masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSo, you’re Orioles manager Buck Showalter and you need to write out tonight’s lineup while also trying to forget that a garden gnome in your name is being distributed this week. Do you give Travis Snider another start or put him on the bench?
Snider has six hits in his last 10 at-bats, including a double and triple. He’s 10-for-24 in his last seven games, with four doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBIs and seven runs scored.
It sounds like an easy decision until you check his career…

So, you’re Orioles manager Buck Showalter and you need to write out tonight’s lineup while also trying to forget that a garden gnome in your name is being distributed this week. Do you give Travis Snider another start or put him on the bench?

Snider has six hits in his last 10 at-bats, including a double and triple. He’s 10-for-24 in his last seven games, with four doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBIs and seven runs scored.

snider-close-annoyed-sidebar.jpgIt sounds like an easy decision until you check his career numbers against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz. Snider is 1-for-17 with nine strikeouts.

David Lough, who singled in his only at-bat against Buchholz, is expected to start again in center field while Adam Jones is sidelined with a sore right shoulder. Chris Parmelee is 3-for-10 with a home run against Buchholz, Delmon Young is 1-for-9, Steve Pearce is 1-for-7 with four strikeouts and Nolan Reimold is 0-for-3.

If I had to guess, I’d say Snider is excluded from the lineup. We’ll see.

J.J. Hardy is 7-for-19 with two home runs against Buchholz. He has five multi-hit games in his last seven, raising his average to .248.

Chris Davis is 7-for-22 with a double, two home runs and eight strikeouts against Buchholz, and Ryan Flaherty is 5-for-15.

Buchholz is 9-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) against the Orioles. He allowed two runs and 11 hits over six innings in a 4-1 loss on April 18.

Bud Norris is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in six career starts against the Red Sox, and 0-2 with a 4.08 ERA in three starts at Fenway Park. He allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings in an 18-7 win on April 26 at Camden Yards.

Hanley Ramirez is 6-for-15 with a double and home run against Norris, Brock Holt is 4-for-8 with a triple, Dustin Pedroia is 5-for-13 with three doubles and six walks, and Mike Napoli is 2-for-15 with eight strikeouts.

Note: Kevin Gausman has been added to Triple-A Norfolk’s active roster after being optioned on Sunday.