The Orioles got started with a bang on Tuesday with a pretty convincing victory in the first game of the three-game set in Tampa. The offense rattled the Rays’ pitching, including David Price who many will call the best pitcher in the AL East.
In Wednesday night’s game, expect more of a pitcher’s duel. Jeremy Hellickson gets the nod for Tampa Bay starting out his 2013 season. After having a 3.10 ERA last year, he will look to start an even better campaign this year.
He gets the perfect team to start against as he has faced very well against Oriole hitting:
(Career Stats against Hellickson)
J.J Hardy- .222 batting average, one RBI, only two extra-base hits
Chris Davis- In 15 at-bats, 7 strikeouts and just one extra-base hit
Brian Roberts- 0-7
In his career, Hellickson is 6-3 against the O’s with a 2.30 ERA. He wants to start out his year well, and this is the perfect fit for him.
In the other dugout will be Wei-Yin Chen, the second-year stud from Taiwan. Chen had a breakout year last year, tossing close to 200 innings and earning twelve wins in his rookie campaign.
Against the Rays, he was great as a pitcher. In his five starts his team provided no offensive help as he only had a 1-3 record. He pitched very well however, as he posted a sub-3.00 ERA. Don’t expect Chen to give up any long-balls. In 83 at-bats last year against the players on the current roster, he only allowed one home run, and just two extra-base hits. If the Rays want to get things going, they will have to exploit the bad pitches because they will be hard to come by.
The offensive player to watch for The Birds will be Adam Jones. Jones went 3-5 yesterday, and is one of the only players that has fared well against Hellickson. He has a .345 OBP and three homers. If he can rattle Hellickson at the top of the lineup, it will be a long day for the Tampa pitcher.
Also look out for Ben Zobrist on the other side. Zobrist has owned Wei-Yin Chen with a .467 batting average including a home run in 15 at-bats.
