• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Red Sox-Orioles Preview

May 2, 2010 - 3:46 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Boston (11-12) at Baltimore (5-18), 1:35 p.m. EDT

The Baltimore Orioles entered the weekend with four wins. They could close it out with their first sweep of at least three games at home against the Boston Red Sox since 1998.

The Orioles look to build off their highest scoring game of the season and complete the unlikely sweep Sunday when they face Boston and struggling ace Josh Beckett.

After Miguel Tejada's game-winning single helped Baltimore snap a seven-game home losing streak to Boston with Friday's 5-4, 10-inning victory, the Orioles (6-18) hit a season-high five home runs and defeated the Red Sox 12-9 on Saturday, clinching their first series win of the season. Nick Markakis went 3 for 5 with a three-run homer and a career high-tying five RBIs and Ty Wigginton hit two solo homers in Baltimore's highest-scoring game since a 13-7 victory over Toronto on Oct. 2.

"It came on a good night because obviously they were swinging the bats, too," said Wigginton, batting .471 with three homers in five games against Boston this season. "Fortunately, we scored more points than they did."

Baltimore, which salvaged the finale of a three-game set in Boston on April 25, will now try to win four straight over the Red Sox for the first time since a five-game run in a row in 2004. The Orioles haven't swept Boston in a series of at least three games at Camden Yards since a four-game set July 9-12, 1998. They also took both contests of a two-game series May 13-14, 2008.

Beating Beckett (1-0, 7.22 ERA) to complete the sweep would traditionally be a tough assignment, but Beckett hasn't looked like his traditional self in 2010. The right-hander has given up 15 runs, 16 hits and eight walks over 10 innings in his last two starts, and opponents are batting .316 on the season against the former World Series MVP.

Taking the mound for the start of Boston's six-game trip, Beckett did not receive a decision in Monday's 13-12 win over Toronto, yielding eight runs and nine hits over a season-low three-plus innings.

"You can't give them extra baserunners," Beckett said. "Some of it's fastball command. I think the whole game of baseball is predicated on a fastball. If you can command your fastball, it sets up other pitches, and I'm not doing that."

A new month could also help Beckett, who posted an identical 7.22 ERA in April last year before going 9-1 with a 2.14 ERA in his next 13 outings heading into the All-Star break.

"Josh is going to be good," said Red Sox captain Jason Varitek, who has caught Beckett's last four starts. "He's strong, that's the good thing. He'll get through all his pitches and get through all that and he'll be just fine."

Beckett is 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA in eight career starts in Baltimore.

The Orioles counter with Kevin Millwood (0-3, 3.38), who remains winless due largely to a 2.53 run-support average.

The veteran right-hander surrendered two runs over 5 1/3 innings Tuesday, but Baltimore backed him with only one run and he didn't get credit for the 5-4 win over the New York Yankees.

Last year with Texas, Millwood was 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in three starts versus Boston.

Red Sox DH David Ortiz, who is 9 for 25 with three homers lifetime against Millwood, hit two solo home runs Saturday - the 35th multihomer game of his career. Ortiz has three home runs and four RBIs in 17 at-bats against the Orioles this season. He has no home runs and two RBIs in 60 at-bats against all other opponents.

Wigginton is 9 for 28 with four home runs lifetime versus Beckett.