The O's battle Buchholz as they shoot for an 8-2 homestand

Tonight's Red Sox starter, Clay Buchholz, has three career shutouts, and all three have come against the Orioles. What are the odds? Not only that, but some fans will remember that Buchholz pitched a no-hitter against the Orioles in just his second major league game on September 1, 2007. In his career, the right-hander is 6-3 with a 3.67 ERA vs. the Orioles. But, over his last eight starts against them, he is 4-1 with a 2.56 ERA. Buchholz has already faced the Orioles three times this year, giving up 10 earned runs over 18 innings for a record of 1-0 and 5.00 ERA. He is 10-3 in 20 starts overall with a 4.24 ERA. He began this year with an ERA of 8.69 in April and 5.60 in May, but has been a lot better since then. He leads the majors with an ERA of 2.08 over his last 11 starts since May 27. He has given up just five earned runs over his last five starts for an ERA of 1.15 in that span. Of the hitters in the Orioles lineup tonight, not too many have much success against him. J.J. Hardy is 4-for-10 with two homers. Matt Wieters is hitting .286 at 6-for-21. Beyond that, not too much going in the career numbers against the right-hander. A win tonight would give the Orioles a rather impressive 8-2 homestand. They have won seven of the nine games so far despite being outhit in six of those games.