Jeremy Hellickson of the Rays opposed Jeremy Guthrie today and they were pretty much opposites. Hellickson pitched a complete game and gave up just one run on four hits. Guthrie looked bad the entire game as he only lasted five innings in which the Rays scored seven runs on seven hits and four walks. Thanks to two errors, only three of those seven runs were earned, but it was still messy all-around for Guthrie,
The recently promoted Rick VandenHurk took over for Guthrie and allowed one run of his own, and Zach Phillips pitched a perfect 2/3 of an inning.
The Orioles finally got on the board in the fifth inning with Adam Jones' 23rd home run of the year, but that was all they managed. Hellickson only gave up two more hits after that, a double by Jones and a single by J.J. Hardy.
Of course, in a lineup that featured both Kyle Hudson and Matt Angle, not to mention Nick Markakis at first base and Craig Tatum behind the plate, it was almost like the Orioles were forfeiting this game before it even began. In his major league debut, Hudson went 0-for-3 and grounded into two double plays.
The Orioles now travel to New York where Brian Matusz will start tomorrow afternoon. Should we take bets to see if his ERA goes up again (it's gone up in every start he's made this year)?