Jimenez on the mound tonight vs. Blue Jays

Ubaldo Jimenez won't be aiming at the Blue Jays when he starts tonight for the Orioles. He won't be looking to knock down Jose Bautista or anyone else on the opposing side, no matter how tempting.

The guy's already been ejected once this month. He's not interested in another early exit.

Bautista is 2-for-29 (.069) with six strikeouts lifetime against Jimenez. Attack mode doesn't include fastballs aimed at the numbers.

Jimenez held the Jays to one hit over seven scoreless innings in his 2015 debut at Camden Yards. He blanked the Red Sox over 3 2/3 innings at Fenway Park before plate umpire Jordan Baker tossed him for hitting Pedro Sandoval, an overreaction that still boggles the mind.

If you haven't done the math, that's no runs and one hit over 10 2/3 innings, with four walks and 10 strikeouts. Three of the walks came in Boston, which further explains why Jimenez drilled Sandoval. He didn't bring pinpoint control into the game.

He's going to need it tonight. Accidents won't be excused.

The current Blue Jays are batting .177 against Jimenez in his career. Edwin Encarnacion is 6-for-26 (.231) with three doubles and a home run. Justin Smoak is 1-for-14 (.071) with eight strikeouts. Josh Donaldson is 1-for-9 (.111) with four strikeouts.

Jimenez is 4-3 with a 4.01 ERA in 10 games (nine) starts against the Jays and 0-1 with an 8.68 ERA in three games at Rogers Centre.

Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez allowed three runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings on April 11 at Camden Yards. In four career appearances against the Orioles, the first three in relief, he's surrendered five runs and nine hits in eight innings, with seven walks and six strikeouts.

Chris Davis is 3-for-3 with two home runs against Sanchez, and Alejandro De Aza is 2-for-3 with a home run.

The Orioles have lost their last two games by a combined score of 20-7. The defense has been sloppy. Runners have made mistakes on the basepaths. And now there's the added tension between the two teams - nothing was done post-game that even remotely resembled a peace offering - that threatens to escalate into something ugly and potentially dangerous.

Get a good seat for this one and buckle up. It won't be dull.