Red Sox Series Preview: Vs. Orioles

Jun 3, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher

(52) pitches during the first inning in game one of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching Matchups @ Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)

June 9th @ 7:05 PM ET

• Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 0.61 ERA) vs Miguel Gonzalez (5-4, 3.54 ERA)
• Here comes the most intriguing matchup of the series. Not only will highly-touted youngster Eduardo Rodriguez start for the Red Sox after a pair of masterful outings, but he’ll be doing it against the team that traded him to Boston last season. Rodriguez has been dominant in his first two major league starts and perhaps the vengeance aspect of facing his former team will give him a third.
• The Red Sox have not traditionally had a ton of success against Gonzalez, who had continually posted strong numbers despite mediocre peripherals. However, hopefully that will change tonight and, with Rodriguez on the mound, the Red Sox might not even need to score a whole lot.

June 10th @ 7:05 PM ET

• Rick Porcello (4-5, 5.01 ERA) vs Wei-Yin Chen (1-4, 3.18 ERA)
• Porcello has shown a little bit of everything in 2015. He’s shown the Red Sox that he has the potential to be a reliable arm near the top of the rotation, but he’s also had dreadful starts, one of which came against the Orioles this year. Porcello has struggled with the home run ball this season and, with the Orioles ranking fourth in the American League in home runs, this could be a difficult game.
• Chen has continued his strong stateside career with another admirable season in 2015. But though Chen has upped his strikeout rate, leading to some expected improvement, he is also benefiting from a .260 BABIP. Perhaps this will be the game that his BABIP normalizes.

June 11th @ 7:05 PM ET

• Wade Miley (5-5, 4.67 ERA) vs Chris Tillman (3-7, 5.61 ERA)
• Miley has been a bit inconsistent recently, and this season in general. After a tough outing where he allowed 5 runs in 4 innings against the Rangers, Miley turned in a brilliant outing, allowing just 2 runs in 7.1 innings to open the series versus the A’s. If we can see good Miley, this could be another great game, but if bad Miley shows, this one could get ugly.
• Like with Gonzalez, the Red Sox have traditionally scuffled against Tillman. However, Tillman is in the midst of an unexpectedly terrible season which has seen his ERA spike to 5.61 through 11 starts. That can be attributed to his unusually high walk rate, now standing a 4.7 BB/9 despite just 2.9 last season. With the Red Sox a very patient team, they could turn in a solid offensive performance here against Tillman.