Orioles (80-66) vs. Rays (63-83)
Where: Camden Yards
First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
TV/Radio: MASN2/105.7 The Fan
Starting pitchers: Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (7-11, 5.98 ERA) vs. Rays RHP Chris Archer (8-18, 4.05 ERA)
What to watch
1. Back to two: The Orioles head into their second game against the Rays back to two games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for second in the American League East and the top wild-card spot. The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners sit two games back in the wild-card race, so the Orioles have some mild comfort there. But the main goal at the moment is to catch up to the Red Sox.
2. Event night: The turnaround of Ubaldo Jimenez, tonight's starter, has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the second half of the Orioles' season. He has a 2.83 ERA in four starts since rejoining the rotation, and has allowed five runs in 16 innings over his past two starts. He's getting deep in games, pitching effectively with command and giving the Orioles a fourth starter they can rely on with races heating up.
3. Owning Archer: The Orioles have fared well against Chris Archer in his career, with the Rays right-hander 3-6 with a 4.52 ERA against them in 12 appearances (11 starts). This season, he has a 4.74 ERA in three starts against them. The scored four runs on him in 7 1/3 innings the last time they met on July 15, but he has a 2.91 ERA in his 10 starts since that outing.
Orioles lineup
CF Adam Jones
LF Hyun Soo Kim
3B Manny Machado
1B Chris Davis
2B Jonathan Schoop
DH Pedro Alvarez
C Matt Wieters
SS J.J. Hardy
RF Michael Bourn