Matusz was the Man - In just his 6th Major League start, Brian Matusz pitched a gem to win his third game. He limited the Indians to four hits and one run over seven innings. He is now 3-2, 5.28. He set season highs for innings, strikeouts with eight and fewest hits allowed with four. Matusz threw 96 pitches, 67 strikes. In his last inning, the top of the seventh, he got three outs on just five pitches. Matusz threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 26 batters. Over his last four starts, covering 23 innings, he has walked just six and fanned 25.
It's starting to get better - O's starters have been quietly on a roll in recent games. Over the last ten games, they have pitched to an ERA of 2.84 (18ER in 57 IP). The Orioles have started a rookie on the mound in 77 of 131 games this year and the club is 30-47 in those games. The O's improve to 8-13 on Sundays, 13-24 in day games and 15-27 in series finale games. Jim Johnson got his 7th save as he retired the side in order on just 12 pitches in the ninth. O's pitching held the Tribe to two runs, seven hits and just one extra-base hit today. The O's team ERA is 3.53 over the last 12 games. The O's scored five runs today and have scored 36 runs over their last six games. Pie does it again - Felix Pie was 1 for 3 today with a two-run homer. It was his 7th homer of the year, his 3rd in the last four games and his fourth over his last seven games. Pie went 6 for 13 in this series with two homers and 5 RBI. Over his last 16 games, he is batting .383-5-12. Last night, Cleveland's Andy Marte and Matt LaPorta combined for six hits and 3 RBI. They both brought ten-game hitting streaks into today's game. Today they were a combined 0 for 8 with two strikeouts.