O's game blog: It's Gausman against Verlander in series finale

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

May 14, 2014, 8:28am

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A couple of hard-throwing right-handers match up today at Camden Yards - one an ace pitcher and one that hopes to be an ace one day.

Justin Verlander (4-2, 2.67 ERA) pitches against the Orioles' Kevin Gausman (0-1, 2.08 ERA at Triple-A) here this afternoon.

In six Triple-A starts for Norfolk, Gausman went 26 innings allowing 23 hits with 14 walks, 26 strikeouts and .242 batting average against.

Over his last three Tides starts, he pitched 14 1/3 scoreless innings on nine hits with six walks and 15 strikeouts.

In his third major league start last June 2, Gausman pitched the Orioles to a victory over Detroit, even though he did not get a win that day. Over six innings, he allowed five hits and one run, throwing 96 pitches.

Verlander has pitched seven or more innings in four straight starts and six times in eight 2014 outings. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs six times and the Tigers are 6-2 when he starts.

But one of the losses was against the Orioles, who beat Verlander and Detroit behind Chris Tillman on April 6. Verlander went eight innings, allowing five hits and two runs on 112 pitches that day, as the Orioles pushed across runs in the eighth and ninth innings to win 3-1.

In 14 career starts against Baltimore, Verlander is 8-2 with a 3.18 ERA. Over 99 innings, O's batters have just a .220 average against him.