Baltimore Looking to Rebound after Slow Start

Heading into the season, John Garcia knew his offense would be among the top in the league. Starting pitching was the question mark and now a week into June we know why. The Orioles sit in last in the division with a record of 31-34 despite leading the American League in BA, SLG, Runs, and Home Runs. Rookie John Lannan has been the lone bright spot in the Orioles rotation in an AL East worst 5.48 team ERA. 

So the changes begin. Garcia has shipped out 2008 19-game winner Jeff Francis and off-season acquisition Andy Pettitte and brought in righties Chien-Ming Wang and Braden Looper in an effort to get back to the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Francis was winless in 6 starts this season with a 6.62 ERA while Pettitte was 3-5 despite a putrid 8.53 ERA. That includes his Complete Game shut-out in May. Looper posted a 3-5 record with a 4.28 ERA with St. Louis while Wang went 2-3 with a 5.60 ERA with the division rival Yankees before being dealt for Pettitte. 

Garcia expects improvement in the coming weeks with these new additions to the rotation. With Lannan, Looper, and Wang the Orioles have a solid group of starters who expect to win everytime out. Matt Garza, Joel Pineiro, and Kyle Davies round out the O's starters and so far have kept the team in enough games to go a combined 12-7. 

With an offense like the Orioles behind you, keeping the team in it may be all they need to win. They average 5.8 runs/game with LF Ryan Braun leading the charge. He currently sits atop the AL with 63 RBI's in only 64 games played. Christian Guzman has set the table well, leading the team with a .340 average and 54 runs scored. With Nick Markakis, Brian McCann, Casey Blake, and Brian Giles surrounding them, opposing pitchers not named Roy Halladay, who has dominated this team all season long, know they need to bring their A-game every time out.