Tonight's pitchers: Hendrickson vs. Davis

LHP Mark Hendrickson (5-4, 4.43) tonight will make his 50th appearance and 8th start of this year, his 5th start at home and his 3rd start of the season vs. Tampa. Hendrickson tonight takes over the rotation spot of Brian Matusz. The rookie lefty has been shutdown for the rest of the season due to his innings load. So Hendrickson tonight makes his first start of the year since May 12th vs. Tampa, when he gave up five runs over two innings. Hendrickson has pitched much better this season out of the bullpen. In 42 relief outings, he is 4-0, 3.44. In his seven starts, he went 1-4, 6.35. Hendrickson did not allow a run in 11 of his last 12 relief outings, working to an ERA of 2.31 in that stretch. In his last outing, Friday at New York, Hendrickson recorded his first Major League save and his 600th career strikeout. Hendrickson, career ERA numbers: As a starter: 5.31 As a reliever: 3.40 In 22 home games, four starts, Hendrickson is 3-1, 5.75. The Orioles are 3-4 in his starts. Hendrickson made two starts vs. Tampa this year and the O's won both starts. Hendrickson vs. Tampa: 2009: 1-0, 6.75, four games, two starts (8IP, 14H) Career: 3-4, 5.14, 12 games, 9 starts (49IP, 55H) Hendrickson is one of 12 men to play in both the NBA and in the Major Leagues. He was in the NBA with four teams from 1996-2000. RHP Wade Davis (0-1, 8.38) tonight makes his 3rd Major League start of this season, his 2nd on the road and the 1st of his career vs. the Orioles. Davis spent most of this year with Triple-A Durham, until his recent callup. In 28 starts in the minors, he went 10-8, 3.40 in 158 2/3 innings. With Durham, he allowed 2ER or less in 19 of 28 starts. He was first in the International League in innings, 2nd in strikeouts and 9th in ERA. On September 6th, Davis made his Major League debut vs. Detroit and gave up just one run and three hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts. But a 9th-inning Tigers' Grand Slam denied him the win. On September 12 at Boston, Davis allowed six hits and eight runs over 2 2/3 innings. The Rays are 0-2 in his starts. In the International League this season, Davis made four starts vs. the Orioles' Norfolk affiliate and went 1-1, 3.79 in 19 innings. A third-round draft pick in 2004, Davis' career minor league numbers are 51-39, 3.28. He averaged 8.74 strikeouts per nine innings in his minor league career.