A look at Jason Hammel, David Price and a poor stat from the Boston series

Here is a stat the Orioles would like to, and probably need to change tonight: In the the first four innings of the Boston series, O's batters were 1-for-37 and the one hit was an infield hit. Talk about getting off to a slow start. I like the new-look lineup Buck Showalter broke out tonight with Manny Machado batting first and Adam Jones second. With this offense struggling, he needed to try something. The Orioles face David Price tonight, the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner. Coming into this season, Price was 6-2 with a 2.21 ERA over 12 career starts against the Orioles. Last year, he went 2-0 with an 0.40 ERA against Baltimore. But this season has been much different. Price is 1-0, but with a 4.76 ERA in three starts against the Orioles and the O's are 2-1 in those games. In the three games, the Orioles are batting .347 with a .937 OPS, nine doubles and two homers in 17 innings against Price. Surprisingly, the Rays are just 11-13 with four losses in a row in Price's starts for the season. Can the O's get to lefty again tonight? For O's starter Jason Hammel, it's been a long time between wins. When he takes the mound tonight, he'll be looking for his first win since May 27 against Washington. Of course, he spent about six weeks on the disabled list with a right flexor mass strain. But Hammel won seven of his first 11 starts this year and has gone 0-6 with an ERA of 5.43 over his last 11 games, and the Orioles are 2-9 in those contests. Hammel entered June with seven wins, (7-2) making him the first Oriole with seven or more wins entering June since Mike Mussina was 7-2 in 1999. When he made the start last Friday at Toronto, it was his first start since July 26. He went five innings and gave up three hits and three runs with two homers allowed against the Blue Jays in a no-decision. Hammel pitches against his first organization tonight. He was drafted out of high school in the 10th round by Tampa Bay in 2002. He made his first opening day start this year at Tropicana Field on April 2 and was the winning pitcher in a 7-4 O's victory. Over six innings and 75 pitches, he gave up six hits and three runs. In four career starts against Tampa Bay, Hammel is 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA. Are three wins in four games in this series almost a must for the Orioles at this point? What is your take on tonight's lineup?