No bueno on the Rays as the Sunday free play. I’ll go the home chalk route for the Monday comp.
ORIOLES (Jimenez) @ ROYALS (Medlen)
Take: ROYALS -129
I’ll have to admit to a rooting interest here. I really hope Kris Medlen is able to return to the outstanding level he was pitching at prior to having his second Tommy John surgery. Yeah, the recovery rate these days is outstanding. But it’s still a bitch of a rehab according to everyone who’s had to go through it. Having to clear both the physical and mental hurdles involved with multiple procedures has to be a little bit brutal. So I think it’s great that Medlen has returned to action and I hope he gets all the way back.
So far, so good for Medlen. His first relief outing was gnarly as he surrendered four runs. But since that ugly debut as a Royal, Medlen has put together a nifty 11 inning scoreless streak where he’s given up just six hits. Moreover, his velocity is back to pre-injury levels. There might be a decline tonight as he transitions from the pen back to the rotation and pacing himself enters the picture. But it really does appear as though it could be all systems go for Medlen.
Good luck trying to figure out which Ubaldo Jimenez shows up. Good Ubaldo can shut down anyone when the command is there. U-Bad-O is always a possibility as well, and of late we’re seeing a bit more of that Jimenez version.
The Orioles head to Kansas City off a disastrous weekend as they were swept at home by the supposedly dead in the water Twins. Going 0-4 against Minnesota and now having to hit the road to play the Royals? Not exactly ideal.
I’m not about to throw dirt on the Orioles and suggest their playoff chances are toast. But they took a big hit this weekend and Jimenez is just not a stopper. Medlen should be completely geared up for his first start and I like his chances of giving me five good innings before yielding to the Royals bullpen. Kansas City is in great shape to land home field advantage for the AL playoffs, but this not a team that that looks as though they’re about to go into coast mode. I think the price is reasonable enough to make the Royals an acceptable choice this evening.
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