Final
Resurgent Bedard goes for Mariners against Orioles
May 31, 2011 - 3:00 PMVideo
Bedard had been acquired by Seattle from Baltimore in a six-player deal prior to the start of the 2008 campaign. Injuries, though, have derailed a once promising career, as he has made five trips to the disabled list since the deal and last year missed the entire year recovering from left shoulder surgery - his third in as many seasons.
The 32-year-old lefty signed a one-year incentive-laden deal with the Mariners this offseason and got off to a horrendous start, losing his first four outings, while pitching to a 7.71 ERA. Since that time, however, he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, winning his next three decisions and allowing two runs or less in each of his last five outings.
"Obviously, the thing with Erik is that he's healthy again, and he's free and easy with his arm. That's the No. 1 thing," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "But I think you're seeing that his confidence is building with each outing, and that's a great thing for him."
Bedard won his second straight start on Wednesday in Minnesota and extended his scoreless innings streak to 15, as he held the Twins to six hits over six scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 3.48 on the year.
"There was a time when his fastball was probably 94-95 mph, but now it's 92 but still very deceptive," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said after facing Bedard last week. "He has a great breaking ball and changeup and doesn't miss his location much.
"We've seen this young man for a long time and he's had a lot injuries, but when he's healthy -- and it looked like he was today -- he throws some pretty good pitches. His breaking ball was snapping as hard as anyone we've seen this year."
Bedard has faced his former team twice and is 1-0 against them with a 2.61 ERA.
Baltimore will counter with right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who is 2-6 with a 3.63 ERA. Guthrie snapped a personal six-game losing streak on May 21, but failed to follow it up with a win on Thursday against Kansas City, as he was hit for five runs (four earned) and nine hits over seven innings of a no- decision.
Guthrie is 2-4 lifetime against the Mariners with a a 4.32 ERA in eight starts.
The Orioles could use a strong start from Guthrie after dropping their fourth straight game in Monday's opener, as Doug Fister threw 7 1/3 strong innings, which included a career-high nine strikeouts, in Seattle's 4-3 victory.
Fister (3-5) allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in the Mariners' 11th win in their last 14 games.
Jake Arrieta (6-3) had the shortest outing of his career when he allowed four runs on four hits and four walks in just 2 1/3 innings.
"I'm pretty upset about this one. I just couldn't give the team what I needed to give them," said Arrieta. "It's just real frustrating to go out there, especially after a sweep, I knew what I wanted to do today and to only get seven outs is pretty frustrating."
The Orioles hope to have Adam Jones back in the lineup tonight. The outfielder, who was also part of the Bedard deal in 2008, did not start Monday's contest because of a sore shoulder, but appeared late in the game as a pinch-runner. He leads the team with 29 RBI this season.
Baltimore swept a three-game series from the Mariners earlier in the year and has won six of the last nine meetings. The O's, though, have dropped seven of nine at Safeco.
- BALTIMORE: 2
SEATTLE: 3
Final
Jun 1 12:33 AM - Justin Smoak two-out, three-run Home Run (8) to right scored Ichiro Suzuki and Brendan Ryan. Jack Cust due up.
Orioles 2, Mariners 3 Bot 8, 2 OutsJun 1 12:22 AM - Mark Reynolds fouled out to catcher. None on with one out and Luke Scott due up.
Orioles 2, Mariners 0 Top 7, 1 OutMay 31 11:46 PM - Nick Markakis grounded into a double play, short to second to first scored Robert Andino. Adam Jones out at second. None on with two outs and Vladimir Guerrero due up.
Orioles 1, Mariners 0 Top 6, 2 OutsMay 31 11:32 PM - BALTIMORE: 0
SEATTLE: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
May 31 10:10 PM
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