coming up on "o's xtra" o's after it after -- back at it after a day off. luke scott takes his head ought -- rett red-hot bat into the game. it's interleague baseball as the mets come to town. it's the orioles-mets. it's melvin mora, johan santana, it's you, it's me, it's rick. it's "o's xtra" right now.  >> it's an overcast night oriole park at camden yards. welcome in. "o's xtra" presented by at&t. your world delivered as the orioles nine-game home stand continues. the final series overt nine-

game stand as interleague baseball continues at camden yards tonight. iments the orioles against the new york mets. welcome in. jim hunter and rick dempsey. orioles trying to make it three consecutive wins. bats broke out over the weekend. it's an amazing game baseball. you can go 11 consecutive games and score 19 runs and then score 19 runs combined over two games. orioles in those games, fabulous, reiss rick. 29 base hits, a .392 combined team batting average. look at the numbers with runners in scoring position and two of the hitters breaking out big, brian roberts and ty wigginton. i guess the theory about that is, if you think you have it figured out in baseball, wait till tomorrow. >> you got that right. you talk about hitting. it's contagious. that's what happens in this ball club. they're very, very good at it especially at home. brian roberts is the catalyst for this entire offense and that is the strength of this organization right now. when brian roberts son base, not only is he a good hitter

and a guy who doesn't like to bunt very much. he's a pure hitter. when he gets on base, he causes the pitcher to change all the ways he wants to pitch everybody else in the lineup while he's standing on the bases. they have to get ball to the catcher in a hurry. they're always afraid brian is going to steal second. he's the best at stealing third base. the next hitter will see a lot more fastballs especially when that hitter has a good hitting count. >> so, everybody feels better about things when hits begin to fall especially the leadoff hitter. for more on, that let's head across the field and welcome in amber. >> hello. it steems seems for a two-week span at least an 11-game span, we heard this team is too good to perform this poorly at the plate. it has to turn around at some point. we saw that over the weekend. rick and jim gave everybody the statistics. for brian roberts in particular, i talked to him after the game on sunday. he talked about continuing the momentum into this series against the mets. i asked him does it appear that

the offensive flood gates have opened up. >> hopefully, a little bit. i mean, i told you yesterday i think when you look at our team at the end of the year, you look and say they have a pretty good offensive team. we went through a two-we'll week hole. that happens. brian mccann back there catching goes, geez, you guys are good. it's a matter of days a couple days ago, you guys are the worst team i've ever seen. you never know in this game. >> boy, is brian roberts busted out that have slump he was in in a six-game span, he has hit con sectively, gotten a hit in every one of those games n that six-game period, he's batting .500. so, not only brian roberts, but the rest of the orioles looking to keep it going tonight in their third interleague series on the year. jim? >> amber, thank you very much. mets are in town. let's get a look at the mets starting lineup as they come in. they're contenders in the n. l. east, but they have been under achieving on the year.

karr karr, martinez, carlos beltran up top. alex cora in the middle. a couple of gold gloves. david wright in right. church dh's, with the american league leads, daniel murphy will be at first base, brian schneider will catch and luis castillo at second base. david wright is probably the more dangerous hitter in that lineup. he comes in red-hot. however, he is not hitting the long ball. >> he's not hitting the long ball. i talked to keith hernandez early on and try foig you're out if -- out if they were trying to pitch around david wright at this point of the season. it's not been that so much as david wright started the season off with a very long swing. nobody better to tell me about it than keith hernandez because he certainly knew a lot about the swing. that's one thing he's really cut down the amount of home runs. early on, he had trouble really getting that short, quick, powerful swing to the paul that he's had in the past to put up 30 plus home runs almost every season he's been a regular. the problem now is he's getting

back on track again especially as of june. he's hitting over .500 in this month. he's really starting to feel it again. it won't be too long before he starts putting up those big power numbers again. >> one home run in his last 33 games. maybe it's citi field. citi field is not a home run- hitting haven. mets in a brand new ballpark this year playing their home games. here is the orioles lineup. birds trying to make it three straight wins. brian roberts in that leadoff spot. 5-6 with four rbi's over the past two games. brian has been red-hot on this home stand. in fact, he's hit in all six games on the home stand. adam jones back in the lineup. markakis, huff and mora with scott dhing. reimold in lpd left field, wieters will catch and andino at shortstop. he stepped in because cesar izturis on the d. l. he's contributing on the field and at the plate. >> well, robert andino is a good, contact hitter. i think the more you see him play, the more you'll like this guy. he makes a lot of good plays on defense. pretty good range for a utility player and a guy who goes to

his right very well. one thing i really like. he gets a hit his first time up, he's going to get more than one hit. he's one of those kind of players. he's very selfish when it comes to contact. he loves that base hits. he's not just satisfied with one. he had four three games ago, four base hits in one game and he's starting to hit the ball more like did he in the minor leagues right now he says. >> so, orioles have turned the corner. they've won back-to-back games looking to make it three straight as interleague baseball conditions here -- continues here at camden yards. when we come back on "o's xtra", we'll look back to the gem spun by brad bergesen on sunday, the orioles first complete game victory of the year. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir?

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it's very breezy. it's an extra hair spray night. 71 degrees. winds 12-18 miles per hour out of the east. fairly pleasant with the humidity. mets-orioles get going game one of a three-game series. sunday afternoon here at oriole park, bearings bearings was magnificent. he pitched a complete game winning the rubber game of the three-game series as the orioles routed the braves. following the game, bearings talk about the outing and the dual affect -- duel effect tlt it had on the ball -- dual effect it had on the ball club. >> i was glad i could get them a rest with an off day tomorrow. it was a lot of fun today. >> was there a question whether or not you would go out for the ninth and were you glad you got an opportunity to complete a -- pitch a complete game? >> absolutely. i didn't know where my pitch count was. after i came in after eighth inning, dave trembley and rick kranitz deposit say anything to me so i knew i would go out for the ninth.

>> he's been tremendous. i love his approach and the way he goes about his business. he works quick. he trusts his stuff. he knows he has a good sinker. uses his slider, throws strikes and gets ground balls. it's amazing when you look up there every fifth day and he's pitching, you're like it's going to be a good one. we're excited about his future. >> i just tried to like you said pound the strike zone, get them to put them in play. defense today was tremendous. had a couple balls hit hart that -- hard that worked out in my faifert favor right at guys. just keep pounding the strike zone. >> well, bearings certainly has been doing that. look at the numbers over his last four starts. 3-0, one no decision. how about that e.r.a. 1.69 combined in those four starts. bergesen has anchtd eight innings per start. opponents are batting just .193 and he now owns the only complete game victory that the orioles have on the year. jeremy guthrie has the other complete game. that came in an eight-inning loss at toronto. obviously, you see brad

bergesen dpaing consistency as you -- gaining consistency. as you watch him, what do you see and what you do you see in his approach. >> like brian roberts says, everybody loves this guy's approach to pitching. one thing is get on the mound, get ready to pitch and throw. he's got a very -- he works very fast, but his tempo has really changed a little bit. very slow through the course of his delivery, but he attacks the strike zone. i think that's what everybody likes. he's got that killer instinct that you love to see every pitcher have. give him a two or three-run lead, he goes right after the first hitter that he sees. strike one, strike one, strike one. he puts all the pressure on the hitter to swing the bat. there's no time to think up there. he's got the ball. he's ready to deliver. when he's ahead strike one, every hitter says i don't want to get behind in the count strike two. they're ready to rock 'n' roll on bergesen. great repertoire on pitches. when he staiz stays on top of the ball he's gl getting better and better. that's proven he's gone seven,

eight, nine. the ball starts to sink in the zone. you can tell it's coming and a lost them still can't think. >> following his win on sunday that complete add gem in four consecutive strong starts as we mentioned, there's a lot of talk is bergesen considered or should he be considered for the possible rookie of the year. here are some of the other rookie pitchers around the american league who are also off to good starts. of course, rick porello in detroit 7-43.71 e.r.a. nearly i'd cal. josh out man out in oakland. he's 4-1. matt palmer with the angels, 6-0 with eight straight starts. 4.11 e.r.a. there's a long way to go in this there. -- in this. we're only in mid-june. if bergesen continues to be consistent in particular when the orioles get back into the a. l. east, he'll get competition because the orioles playing the toughest division. >> the e.r.a. is the key. it doesn't matter. some teams, you go out to the west coast, it's easier for offenses to be productive in

that sort of weather out here you get back on the west coast. very, very tough to put up as many wins. bergesen is one of those guys who is getting better and better as he goes along. he could possibly do that. i think before the season is over, you're going to see him in contention for the win lead. right now, other guy has 6-0 at this point. i think he'll be in contention for that. he's some kind of strike thrower. i think that's going to pay in the long run. >> tonight here at the ballpark, it's the opener of the three-game series. interleague baseball against the new york mets. when we come back, the swing is back in the oriole bats. we'll chat with the king of swing. the pro when we come back.

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back at oriole park at camden yards, you see the flags. a breezy night. it's overcast at the moment as the orioles take opt new york mets. it's game one of the three goims-game series. here is a look at the upcoming

schedule. tomorrow and thursday night games and they'll be at fibl philadelphia over the weekend. night games friday and saturday and then a day game on sunday before the orioles head to miami to continue interleague baseball. three games next week after a day off monday against the florida marlins. well, orioles without a doubt have broken out of it at the plate. double digits in hits over past three games. 19 runs and two victories over the last two. i spoke with the hitting coach terry crowley who nose these hitters swings inside and out. i asked the approach in particular the veteran hitters when they're going through a tough spell. >> well, when we work, weapon go in the tunnel whether it's brian, nicky, huff or melvin, these guys know how to hit. we don't go in the tunnel to teach them how to hit so to speak. we go in the tunnel to work on things they've done well in the past. -- in the past. maybe a couple things that have slipped away over the last couple of days of playing and get them back on track to sit them off to different all-star

games and successful seasons. i don't really have to -- a couple young guys you have -- guys you have to teach a little about hitting. they're at a level the ball gets on them quicker. there might be a little more teaching with the young guys. older guys that have been around and hit so well over the years, you don't really teach them how to hit. you just reinforce some things that they've done in the past, remind them a few things and they take it from there. >> ok. finally, in contrast to the guys you just talked about, what are you doing with andino? what ever you're doing, he's listening. >> that's a secret. no, no, dino has been a real pleasant surprise for us. he's been lights out with the glove. his speed alone helped us out yesterday a couple times. he scored from third base when robby got in a bind over at first base. he hustled in to second base and got somebody a base hit. i'm not quite sure it might have been -- i'm not sure.

there was a ground ball to shortstop. >> it was reimold. >> he helped out with second base. those kind of things don't show up in the box score, but it makes your teammates and coaches love you. as far as hitting goes, he's getting a chance now to put in to practice things that we've been practicing on in the tunnel for -- since he got here. now he's out there. he has a chance to play every day. you're seeing things work out a little better. >> the king of swing no doubt about that. robert andino started nine straight games because of cesar izturis being forced to go on the disabled list because of an appendectomy. look at the disparity of the orioles at home versus road. those numbers alarmingly different. why does the team hit so much better at home? >> i think the ballpark is the reason for it. just like terry crowley says, good contact hitters and guys that really know what they're doing when they go up there. nick markakis, brian roberts, aubrey huff, melvin mora, they all have very good sense of mechanics of hitting.

inth ballpark here, teams come in and think they're going to play shallow at the beginning of each series and get burned long here. the ball does travel very well. maybe the infield grass slows down a lot of the ground balls, but the orioles don't have a lot of slap hitters here. they have guys that hit a lot of line drives. brian roberts is not the kind of hitter that likes to hit down on the ball and try and use his speed to get base hits. he's a pure doubles line drive hitter as is most of the hitters in this lineup. nick markakis is not a guy who hits the ball down either. they hit it in the gap. it force outfielders once they get a chance to see our hitters swing, that force them back closer to the warning track. then again, you get a lot of line drives that fall in. i think that's a big reason why you see a lot of base hits in streaks at times. >> it was a unique situation that the orioles went through over 11 consecutive games. 19 total runs. really, six or seven of the hitters who play every day going into a slump, if you will, at the same time. i thought brian roberts made a good point when he spoke with

amber. it's just baseball. it's all relevant to the entire season because these type of streaks will come. you know they're going to come. they happen to every team. the question is how do you break out and how do you overcome it once you get there? >> you just kind of hope with the quality kind of hitters we have in our lineup, that they all don't go into those little slumps at the same time. i think that's what we saw a couple weeks ago in three or four of the quality hitters. brian roberts struggled to get on base. nick markakis has struggled. still struggled. melvin mora was struggling. that's three of the first five guys you're going to see in our order that weren't getting on base. weren't getting those business hits or driving the runs in from second base. the other guys will have their days here and there. luke scott was doing outstanding. nolan reimold was doing very good. players like that were trying to pickup the pace. just not enough to overcome some of the pitching performances we were seeing. >> new york mets in town. interleague baseball continues. pitching matchup tonight. it will be mike pelfrey on the mound for the new york mets and jeremy guthrie looking for a win. he's trying to get his fifth on

the year. he will go for the orioles. it's the 0s-mets, it's -- o's- mets, it's interleague play at camden yards. getting set for the new york mets. and this is your movies on demand screen.

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have you been watching me all day? no. (announcer) switch to verizon fios and get the ultimate home entertainment experience. plus up to $150 back. "o's xtra" prent presen by the at apd t here at oriole park at camden yards. mets in town as interleague baseball continues. game one of a three-game series. jeremy guthrie is on the mound tonight for the orioles. guthrie has struggled over his last three starts. there are the numbers-2 with a no decision and e.r.a. of 8.53. 13 runs, 12 earned in his last 1 and -- 12 2/3 innings. out strikeout to walks ratio, outstanding. look at the opposing batting average .339. over a longer stretch, guthrie has just one win over his last five starts. what do you see with guthrie and what does he have to do to get more consistent and have a chance to win? >> it's really hard to put your finger on it for any one given

game. i think there's two or three things that have probable come -- probably come into his mind. changing the way he likes to release the game. there are so many mechanical things he adjusts to during the course of a game. sometimes he'll drop his front shoulder and teeter through the course of hi windup and delivery. sometimes he'll come straight up. he'll lean back. sometimes he'll lift his leg a little higher. sometimes not. i think he tries a lot of things. that's the way jeremy guthrie works. he hasn't been able to really find any kind of a consistency to the way he delivers the ball. during the course of a game, i think it really weighs heavily. it's like a hitter that goes up there and says to himself, i have to raise my hands a little bit taller. i've got to stride a little sooner. i have to lean more on my backside. when you start thinking about those things when the ball on the its way, everything goes into slow motion. same thing with a pitcher. when you start thinking about all the mechanical things you want to try during the course of one single pitch, everything goes into slow motion. you hold the ball a little bit

longer. you threat go a little bit sooner. you do a lot of different things. you do different things with your breaking ball. a lot of times the fastball and the curve ball ends up hanging. the fastball stays up. you get burned so many times. you almost get exhausted out there on the mound just thinking about it. >> so, think what i got out of that, jaimpl jeremy, don't think. >> just react. >> let's gets the rick dempsey scouting report on the right- hander. >> he loves interleeg league play. you look at some of the numbers. eight starts in interleague. he only has a 2-1 record with a 1.86 e.r.a. he's been fantastic in interleague play. the club doesn't seem to be able to score him any runs. home runs are no problem tonight because even though he does lead the american league giving up 16home runs, mets are 28th in major league baseball at hitting home runs. they only have 40 as a team. that should not be a factor tonight. >> on the mound for the mets tonight is right-hander mike pelfrey. >> very good matchup with

pelfrey and guthrie. their career statistics are almost exactly the same. guthrie, 22-22 -- excuse me, pelfrey is 22-22 lifetime. guthrie, 21-23. both of them have a 4.30. the other one a 4.10. pelfrey takes the loss and guthrie takes the win, they're tied. not a road warrior. he has trouble on the road with a 2-3 record. it shawbd very good matchup. >> it's the mets. it's the orioles. it's insurance league baseball. what is the rick dempsey key to the game? >> the key is don't go wrong with wright. this guy has been a hot, hot hitter. he leads the national league with a .364 batting average. actually, first in the major leagues. you don't have to pitch to him with men in scoring position right now. you've got some other guys around him that are strugingling -- struggling. you can afford to be careful. let's not have any left-handers come out for him because he is tearing up left-handers right now with a .510 batting average

against lefties. >> what the orioles are looking to do is build off what they began over the weekend. orioles are now 3-3 over six games of this home stand. what you'd like to do, keep it going. get 2-3, minimum from the mets. now they have to go on the road following the series and six consecutive games in national league ballparks which means they lose the dh. >> you win that first game, then you've got to try to take that too. you take that match. that's all the orioles should try to do 2-3 the rest of the way. >> it's the orioles and adam jones is back in the lineup tonight. he had to sit out sunday after fouling the ball off his shin. brian roberts looking to make itself consecutive games at the plate. he is 11-22 over the last six games. brian is red-hot. orioles-mets getting set to play game one of this three- game interleague series. a lot of mets fans came down from new york today to see this game. stay with us now. gary thorne and jim palmer next. they'll have all the play-by- play as guthrie and the birds go against pelfrey and the mets.

rick and i back on "o's xtra" post-game. enjoy the game. see you later. (announcer) you do have health insurance don't you? if you don't, now you're in luck. carefirst bluecross blueshield can cover you for as little as $75 a month. depending on the plan you choose. just call us at the number on your screen for the plan that's right for you. carefirst bluecross blueshield lets you customize coverage so you have an individual plan that suits you best. select a ppo or an hmo, add vision or dental-- you can design a plan that fits your budget and protects you even as your life changes. call us at the number on your screen and get this free information kit. when it comes to protecting your health you can count on carefirst bluecross blueshield.

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