The Friday night Orioles game thread: at Rays, 7:10

You never really know what you're going to get from a given baseball game, which is part of what makes it all so much fun. Last night, the Orioles got shut down by a guy who came in to the game with an ERA over 7 and then still managed to rally and win against the Rays bullpen. Better if tonight they can just score early and often and maintain a comfortable lead over the Rays the whole game.

No one should expect that outcome in this game, however. Personal Orioles destroyer Drew Smyly is the Rays starter for this game. Smyly was last seen by the Orioles shutting them out for seven innings while allowing only five runners to safely reach base and striking out ten. And that was only back on September 1, so it's not like it was far enough back that you can convince yourself this is a totally different Orioles team that will be facing Smyly tonight. No, it's pretty much the same dudes.

Maybe it will go better this time around. I dunno. At any rate, this time Tyler Wilson gets himself a start in the rotation. One can only hope he will do significantly better than his fellow 2011 O's draftee Mike Wright did against the Red Sox earlier in the week. The Rays offense is (probably) an easier draw than was the Boston one for Wright - and the Trop is (probably) an easier draw as well. So he's got that going for him! It would be cool if the Orioles could keep this whole winning thing going.