So the Orioles need a Yankees loss tonight but yet New York will be facing Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is 1-6 with a 7.68 ERA. In four September starts, Matsuzaka is 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA and batting average against of .400.
So I'm sayin' there's a chance.
By the way, Boston is 1-11 in its last 12 games and was outscored 19-7 in Baltimore and has been outscored 14-5 the last two nights in New York. The Yankees lead the season series 12-5 with the Red Sox and are 9-1 in their past 10 home games.
But I'm still sayin' there is a chance.
The Orioles are hoping tonight that the Red Sox are Buster Douglas, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and the New York Jets in Super Bowl III all rolled into one. Sorry Baltimore fans about that last reference.
Listen, that is why they play the games. At a time when few are expecting the Yankees to lose, in this wacky season, it just could happen. Yes, I'm sayin' there is a chance, maybe a small one.
The reverse lock theory is in effect. This one would truly classify.
As for the O's and Rays, Chris Tillman (9-2, 2.78 ERA) faces Jeremy Hellickson (9-11, 3.20 ERA). Tillman has allowed two earned runs or less in his last five starts and is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.20 in that time.
Over his last five starts, AL hitters are batting .130 vs. Tillman. They have just 13 hits in their last 100 at-bats vs. the right-hander. That is good stuff.
Tillman beat the Rays in his only start against them this year on July 26. He gave up five hits and two runs over six innings. He is 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA in six career starts against Tampa.
Hellickson went 1-1 with a 2.05 ERA in five September starts and since the All-Star break, is 5-6 with an ERA of 2.98 over 15 starts.
This year he is 1-2 with a 2.83 ERA against the Orioles. In 11 career games, 10 starts vs. Baltimore, he is 5-3 with a 2.49 ERA and .215 batting average against.
Not many O's have good stats against him. Adam Jones is 8-for-26 with three homers. Chris Davis is 5-for-13 with two RBIs and Nate McLouth is 2-for-5.
In you missed it, MLB did announce that if an Orioles-Yankees game is necessary on Thursday it will start at 7:10 p.m. at Camden Yards and that the AL wild card game will start at 8:37 p.m. Eastern time on Friday night.
Update: I haven't thrown in the towel on the Red Sox tonight but I have the towel nearby at this point. Dice-K was predictably awful, giving up two and three-run homers and New York led Boston 5-1 after three innings tonight. Buster Douglas was not impressed, nor was I or any O's fan.
In Tampa, the O's go to the bottom of the fourth down 1-0. A New York win tonight would mean the O's must win or they will travel to Texas for the wild card game on Friday night.
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