The Baltimore Orioles (27-23) and Washington Nationals (26-24) will engage in a battle for Maryland when Jason Hammel (6-2, 5.37 ERA) and Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 3.66 ERA) toe the rubber for a brief two-game set at National Park. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. and the game can be live streamed free here. Nationals fans can hear the fun at 106.7 The Fan while Orioles fans can listen at 1090 WBAL.
The Nationals were expected to rampage through the National League in 2013, the other top teams in the NL serving as potential speed bumps. The D.C. club is finding that in baseball, the expected rarely happens. Today's starter, Gonzalez, learned that the hard way.
After a breakout 2012 in which Gonzalez won 21 games, posted a 2.98 ERA, and struck out 207 batters, the 27-year-old went through a brutal stretch this year in which he gave up 18 runs in four starts and walked 14.
In four May starts, though, Gonzalez has gone at least six innings each time, has not given up more than two runs, and lowered his ERA from a ghastly 5.34 to 3.66.
Jason Hammel, opposing Gonzalez, had his own breakout in 2012, only to hit a bit of a wall in 2013. Hammel's numbers pale in comparison to Gonzalez' last season, but he was a very effective starter for the Orioles who made a very serious bid to capture an American League East crown. This year, Hammel's record camouflages some ugly underlying numbers.
Hammel's ERA is up to 5.37, he is walking three and a half batters per nine innings while his strikeouts per nine have dipped from 8.6 to 6.6. Even if his effort is less than sterling, Baltimore's powerful offense is capable of carrying poor pitching.
Gonzalez will need to watch out for Orioles outfielders Adam Jones and Chris Davis, who have been the biggest parts of Baltimore's success this year.
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