A look at how Jimenez matches up with Boston, plus minor league pitching rotations

The Boston Red Sox sure can make a starting pitcher work. Chris Tillman needed 104 pitches to get through five innings on opening day as Boston hitters kept fouling off pitches and escalating his pitch count. He threw 18 or more pitches every inning in that game. This will be something to watch closely tonight as Ubaldo Jimenez makes his Orioles debut. While Jimenez had a big 2013 with Cleveland, and was a stunning 6-5 with an ERA of 1.82 in 13 starts after the All-Star break, he can often struggle with pitch efficiency. Last year, Jimenez averaged 17.3 pitches per inning, that was among the most by a starter in baseball. The Red Sox hitters are sure to take note of that. In one early season start against the Red Sox last year, Jimenez gave up seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings. In his career he is 1-2 with an ERA of 11.72 in four career starts against the Red Sox. Part of the reason that Jimenez throws so many pitches per inning is due to his high strikeout and walk totals. While he struck out the ninth-most batters in the American League last year, he also was tied for third in most walks allowed. That is a lot of pitches he's throwing without a batter putting the ball in play in fair territory. The challenge for an O's starter to get deep into a game continues tonight at Camden Yards. Jimenez will be facing the team that led the majors in scoring last year, and was second in the American League in pitches per plate appearance. Meanwhile, we now know the starting pitching rotations for the Orioles' four full-season minor league affiliates, which open their respective seasons Thursday night. Here they are: Triple-A Norfolk: Kevin Gausman, Steve Johnson, T.J. McFarland, Suk-min Yoon and Mike Wright. Double-A Bowie: Eduardo Rodriguez, Tyler Wilson, Tim Berry, Zach Davies and Jake Pettit. Single-A Frederick: Branden Kline, Parker Bridwell, Matt Taylor, Joe Van Meter and Brady Wager. Single-A Delmarva: Steven Brault, Hunter Harvey, Mitch Horacek, Sebastian Vader, Austin Urban and Luc Rennie. That Bowie rotation features three of the club's top 11 prospects, according to Baseball America, with Rodriguez No. 3, Berry No. 6 and Davies No. 11. The Delmarva Shorebirds will open with a six-man rotation. The Orioles like a six-man for some of their young pitchers. It allows the organization to better control their innings limits for the season, and gives young pitchers two side sessions, not one, in order to make improvements and work on their pitches between starts. Here is where the O's top 10 Baseball America prospects will begin their 2014 seasons: 1) Dylan Bundy - rehabbing in Sarasota, Fla. 2) Kevin Gausman - Norfolk 3) Eduardo Rodriguez - Bowie 4) Hunter Harvey - Delmarva 5) Jonathan Schoop - Baltimore 6) Tim Berry - Bowie 7) Henry Urrutia - Norfolk 8) Mike Wright - Norfolk 9) Michael Ohlman - Bowie 10) Chance Sisco - Delmarva At the start of this season, it appears at least for the moment that knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa will not begin the season in any rotation, but will be in the Norfolk bullpen. The organization's other knuckleballer, Zach Clark, will begin the season working on the pitch at extended spring training. Infielder Jerome Pena, who hit .222 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs for Frederick last season, is beginning the season at extended spring training dealing with an oblique injury. The O's extended spring training program begins today in Sarasota, Fla. with about 60 players there. Next week that group of players will begin playing games against players from other organizations.