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Athletics-Orioles Preview

Aug 9, 2009 - 11:01 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Oakland (48-62) at Baltimore (46-64), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Oakland Athletics try to continue their recent dominance of the Baltimore Orioles when they open a three-game series Monday night at Camden Yards.

Oakland (49-62) has won all eight meetings against Baltimore (46-65) since last season, including a three-game sweep June 5-7 in which the Athletics outscored the Orioles 21-5.

Poor outings by Baltimore's starting pitchers were a major reason why the club was swept. They failed to get out of the first inning twice and logged a total of 4 2-3 innings in the three games, posting a 34.71 ERA.

One of those starters was Jeremy Guthrie (7-11, 5.28 ERA), who takes the ball in the opener and will try to redeem himself for the shortest outing of his career. He recorded two outs and give up six runs in a 9-1 loss on June 5.

Guthrie tries to win for the first time in four starts after going 0-3 with a 6.10 ERA in the last three. He allowed three runs over 7 1-3 innings Wednesday in a 4-2 loss at Detroit.

The right-hander is 0-3 with an 8.57 ERA in five starts against the AL West this year.

Baltimore's bullpen worked 19 1-3 innings in the sweep, and had a heavy workload in a 7-3 loss at Toronto on Sunday. Orioles relievers pitched 5 1-3 innings after highly touted rookie Brian Matusz struggled in his second major league start.

The Orioles expect to have second baseman Brian Roberts back in the lineup. He sat out Sunday after fouling a ball off his shin the day before, and manager Dave Trembley indicated Roberts would have to wear a shin guard.

Roberts, batting .282 with nine homers and 46 RBIs, leads the club with 21 stolen bases.

The Athletics will have a different look from the club that swept the Orioles earlier this season. Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi combined to drive in seven runs in that series, but neither is with Oakland anymore.

Holliday was traded to the Cardinals on July 24 and Giambi was released on Friday.

Oakland has been getting power from other sources and hit seven homers over the weekend in winning two of three at Kansas City. Bobby Crosby had his first multihomer game of the year in a 6-3 victory Sunday.

"Home runs seem to come in bunches," Crosby said. "I know personally they do and team-wise they do. I don't really know the reason for it. Guys swings are going well and that's usually when it happens."

Oakland's hottest hitter since the start of July is outfielder Rajai Davis, who is batting .391 with 21 RBIs in that span. Davis had two hits and two stolen bases Sunday.

Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 6.31) will try to maintain his recent success as he takes the mound for the A's. Gonzalez improved to 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his last three starts after allowing three hits over 6 2-3 innings Tuesday in a 6-0 win over Texas.

The left-hander has credited his success to working with catcher Kurt Suzuki.

"I have been working with Suzuki about having a routine; having him set up down the middle and let my stuff do the work," said Gonzalez, who has never faced Baltimore. "I'm working on keeping my composure because that will help me go the distance."