Game 33: Orioles at Twins

First Pitch: 12:10 pm CST

TV: FSN+

Radio: Go 96.3, TIBN

Know Thine Enemy: Camden Chat

Everything is fine. Trust me, everything is fine. Being 8-24 isn't so bad. Some people might think it's a date on the calendar. We'll be alright.

*cough*

Seriously though, a good sign is that Paul Molitor is indeed sticking with Joe Mauer in the leadoff spot, something that has been long overdue. Mauer does get a partial day off as Byung Ho Park takes over at first, so fire up the ol' Blame Mauer Bot to accuse Mauer of being lazy once again. Additionally, even with John Ryan Murphy banished to the minor leagues, it looks like Kurt Suzuki will still be sitting for getaway days as Juan Centeno gets the start behind the plate.

Pitching for the Twins will be Phil Hughes who was roughed up in his most recent start, lasting just two innings against the Astros last Wednesday. Hughes' typical pinpoint control since joining the Twins has been lacking as he's walked nearly 6% of the hitters he's faced this season. That's still good by MLB standards, but it's closer to Hughes' average when he was with the Yankees and it pales in comparison to the 2-2.5% walk rate that he was allowing in 2014-2015. He also has been unable to strand runners on base thanks to a high BABIP which in turn has led to his high ERA, so Hughes will need a little bit of luck and some better control if he wants to have success today. The Orioles are full of power bats, Hughes is known for giving up some home runs, so this is not a great match-up for him.

As for the Orioles, they will be sending young righty Tyler Wilson to the mound. He made his debut for Baltimore last year as he appeared in nine games (five starts) and he's capably filled the swingman role once again this season as half of his six appearances have been starts. Wilson is enjoying a good start to the season, mainly thanks to the luck of having opposing batters hitting the ball right at his fielders. Though he doesn't feature much of a sinker, Wilson gets hitters to beat the ball into the ground thanks to a cutting 4-seam fastball and slurvy curveball (think of Jose Berrios' curve) to combat his inability to strike hitters out. But we've seen this Twins offense before, they seem to strike out against anybody.