Red Sox @ Orioles lineups and game notes - June 11

Well, last night sure DAMPened my mood! *rim shot*. It was a boring game that was forced to drag on even longer because of the rain. Neither team showed much life. Tonight, the Orioles would like to see Chen build on his last outing, a positive start against a hot Oakland team. History is stacked against him.

Pitchers

LHP Wei-Yin Chen, Baltimore

2014 stats: 12 G, 6-2, 4.13 ERA, 69.2 IP, 9 HR, 11 BB, 50 SO, .291 BAA, 1.32 WHIP
Last start (vs. Oakland): 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 SO, ND

Most Oriole fans don't need to be told this, but Chen has difficulty with Boston. In his career he has made seven starts against the boppers from Massachusets. He is 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA and a batting average against of .333. Yikes.

Chen has only allowed three total runs over his last two outings. The issue is he has only lasted an average of 5.2 innings. Although this will sound like a broken record, he has to go deeper into the games.

RHP Rubby de la Rosa, Boston

2014 stats: 2 G, 1-1, 2.84 ERA. 12.2 IP, 2 HR, 2 BB, 13 SO, .277 BAA, 1.18 WHIP
Last start (@ Detroit): 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 SO, L

Pitch Selection in 2014 (Fangraphs)

Pitch Type	Usage	Velocity
Fastball	46.8%	94.6
Slider	7.0%	82.7
Curveball	5.5%	78.4
Changeup	40.8%	87.7

De la Rosa only has two starts this season. So, there isnt much to go off of. His batting average against on balls in play is .333 so he is perhaps a bit unlucky in the early goings. But he more than makes up for that with his strikout record, he averages more than one K per inning and is only walking 1.42 per nine innings pitched.

His only previous experience against Baltimore came last September. He tossed two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit and one earned run.

Lineups

Red Sox (w/ career stats against Chen)

LF Brock Holt (L)	0-for-2, .000 BA
3B Xander Bogaerts (R)	2-for-4, .500 BA, 1 BB, 1 SO
2B Dustin Pedroia (R)	12-for-24, .500 BA, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 1 SO
DH David Ortiz (L)	6-for-15, .400 BA, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO
1B Mike Napoli (R)	3-for-15, .200 BA, 2 HR, 1 BB, 5 SO
RF Jonny Gomes (R)	4-for-19, .211 BA, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 SO
C A.J. Pierzynski (L)	3-for-12, .250 BA, 2 2B, 4 SO
SS Jonathan Herrera (S)	none
CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (L)	3-for-5, .600 BA, 1 2B, 1 SO

Despite his lousy career numbers against the BoSox, this lineup doesn't look overly worrisome. However, Pedroia has pretty darn well dominate Chen over his career. Not to mention everyone's favorite guy to hate, Big Papi, has been solid too. If the O's get six innings out of Chen it will be time for a celebration.

Orioles

RF Nick Markakis (L)

LF Steve Pearce (R)

CF Adam Jones (R)

DH Nelson Cruz (R)

1B Chris Davis (L)

SS J.J. Hardy (R)

3B Manny Machado (R)

2B Jonathan Schoop (R)

C Nick Hundley (R)

The only player currently on the O's roster to face de la Rosa is Schoop, he is 1-for-1. The entire offense looked bad last night, but Jones and Markakis have been on fire as of late. Jones is 10 for his last 27, Markakis, 9 for his last 27. Perhaps a more positive weather forecast will help matters.

Pearce returns to the number two hold and Machado is tossed back down the lineup while he appeals his impending suspension.

Game Notes

• The O's have agreed to terms with 21 of their draft picks. However, names have not been announced yet.
• Miguel Gonzalez and Nolan Reimold are set to play for Bowie tonight. It is Gonzalez's first rehab assignment and he expects to go four to five innings. Reimold played last night, going 1-for-3.
• Machado is in a 0-for-15 slump, but Showalter dismissed the thought of him being sent down to the minors

*Notes come from the legion of Oriole beat reporters and Orioles Public Relations