Unfortunate News, But Ubaldo Jimenez Is Back On The Mound

After losing the first of a two game series against San Diego last night, Buck Showalter has decided on Ubaldo Jimenez to take the mound for tonight’s mini-series finale.

Going into last nights game, manager Buck Showalter was planning on having reliever Odrisamer Despaigne pitch in the 2nd of the two-game series against the Padres, barring any emergencies in the 1st game. Unfortunately, there was an emergency, as the bullpen gave up an unusual 5 runs and Showalter was forced to put Despaigne in the game to help clean up the mess. Now with Despaigne out of the question, Showalter was only left with Jimenez to be the starter for tonight’s final game against the Padres.

“He’s rested and ready to go. I was hoping to stay away from Despaigne” – Buck Showalter on Jimenez

Jimenez is the last man Orioles fans want to see take the mound for an important game after his mediocre start to the season. Jimenez has pitched 12 innings in the month of June while giving up a insane 16 runs during that short stretch.  His ERA is currently sitting at a staggering 7.34 and his last appearance was out of the bullpen this past Friday against the Blue Jays where he gave up 5 runs in 2.1 innings of work.

Although San Diego has the 5th worst record in the MLB, the Padres have had a solid month of June, especially since their lineup has come alive. The Padres are hitting an impressive .290 with 24 home runs in the month of June and out of the 19 games they have played this month, they scored more than 5 runs in 10 of them . This is not good news for Jimenez as opponents have an incredible .332 batting average against him this season, which is by far the highest in his 10 year career.

The good news for the O’s is that they will be facing the recently acquired Erik Johnson, who the Padres received from the White Sox in the James Shields trade. Johnson has posted a 8.44 ERA  in his two starts for the Padres where he let up 5 earned runs in both starts. Johnson relies primarily on his fastball and opponents are hitting over .400 against his fastball this season. Being a team that crushes fastballs and as this will be Johnson’s first career appearance in the not very pitcher friendly Camden Yards, Jimenez can be confident he will get plenty of run support.

Next: All-Star update: Orioles

Going into this 2-game series against the 30-wins San Diego Padres, the Orioles looked to easily win both games and extend their AL East lead.  After losing the series opener, Baltimore knows this 2nd game is very important as it comes before a much needed day-off on Thursday and a win will prevent a possible 3-game losing streak. Although it seems highly unlikely, a quality start from Jimenez tonight would be a dream come true and much needed for a worn-out bullpen.