O's game blog: Clevenger returns as O's face Smyly tonight

Catcher Steve Clevenger returned to the Orioles today for his third stint with the club this season. The 28-year-old Baltimore native has batted .305/.366/.389 with two home runs and 30 RBIs in 64 games for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides this season. He hit .240/.296/.373 in 26 games for the Orioles earlier this year. Clevenger said he was surprised by the timing of the call-up, which came a few days before the rosters can be expanded to as many as 40 players. "Yeah, kind of caught me by surprise last night. Just down there playing, hoping to play good enough to get a call-up," he said. "It's been going good down there. Just trying to work with the younger pitchers, get a feel for catching and try to take it day by day." Clevenger said he continues to work hard on his defense. He knows his throwing has to improve. "I've made some improvements. My receiving has been there, my blocking has been there. Throwing, I haven't had much success throwing in the big leagues," he said. "I go down there and I throw the ball fine, I come up here and I don't throw the ball fine. It is something I have to continue to stay on top of. Have to do a better job of throwing guys out, it is just that simple." Meanwhile, the Orioles were able to win last night when the opposing starter was Alex Cobb, who had pitched to an ERA of 1.99 his previous 10 starts. Whether Cobb just wasn't sharp or the O's hitters did a good job of battling him and working some deep counts, the O's got Cobb out of last night's game after just four innings and 92 pitches. The O's were able to get into and beat the Tampa Bay bullpen last night. Tonight, their challenge is to try and do the same against Drew Smyly. The 25-year-old left-hander was traded to the Rays on July 31 as part of a three-team trade, which included Seattle and Detroit and made David Price a Tiger. In four starts with his new team, Smyly is 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA. He gave up three runs over 5 1/3 innings in his Tampa Bay debut. But in three starts since, he has pitched to an ERA of 0.76 with a .118 average against. He's worked 23 2/3 innings and has allowed just nine hits. Smyly pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout Friday at Toronto on 105 pitches. Yep, the O's face a challenge against him tonight. In four career games against the Orioles, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.64. Kevin Gausman (7-5, 3.81 ERA) pitches for the Orioles. In four starts this month, Gausman is 2-2 with a 4.09 ERA. In two starts in 2014 against Tampa Bay, he is 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA. He pitched six shutout innings June 18 against the Rays and faced them in his next start, giving up five runs over five innings. The Orioles have won seven of their last eight home games and are 17-5 at home in their last 22 games at Camden Yards. They are 10-4 against Tampa Bay and 32-19 against the American League East.