SERIES AT A GLANCE

SCHEDULE

Today--Cleveland (Chad Ogea, 8-9) at Baltimore (Scott Erickson, 16-7), 5 p.m., Channel 11.

Thursday--Cleveland (Charles Nagy, 15-10) at Baltimore (Jimmy Key, 16-10), 5 p.m., Channel 11.

Saturday--Baltimore (Mike Mussina, 15-8) at Cleveland (Orel Hershiser, 14-6), 1 p.m, Channel 11.

Sunday--Baltimore (TBA) at Cleveland (Jaret Wright, 8-3), 4:30 p.m., Channel 11.

Monday--(if necessary) Baltimore at Cleveland, 5 p.m., Channel 11.

Oct. 15--(if necessary) Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m., Channel 11.

Oct. 16--(if necessary) Cleveland at Baltimore, 5 p.m., Channel 11.

RECORDS

Orioles 98-64, Indians 86-75.

HEAD TO HEAD

Baltimore won the season series, 6-5.

ORIOLES AT A GLANCE

STARTING LINEUP

*--*

Pos. Player Avg. CF Brady Anderson .288 2B Roberto Alomar .333 LF B.J. Surhoff .284 RF Eric Davis .304 1B Rafael Palmeiro .254 3B Cal Ripken Jr. .270 DH Harold Baines .301 C Lenny Webster .255 SS Mike Bordick .236 P Scott Erickson 16-7

*--*

* ANALYSIS: The Orioles went 13-16 in September, leaving an impression that they had staggered to the finish line during their wire-to-wire run to the East Division title. But their pasting of the Seattle Mariners in the division series indicated that the final month of the regular season was merely an aberration. Baltimore showed in the division series why pitching and defense win championships. The Orioles got four excellent starts from Mike Mussina, Scott Erickson and Jimmy Key, superb relief pitching and played four errorless games, mixing in some spectacular glove work.

* KEY RESERVES: Chris Hoiles is the regular at catcher but doesn’t play when Erickson pitches. Outfielder Geronimo Berroa homered twice against Seattle ace Randy Johnson in the division series and should get significant playing time, even though the Indian rotation consists of right-handers. Berroa hit .350 against Cleveland this season. Jeffrey Hammonds is an excellent defensive outfielder with home run power.

* TEAM BATTING: .268 with 196 home runs, 264 doubles and 780 RBIs.

* TEAM PITCHING: 3.91 ERA, eight complete games, 1,139 strikeouts, 563 walks and 59 saves.

INDIANS AT A GLANCE

STARTING LINEUP

*--*

Pos. Player Avg. 2B Bip Roberts .302 SS Omar Vizquel .280 RF Manny Ramirez .328 1B Jim Thome .286 DH David Justice .329 3B Matt Williams .263 C Sandy Alomar .324 LF Brian Giles .268 CF Marquis Grissom .262 P Chad Ogea 8-9

*--*

* ANALYSIS: The Indians beat the Yankees in the division series despite minimal production from two of their best hitters, Jim Thome, who hit .200 with one RBI in four games, and Manny Ramirez, who hit .143 with three RBIs in five games. Cleveland’s bullpen may have slipped a notch from the previous two seasons, but the relief corps came up big against the Yankees, combining for 5 2/3 shutout innings in Games 4 and 5. Jose Mesa, saddled with legal problems in the winter and spring, reestablished himself as the closer over the final two months of the season, saving 16 games in 21 chances, and setup man Mike Jackson, who saved 15 games early in the season, played a major role in the playoffs, throwing 4 1/3 shutout innings against the Yankees.

* KEY RESERVES: The switch-hitting Tony Fernandez (.286) will start at second base against Oriole left-hander Jimmy Key, and it’s possible utility infielder Kevin Seitzer (.268) may start at first base against Key. Justice usually starts in the outfield, but a sore elbow may limit him to DH duties.

* TEAM BATTING: .288 with 220 home runs, 301 doubles and 810 RBIs.

* TEAM PITCHING: 4.73 ERA, four complete games, 1,036 strikeouts, 575 walks and 39 saves.

KEY TO THE SERIES

Can the Indian rotation hold up? Jaret Wright was Cleveland’s savior in the division series, winning two games, but he threw 115 pitches on three days’ rest in Game 5 Monday night. The Indians must score early against the Orioles, because it will be difficult to put a dent in the Baltimore bullpen, which is the best in baseball and features hard-throwing setup man Armando Benitez and closer Randy Myers. One thing working in Cleveland’s favor: The Indians are coming off two huge, emotional, one-run playoff victories.