The Orioles face Rays all-star left-hander David Price this afternoon in the teams' series finale at Tropicana Field.
Price is 6-2 with a 2.45 ERA in his career against the Orioles. In two starts against the O's this season, Price has allowed just one run over 14 1/3 innings. He held the Orioles to one run on seven hits with 10 strikeouts in a 10-1 win at Camden Yards on July 25.
"We don't like seeing him," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He's one of the best pitchers in the game. You're competing against some of the best, and up in the big leagues, the good competitors take on that challenge like David does. You see the process he's gone through to get where he is. ... They're very deep. That's why they're going to be there the whole time."
In other news:
-- Orioles minor leaguer Steve Tolleson, playing at Triple-A Norfolk, broke his right index finger while fielding a ball last night. Tolleson is expected to recover within 15 days.
-- Showalter said the Orioles are still waiting to see if Jim Thome's epidural will relieve inflammation in a herniated disk in his neck. Thome had the injection Friday and Showalter said it takes 3 to 5 days to see if it works. If it doesn't, Thome could receive a second injection. "I think in the next couple days we'll have an idea of the timeframe we're dealing with here."
Today's Orioles starting lineup has a little different look. Robert Andino, starting at third, will make his second start of the season in the No. 2 spot in the order.
"It fits better," Showalter said. "We’ve done it two or three [times]. It just has a better fit. When you’re facing a guy like Price, it isn’t as much about [Price] as it is about how your lineup is going to let you attack his bullpen. You worry about getting him out of the game and you deal with everything else later. Just trying to present a little different look, otherwise we’re going to have people in spots that is really going to give him less of a challenge than we want to.”
Also, right-handed hitting Lew Ford starts against the left-handed Price in left field. Matt Wieters gets a day off from catching with the day-after-night game. Taylor Teagarden will catch today.
Here are the lineups:
Orioles
Nick Markakis RF
Robert Andino 3B
J.J. Hardy SS
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters DH
Lew Ford LF
Mark Reynolds 1B
Omar Quintanilla 2B
Taylor Teagarden C
Miguel Gonzalez RHP
Rays
Desmond Jennings LF
B.J. Upton CF
Matt Joyce RF
Ben Zobrist 2B
Jeff Keppinger DH
Carlos Pena 1B
Ryan Roberts 3B
Jose Lobaton C
Elliot Johnson SS
David Price LHP