Clevenger said improved changeup has been big for Wilson this year

As Tyler Wilson takes the mound this afternoon, making his first major league start, catcher Steve Clevenger will be looking on from the Orioles dugout as Caleb Joseph catches the doubleheader opener.

But Clevenger has been a part of Wilson's strong 2015 season at Triple-A Norfolk where he went 2-4 with a 3.29 ERA. Wilson has made eight starts for Norfolk this year, and Clevenger was the catcher for six of them.

Clevenger said an improved changeup has been big for Wilson this season. If you look at his splits in the minors, left-handed hitters are batting .230 against Wilson and right-handed batters are hitting .313.

No doubt that changeup has been big in helping him throw well against lefty hitters.

"He's gotten a feel for that changeup," Clevenger said this morning. "Last year, he was mostly fastball and slider, and to be a starter, I think you need to have three pitches. Two pretty good ones and at least one decent one. Now he has his changeup working, too, and his fastball command has been very good all year. He's pitched guys in, which he has to do, and has done a good job with that. Needs to make sure he gets extended through the ball really well for that pitch and it has really taken off for him."

Wilson has always had pretty good control, and this year walked just seven with 32 strikeouts over 41 innings for Norfolk.

"That changeup will really help him against left-handed hitters," Clevenger said. "That slider will break in on a lefty and he needs something that breaks away and that is what that changeup does.

"When you have three pitches, it can really help you go deeper into the game, which he has been doing all year."

Wilson, drafted by the Orioles in Round 10 out of the University of Virginia in 2011, was the club's Jim Palmer award winner in 2014 as minor league Pitcher of the Year.

He is 34-28 with an ERA of 3.70 in five minor league seasons.

This is not his major league debut. He pitched a scoreless inning on May 20 against Seattle and pitched one inning allowing one run and getting his first major league win on May 22 at Miami. In the first outing, he got Robinson Cano to hit into a double play and struck out Ichiro Suzuki in the second.

Wilson looks to add to his major league resume as he takes the mound today in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards.