The Orioles are headed to Toronto to play the final three games of the regular season. in what will essentially be an exercise in meaningless meaninglessness.
Friday, September 26th (7:07pm) - Chris Tillman @ Drew Hutchison
2014 Statistics | Tillman (13-5) | Hutchison (10-13) |
IP | 201.1 | 179.2 |
ERA | 3.26 | 4.51 |
FIP | 4.09 | 3.94 |
AVG/OBP/SLG | .232/.295/.366 | .246/.308/.418 |
Game notes: Chris Tillman has been announced as the ALDS Game 1 starter for the Orioles (against team unknown). That game, barring weather issues, will take place on Thursday, October 2nd, which means Tillman would have an extra day of rest. In his career, Tillman is 12-6 with a 3.95 ERA with 5 full days of rest, but has been excellent this season (4-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.25 SO/BB).
A reason to watch: Give this one to Chris Tillman. He's getting his due reward for a second consecutive quality 200+ inning season. After tonight, he'll have a career-high 34 starts and possibly exceed 206.1 innings pitched. By WAR, 2014 has been Tillman's top season at 2.2 (in 2013, he posted 1.9). He had a nice W-L record, but can he and Orioles sustain that when it really counts?
Scouting report: The Orioles have seen Hutchison quite a bit this season - 5 times, as a matter of fact. Through the first four outings, he was lights out, allowing just three earned runs in 17.2 innings. In his most recent outing, however, the Oriole bats finally got to him for 5 hits (2 homers) and 6 earned runs. He did still manage to strike out 11 batters during the division championship clinching game. Fun fact for the day on Hutchison: he attended the same high school as Steve Pearce down in Lakeland, FL.
Saturday, September 27th (4:07pm) - Wei-Yin Chen @ J.A. Happ
2014 Statistics | Chen (16-5) | Happ (10-11) |
IP | 179.2 | 151.2 |
ERA | 3.56 | 4.27 |
FIP | 4.93 | 4.24 |
AVG/OBP/SLG | .268/.303/.431 | .264/.319/.453 |
Game notes: Chen will make his mark as the O's winningest pitcher this season with 16 wins to date (30 starts). Saturday will be his last start of the season before Friday's post-season action (although he has not been specifically named the Game 2 starter). He's likely to end the season as the Orioles most valuable pitcher at 2.4 WAR.
A reason to watch: It's been a strange season for the Baltimore Orioles. Raise your hand if you thought that, at the beginning of the season, you'd be watching an infield of Kelly Johnson, Ryan Flaherty, Caleb Joseph, and Jimmy Paredes in lieu of guys like Manny Machado, Matt Wieters, and Chris Davis. Don't all answer at once now! We'll dedicate this small section of text to Steve Pearce, who is having the season of a lifetime. Not even a lock to make the team (and at one point was claimed on waivers by Toronto) at the beginning of the year, he's played three positions and been a steady presence in the lineup, putting up career-best numbers in, well, a lot of categories.
Scouting report: Happ has also logged a number of starts against the Orioles this season. In three starts, he's allowed seven earned runs in 20 innings pitched. Happ also recorded a 2.2 inning relief appearance, in which allowed an earned run on two hits (a solo homer). He's seen a pretty big jump in his fastball velocity this season (up to 92.6 from 91 last season) and has subsequently seen improvements with the results. On the other hand, he's struggled with his secondary offerings, including a .996 OPS against when throwing a change.
Sunday, September 28th (1:07pm) - TBD @ R.A. Dickey
2014 Statistics | TBD | Dickey (14-12) |
IP | - | 209.2 |
ERA | - | 3.78 |
FIP | - | 4.26 |
AVG/OBP/SLG | - | .236/.308/.401 |
Game notes: The Orioles have yet to name a starter for the season finale. It's could be Ubaldo Jimenez or another pitcher not likely to make the playoff roster. Meanwhile, the Orioles have logged 95 wins this season, their best total since 98 in 1997.
A reason to watch: It's the last game of the regular season. Congrats to the Baltimore Orioles, your 2014 American League East division champions. Good luck in the post-season!
Scouting report: R.A. Dickey will take the hill in the final game for the Toronto Blue Jays. While struggling with his command since his move back to the American League, he has posted better numbers in his second season in Canada. It might not be what fans expected after his move over from the New York Mets, but he's much more in line with his career numbers this time around. Dickey is 0-1 against the Orioles this season with a 3.55 ERA. Oddly enough, he's 7-3 with a 3.02 ERA against teams better than .500 this year (compared to 7-9, 4.11 against teams under .500).
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