Indians Vs. Orioles

Schedule:

Game 1, Tuesday at Camden Yards (10:07 a.m. PDT, ESPN); Game 2, Wednesday at Camden Yards (10:07 a.m., ESPN); Game 3, Friday at Jacobs Field (1:07 p.m., ESPN); Game 4 (if necessary) Saturday at Jacobs Field (10:07 a.m., ESPN or ESPN2); Game 5 (if necessary) Sunday at Jacobs Field (4:30 p.m., Fox).

Season Series: Cleveland won, 7-5.

Matchups

Indians: Consistency led to 99 regular-season wins, and Tribe enters postseason with better lineup than a year ago following additions of Kevin Seitzer and Julio Franco. … Played best ball in September. … Pulled off surprising trades of popular second baseman Carlos Baerga and first baseman/DH Eddie Murray during season. … Led league in pitching and hitting for second straight year. … Temperamental outfielder Albert Belle was well-behaved following first-half incident when he barreled over Milwaukee second baseman Fernando Vina. Belle finished with 48 homers and 148 RBIs. … Kenny Lofton, baseball’s premier leadoff hitter, led AL in steals (75) for fifth straight year. Closer Jose Mesa got two saves and a win in seven innings.

Orioles: Baseball’s most powerful lineup batted .312 vs. Tribe. … Roberto Alomar hit .400 with three homers, 10 RBIs and nine walks. … Brady Anderson had five doubles, five homers and 12 RBIs. … Baltimore, which has always relied on the long ball, was just 7-for-13 while attempting steals. … Game 1 starter David Wells was 2-0 with a 2.91 ERA in three starts. … Team ERA was 7.27 vs. Indians. … Scott Erickson, who’ll start the second game in Baltimore, went 1-2 and was tagged for 33 hits in 22-1/3 innings. … Mike Mussina, slated to start Game 3, was 0-2 with a 14.81 ERA. He allowed 21 hits in 10 innings. … Reliever Jesse Orosco picked up two wins in six appearances.

Prediction: Indians in 5.