Orioles at Rays
The Baltimore Orioles may have a hard time finding positives after dropping an 18-inning heart-breaker to the Tampa Bay Rays in Friday's series opener. But if there is a silver lining, it may be the fact that they'll have precious little time to mull over the defeat. The Orioles send Miguel Gonzalez to the hill as they look for a quick bounce-back against the Rays in the second of their four-game set Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
The Orioles and Rays battled for nearly seven hours before David DeJesus singled home the winning run in a 5-4 win, moving Tampa Bay into sole possession of the first American League wild-card spot and knocking the Orioles 2 1/2 games back of Cleveland for the second wild-card spot. Baltimore now puts its faith in Gonzalez, who has pitched well over the past two weeks. He'll be opposed by Alex Cobb, who is coming off a sterling performance against Texas.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Miguel Gonzalez (10-7, 3.92 ERA) vs. Rays RH Alex Cobb (9-3, 3.02)
Since being roughed up in a four-inning stint against the Yankees at the end of August, Gonzalez has been one of the best pitchers in the AL. He's 2-0 over his previous three starts while allowing just five earned runs over 18 1/3 innings in that span. The 29-year-old native of Guadalajara, Mexico is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in seven career starts against Tampa Bay, and absorbed the loss in their last encounter after surrendering three runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 frames.
Cobb has a strong track record against Baltimore - going 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA in three starts - and has some momentum to build on following his gem against the Rangers. The 25-year-old Bostonian limited the high-powered Texas offense to a pair of runs on six hits while fanning 10. Cobb has been close to automatic at Tropicana Field in 2013, going 6-0 with a 3.00 ERA and just six home runs allowed over 12 home starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay DH Wil Myers went 0-for-8 Friday to see his eight-game hitting streak come to an end.
2. Orioles 3B Manny Machado and OF Nick Markakis are a combined 0-for-10 against Cobb.
3. The Rays lead the season series 10-6.