The Orioles could very easily be 3-1, but instead they're sitting at 1-3 with all four of their games being one-run affairs. The O's could really use a win after yesterday's Home Opener debacle, and it will largely be up to 5th starter David Hernandez to make it happen. Opposing him will be a pitcher the Jays picked up for, more or less, nothing this off-season; lefty Dana Eveland.
Jays' offense:
|
Bat |
Pos |
Batting |
| McCoy, Mike |
R |
2B |
.400/.400/.400 |
| Bautista, Jose |
R |
RF |
.200/.350/.333 |
| Lind, Adam |
L |
DH |
.333/.444/.533 |
| Wells, Vernon |
R |
CF |
.500/.588/1.357 |
| Overbay, Lyle |
L |
1B |
.071/.176/.214 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin |
R |
3B |
.083/.235/.083 |
| Gonzalez, Alex |
R |
SS |
.278/.278/.667 |
| Snider, Travis |
L |
LF |
.214/.353/.357 |
| Molina, Jose |
R |
C |
.000/.000/.000 |
Evelands 2009 stats:
| K/9 |
BB/9 |
HR/9 |
GB rate |
FIP^ |
xFIP^ |
WAR^ |
| 4.5 |
5.3 |
0.8 |
56.5% |
5.05 |
5.20 |
0.2 |
His stuff
^:
Eveland seems to have a pretty extensive repertoire. Doesn't throw hard - high 80s - gets enough sink on his pitches to induce groundballs. His breaking pitches look solid, and they've been his best offerings according to FanGraphs' run values in his career at +0.42 and +0.41 runs per 100 sliders and curveballs thrown respectively. Not huge platoon splits in his career though, with 4.08 xFIP versus lefties and 4.85 xFIP versus righties. Eveland doesn't have the best control, so if the O's batters don't chase and wait for a strike to hit then they should be able to hit him pretty well.
The O's line-up:
|
Bat |
Pos |
Batting |
| Lugo, Julio |
R |
2B |
.000/.000/.000 |
| Jones, Adam |
R |
CF |
.222/.263/.444 |
| Markakis, Nick |
L |
RF |
.231/.474/.385 |
| Tejada, Miguel |
R |
SS |
.235/.316/.412 |
| Atkins, Garrett |
R |
DH |
.375/.375/.563 |
| Wieters, Matt |
S |
C |
.429/.500/.643 |
| Reimold, Nolan |
R |
LF |
.200/.333/.500 |
| Wigginton, Ty |
R |
1B |
.000/.000/.000 |
| Izturis, Cesar |
S |
SS |
.300/.364/.300 |
Atkins is batting ahead of Wieters, which I suppose means he'll get smoted at some point during the game. I don't understand Wieters playing for a fifth game in a row, but that's just me. At least DH him or something. Lugo is batting lead-off because he's playing second-base and can run. Reimold, who actually, you know, is good at getting on base, is down in the seven-hole. Because nothing makes more sense than making sure inferior hitters get more plate appearances. At least it's not Izzy, I guess.
Hernandez ('09):
| K/9 |
BB/9 |
HR/9 |
GB rate |
FIP |
xFIP |
WAR |
| 6.0 |
4.1 |
2.4 |
28.9% |
6.61 |
5.60 |
-0.8 |
The veteran pitchers have been solid thus far, while the youngsters have struggled somewhat. Can Hernandez reverse that, and throw strikes?
