The Rays are in a serious slide, losing 11 straight games. Over their last 30 games they are 11-19, which is actually one game worse than the Orioles. It's a shame to see them collapse like this. They were a long shot for the playoffs for awhile, but they were at least fighting. Now they are completely out of the race.
David Price and David Hernandez face off tonight. Price pitched well against the Orioles back on August 18th, but has been erratic this season. He pitches much better at home, which is where he faced the O's last time. His last start was in New York and he pitched well but not the no decision as the Rays were swept.
David Hernandez has never faced the Rays but has looked awful for weeks. He's been giving up home runs left and right and his last start in Boston was downright embarrassing as 4 HR in 2.2 innings spelled his doom. It'd be nice to see him put in a solid outing tonight, though it's looking more and more like his future might be in the bullpen, especially with the rotation options the team will have next year.
The O's haven't been playing all that badly of late (for them at least). Yeah, they lost two games in Boston, but they took 2 of three from the Rangers and the Yankees.
Brian Matusz has been shut down for the season, per Roch. While I understand the decision, that's going to take a lot of the fun out of the rest of the season. I can only imagine that Tillman won't be far behind. Matusz will stay with the team and work with Rick Kranitz, but no more games. At least he went out on a high note.