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When/Where to Watch
Time/location: 4:04 pm/Oriole Park at Camden Yards
TV: MASN2 (BAL), Sun Sports (TBR)
Radio: WBAL 1090AM (BAL),WDAE 620 AM /95.3 FM, WGES 680 (Sp.)
Pitching
It's a battle of lefties today, both of whom have the reputation for being wilting flowers. Erik Bedard of the Rays has a hard time getting past five innings or 100 pitches, and Wei-Yin Chen of the Orioles tends to fall apart after 100 pitches whether it's in the fourth inning or the eighth. The temperature at game time is predicted to be 81 degrees with 44% humidity, which isn't too bad. These guys will both be sweaty in the first inning, though.
Erik Bedard - LHP - Rays
Bedard has faced the Orioles once this season and he was knocked out after just four innings with five runs allowed. We'd like more of that, please! Since being traded by the Orioles to the Mariners after the 2007 season, he has faced his former team seven times, all starts, and has totaled 30 innings pitched. That's not very good. His ERA in those seven games is 6.30, and the Orioles have hit .279/.371/.443 against him. Adam Jones has hit especially well against him, going 6-for-13 with two doubles. He's even taken a walk against Bedard. I guess he likes to rub that trade in.
In thirteen starts for the Rays this season, Bedard has a 4.38 ERA and opponents are batting .262/.331/.391 against him. He is averaging 4.9 innings pitched per start.
Wei-Yin Chen - LHP - Orioles
Since coming to the major leagues in 2012, Chen has enjoyed pitching against the Rays. He has made 10 starts against them with a 2.98 ERA. The Rays have hit .251/.302/.390 against him, and Chen has averaged 6 1/3 IP against them. All of those numbers are quite a bit better than his total career averages.
Chen has had a successful June, pitching to a 2.61 ERA that dropped his overall ERA from 4.50 to 3.84. He's still not going to go into the eighth or ninth innings of games, but does anyone even expect that nowadays?
The only Ray who has had any kind of lasting success (my loose definition of this being double digit plate appearances) is Ben Zobrist. That figures.
Lineups
Let's go O's!