Jimenez vs. Zimmermann tonight in Detroit

Which Ubaldo Jimenez will take the mound tonight for the Orioles?

Will it be the Jimenez with the 2.70 ERA in his last four starts? The Jimenez who's allowed seven runs and walked only three batters in his last three starts over 21 2/3 innings? The Jimenez who's lowered his ERA from 6.94 to 6.19?

Or will it be the Jimenez who surrendered five runs, four of them earned, and nine hits over five innings in a May 12 game against the Tigers? The Jimenez who's 5-11 with a 5.68 ERA and 1.550 WHIP in 20 career starts versus the Tigers and 2-8 with a 7.39 ERA and 1.682 WHIP in 10 starts at Comerica Park?

The Jimenez who teases and then infuriates a fan base that can't help but refer back to his record-setting contract?

If anyone really knows, make sure to include a spoiler alert at the beginning.

The reduction in walks provides the most encouragement. Repeating his delivery is a constant battle for Jimenez. The funky nature of it can make him nearly unhittable, but also cause him to lose the plate and more supporters. The ultimate double-edged sword.

"The bottom line is you want to get people out," said manager Buck Showalter. "We've got to be so careful about taking away somebody's deception. You go trying to smooth everybody out, you might not like the finished product."

Showalter referred back to former Yankees pitcher Mark Hutton, a native of Australia who showed tremendous promise as a rookie in 1993 before undergoing a makeover that brought some ugly results.

"Threw arms, legs, moving everywhere, whatever," Showalter said. "Had little command problems, but nobody hit him. Well, they smoothed him out and made him nice, 6-12, everything was beautiful, rotation on everything, and he couldn't get anybody out.

"That's the dilemma you're facing a lot of times. They get to this level because of a lot of deception. Chris Tillman has an unconventional delivery. There's been a lot of people trying to ... There were people saying Kevin Appier will never pitch more than a year, he's always going to be hurt. What did Kevin Appier pitch, about 16 years?

"That's the challenge for coaches. Sometimes, the best coaching you do is the coaching you don't do. Sometimes you need to just shut up and get out of the way and live with the finished product. It may not always look aesthetically pleasing in the first inning or second inning, but the other team usually tells you how deceptive the guy is."

The Orioles may provide a clue as to whether Jordan Zimmermann's neck is fully healed. Zimmermann didn't pitch in July, made one start in August and returned to the disabled list with a strain. He returns for tonight's game.

In his last start, Zimmermann allowed six runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings against the White Sox. This happened after he posted a 6.43 ERA in June.

Zimmermann has surrendered 17 runs and 24 hits in 11 1/3 innings in his last three starts. He's 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA in six career starts against the Orioles.

The new outfielders probably will take a seat on the bench. Michael Bourn is 2-for-15 against Zimmermann and Drew Stubbs is 1-for-13. Steve Pearce is 4-for-11 with two doubles and two home runs, Chris Davis is 3-for-6 with a home run, Adam Jones is 3-for-18 with a home run and Matt Wieters is 2-for-12.

Taking it down to a smaller sample size, Nolan Reimold is 3-for-4 with a home run and Caleb Joseph is 2-for-2 with a home run.

The current Tigers are batting .310 against Jimenez.

Miguel Cabrera is 15-for-45 with four doubles, a home run and 10 walks. Victor Martinez is 11-for-31 with a double, four home runs and 12 RBIs. Justin Upton is 8-for-28 with three doubles, a triple and two home runs. Erick Aybar is 6-for-16 with a home run. Jose Iglesias is 4-for-7 with a triple and home run.

Shameless plug alert: I'm appearing on "Wall to Wall Baseball" today from noon-2 p.m. on MASN.