Thoughts on Jimenez, Matusz and McFarland

The Orioles have two serious pitching issues and no easy solution.

Ubaldo Jimenez is carrying a 5.60 ERA in 45 innings. You need a kidney belt when hauling that kind of weight.

He's been charged with 10 earned runs (11 total) and 14 hits and walked eight batters in his last two starts covering 9 1/3 innings. That's bad no matter the quality of your math skills.

Fans calling for the Orioles to DFA Jimenez need to understand that he's also quite good periodically and he's still owed the rest of his $13 million this season and $13.5 million next season before hitting free agency again. That's guaranteed money, folks. This ain't the NFL.

You ride it out or consider a move to the bullpen if there's a better starting alternative.

Yovani Gallardo isn't scheduled to throw off a mound until Sunday and he still needs to go on a rehab assignment. It's going to be a while. Vance Worley shut out the Mariners last night over the last three innings, giving him seven straight scoreless relief outings over 13 innings, and always should be viewed as an option.

Brian Matusz has made seven appearances since coming off the disabled list and he can't seem to get comfortable on the mound. He's fighting himself as well as the opposition.

Matusz has allowed eight runs and 11 hits in six innings, with seven walks and three home runs. He's making $3.9 million in the final year of his contract.

Do the Orioles ride it out with him, as well, or does the disabled list come into play again? Manager Buck Showalter said last night that he's got to believe Matusz is healthy based on "what he tells me and everybody tells me and all the rehab."

"I feel healthy," Matusz said. "I feel fine. I just don't feel like I've found a rhythm yet. I haven't found that groove.

"I think all of us in the bullpen, we take pride in being able to get a job done, and so far this year I haven't been able to do it. It's frustrating and things can only get better from here."

The Orioles aren't at the point where they're ready to DFA Matusz - they're not letting Twitter make that decision - but they need an effective left-hander with closer Zach Britton the only other southpaw in the bullpen. They need him to be a specialist again, someone they can trust with a left-handed hitter at the plate. And they'd like for him to occasionally do more and cover multiple innings.

Matusz gave up a three-run homer last night to Kyle Seager. He walked Adam Lind. Leonys Martin and Seth Smith singled off him. Robinson Cano had an RBI double. All of them bat from the left side.

Has T.J. McFarland presented himself as an alternative in the rotation or the bullpen? He's made two starts with Triple-A Norfolk and allowed only one run in 13 innings. If nothing else, he could come back up and be a third lefty in the bullpen while Matusz tries to get on track, but Mychal Givens is the only reliever with minor league options.

"(McFarland) is a guy we'd like to have here," Showalter said before last night's game. "We just don't have room right now and we like keeping the ball in his hand and creating him as an option as a starter or a reliever. We'd like to have him on our pitching staff. He's a major league pitcher. But it's good to have that depth.

"He's doing his part. The only problem you run into with him starting there is he's down two or three days after he starts, even though T.J. would tell you he can pitch the next day. That's one of the things we loved about him. He's so resilient. And that's the only downside.

"We like the idea of him keeping a ball in his hand, and I love the split of his pitches. He's throwing a lot of his breaking ball and changeup, getting a chance to work on a lot of pitches. And T.J. might surprise you as a starter. And you know it's pretty obvious we don't have one that's left-handed."

Meanwhile, Chris Tillman has turned in quality starts in five consecutive outings, allowing only six runs in 33 innings. He's 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA in eight starts this season and he's averaging 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings, a significant jump from his career average of 6.8.

Tillman also is averaging 3.6 walks per nine innings, one area he'd like to improve.

The Mariners mostly have been an easy mark since trading Tillman to the Orioles, a deal that also included Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler in exchange for Erik Bedard. You may have heard about it.

Tillman is 6-0 with a 2.98 ERA and 1.015 WHIP in eight career starts against the Mariners covering 45 1/3 innings. He faced them twice last season and allowed six runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings, but that includes a start at Camden Yards when he surrendered one run and one hit in three innings before a rain delay ended his night.

The current group of Mariners are batting .310 (36-for-116) against Tillman. Cano is 14-for-31 (.452) with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs. Lind is 10-for-33. Nelson Cruz is 2-for-11 with two home runs and six strikeouts.

Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker has posted a 2.63 ERA and 1.088 WHIP this season in seven starts, with six walks and 38 strikeouts over 37 2/3 innings. He was 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA and 0.960 WHIP in four starts in April, but he's gone 0-2 with a 4.97 ERA and 1.342 WHIP in three starts this month.

Walker has faced the Orioles twice in his career and allowed six runs and 12 hits in 9 2/3 innings. In his only start at Camden Yards, he surrendered four runs and seven hits, with four walks, in 3 2/3 innings.

The current Orioles are 6-for-23 against him. No one has more than one hit.