Kevin Millwood, RH Kris Benson, RH
(8-5, 4.83) (9-7, 4.79)
Kris Benson's ERA is 4.79, but the numbers are misleading. He's been one of our most dependable pitchers this year. In 19 starts, he's turned in 11 quality starts, including 5 straight in a June stretch where he was lowered his ERA by nearly a full point. He also averages a hair below 6 innings per start.
Unfortunately, Kris' record is skewed by a few el-stinko outings. When he's bad, he can be really, really bad. 9 ER in 4-1/3 IP at Boston; 6 ER in 2 IP in Seattle; and his latest stinkfest, 7 ER in 3 IP at Cleveland. Take out those runfests, and Kris would have a much more impressive 3.31 ERA. Even if you throw out his three best outings to balance the scale, his ERA would be 4.02, almost a run lower than it is now. One other good piece of news is that Benson pitches much better at home than away.
Kevin Millwood is, well, Kevin Millwood. He's having a Benson-like year, right down to pitching crazy good for June and then being crappy in his past two starts. Also, both of them have names that start with 'K'. So they're basically the same person. Millwood strained his bicep in his game on July 2 and then skipped a turn, so it's been a while since he's thrown.
One last gem for you: Baltimore is batting .158 against Texas this season. Woo-hoo! Game on!
Note: Current record for the O's is 41-50. I don't know how to change it in the sidebar.