore Orioles will play host to the New York Yankees, as the two teams begin a three-game series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The Orioles come in with a 3-3 record through the first week of the season, after dropping two of three at home to the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend.

The Yankees also lost two of three to Toronto during the first week of the season, then spent the weekend hosting the Boston Red Sox, who also took two of three from the Bronx Bombers, giving the Yankees a 2-4 record on the young season.

Both teams will be looking to start heating up, but they are certainly not suffering from the same ills.

The Orioles have not struggled with the bats, as they have put up five runs or more in five of the six games they have played this year. The Orioles issues this weekend came on the mound, as the Blue Jays ruined Baltimore’s home opener with 10 runs on Friday, then twelve runs on Sunday.

With the Yankees, it’s just been the opposite of what we usually see from them, instead of finding ways to win, they’ve been finding ways to lose.

Going into Sunday, They’re pitching had been pretty good, going for a 3.44 team ERA, good enough to rank them 15th in the majors. They’re bats, though only 28th in the league with a .193 team batting average, had picked up a couple of clutch hits.

They’re biggest problem has been their failure to make up for their mistakes, whether it be a bad pitch or two, or one of their league-worst nine errors.

We’re going to take a look at the pitching matchups for this three-game set, as well as which players are standing out so far.

Monday, April 13th, 7:05 PM EDT

Apr 7, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA;Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen (16) throws a pitch in the first inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Wei-Yin Chen , LHP – BAL

Chen was staked to an early lead in his first start, with the Orioles going up 6-0 after the second inning. However, he struggled his way through 4-1/3 innings, giving up three runs in the process.

Chen may not have lost the lead he was given, but when a pitcher is handed a big lead early in the game, you’d really like to see him give you some length, rather than have to go to the bullpen early. Chen failed to do that.

I’m sure Buck Showalter would love to see Chen bounce back with a solid start on Monday, especially after his bullpen put in a lot of work against Toronto.

Apr 8, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda (35) pitches during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Pineda, RHP – NYY

Pineda pitched well enough to win in his first start against the Blue Jays, giving up two runs over six innings, but the Yankees didn’t give him any support until he was already lifted from the game.

Pineda’s 2014 was short, as he only made 13 starts, but he was very good, posting a 1.89 ERA, despite his 5-5 record. He’s looking to build off that and finally become the pitcher that the Yankees traded for, after years of injuries prevented him from doing so.

Wednesday, April 15th, 7:05 PM EDT

Apr 10, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Bud Norris (25) pitches during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Bud Norris, RHP – BAL

Norris just didn’t have his best stuff for the Orioles home opener last Friday. He was responsible for giving up eight runs in his three-plus innings, as he gave up seven hits, four for extra bases, while walking one and hitting a batter.

Norris is coming off a solid year in 2014, posting a 15-8 record, with a 3.65 ERA, so expect him to bounce back against the Yankees.

Apr 10, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (30) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Nathan Eovaldi, RHP – NYY

Eovaldi failed to impress in his Yankee debut. Though he hit 101 on the radar gun, just three of his 94 pitches generated swings-and-misses, as he gave up three runs on eight hits, in 5-1/3 against Boston, in a game the Yankees eventually lost in 19 innings.

Eovaldi has a live arm with some really good stuff. When he’s on, he’s quite dangerous. The problem is getting him on and getting him to get the most out of his stuff. The Yankees hope pitching coach Larry Rothschild will be the man to help him over the top, but he won’t have it all figured out by Wednesday. Steve Pearce, Adam Jones and Chris Davis should be ready to strike, if Eovaldi has the same trouble generating swings-and-misses.

Player to Watch – BAL

Apr 6, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Alejandro De Aza (12) hits a 2-run home during the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

FanSided

Alejandro De Aza

De Aza is off to a really hot start as the Orioles leadoff man and left fielder. Along with fellow outfielders Jones and Travis Snider, De Aza is tied for the team-lead in hits. He’s also tied for the team-lead in homers, with Pearce and Davis.

The hole in De Aza’s game is his on-base percentage. His career-high is an even .400, but that was four years ago, and the closest he has been since then is .349. This year, he’s struck out eight times, against only one walk. If he doesn’t improve on that, teams are going to begin to take advantage of him at the top of the order.

Player to Watch – NYY

Apr 12, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) hits a three run double in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Rodriguez

Don’t look now, but Rodriguez spent the first week of the season as the Yankees best player. He leads the team in hitting and RBI’s after six games, and it looks like the year off might have done more good than bad.

What the Yankees must figure out with Rodriguez is where he slots into the defensive alignment on days he does field. The Yankees are an older team, and they don’t have the luxury of burying him in the dugout as the everyday DH, guys like Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran are probably going to be slotted in the DH spot once a week.

Rodriguez’s first foray into the field this year saw him get the start at first base on Saturday, and he dropped a catchable ball from Didi Gregorious early in the game, immediately forcing the Yankees to question his ability to play first, though he did convert on the rest of his 17 chances.

Rodriguez had never played first base in his career before Saturday.

Series Prediction

Apr 12, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10) hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

These teams already have a common opponent in the Blue Jays, and they both failed that test. Without reading too much into that, I like the Orioles right now because their bats are hotter, despite the Yankees’ huge offensive outburst on Sunday night.

I expect to see a bounce-back outing from Chen on Monday, in a pitchers duel against Pineda. I think Gonzalez will build off his first start, because I liked what I saw from him when he got in trouble in Tampa.

Norris and Eovaldi are tougher to predict, and that’s where it will come down to offense and bullpens. The Orioles bullpen had a rough weekend against Toronto, but there’s no better time to catch the Yankees or Red Sox than after they play each other, because they always get deep into each other’s bullpens.

In the end, I think the Orioles will take two of three and get back on track.

Next: A Look at The Orioles Division Win in 2014