I'm going to start this blog entry by saying that Orioles manager Buck Showalter is aware of left-hander Brian Matusz's splits. I feel the need to point this out to anyone questioning why Showalter allowed Matusz to face Mike Aviles last night. It's the bottom of the 11th. Showalter would rather not play match-ups and risk running out of relievers. And while right-handers were batting .306 against Matusz this season, he wasn't charged with a run in July while holding opponents to a .133 average. There will be occasions when Matusz is called upon to retire right-handers, and that's especially true in extra innings. It just didn't work out last night. But trust me, Showalter knows the splits of every pitcher and hitter on his roster and he tries to play to their strengths when circumstances allow it.

Perhaps lost in the walk-off loss was Wei-Yin Chen's performance. He's completed seven innings in three of his last four starts. He's not hitting that innings/pitch wall with the same force. Ubaldo Jimenez lasted six innings in his first start after coming off the disabled list, allowing three runs on Aug. 9 against the Cardinals. He walked two of the first three batters, but only one the rest of the way. Jimenez is returning to Progressive Field tonight, where he's posted a 3.53 ERA in 34 career starts. Jimenez is making his 20th start of the season and his 10th on the road, where he's 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. He lost in his lone career start against Cleveland on May 24, allowing five earned runs and walking five in four innings. Ryan Raburn is 2-for-8 against Jimenez, but both hits are triples. Weird, right? Former Oriole Chris Dickerson is 1-for-6 with a home run and four strikeouts. Jimenez is 2-6 with a 5.21 ERA in 10 starts at home, and 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA in nine starts on the road. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco is appearing in his 32nd game tonight, but making only his sixth start. He's 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA as a starter and 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA coming out of the bullpen. Right-handers are batting .207 against Carrasco. Left-handers are hitting .260. Carrasco has allowed three runs in eight career innings against the Orioles. Nick Markakis is 3-for-4 with a double and home run. Nelson Cruz is 2-for-5 with two doubles. The current Orioles are 11-for-31 (.355) with six doubles against Carrasco. Shameless plug alert: I'm appearing on "Wall to Wall Baseball" from noon to 2 p.m. on MASN HD.