Orioles Game 63 Game Thread: at Red Sox, 7:10

It's been something of a busy afternoon in Birdland, at least on the fringes of the roster. If you didn't see earlier, there were two developments.

First, the Orioles called up Odrisamer Despaigne to serve as a long relief man, with Vance Worley going on the disabled list. Second, manager Buck Showalter made it official: Ubaldo Jimenez is out of the Orioles rotation.

How much will any of that matter tonight as the O's try to hold on to first place in the division against David Price and the Red Sox? Perhaps not at all - or at least hopefully not. Things will have gone horribly wrong if Despaigne is needed tonight, with Chris Tillman set to start for the O's.

It's a good thing to have your best pitcher starting the first game of a series against your present top division rival. I have to admit Tillman always makes me nervous, but that's probably more about me than it is about him. As for Price, he's been better of late, and the Orioles are not good against lefty pitchers generally, so I guess we'll see whether those trends prevail or if something else crops up.