masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgUbaldo Jimenez makes his return tonight to Progressive Field, where he went 16-17 with a 4.00 ERA and 26 quality starts while pitching for the Indians.

In his last 11 starts in Cleveland since June 1, 2013, Jimenez went 5-2 with a 1.66 ERA and nine quality starts over 70 1/3 innings. The Indians won nine of the 11 games.

Not sure whether that will earn him a video tribute.

The Orioles scored nine runs in Jimenez’s last start on Aug. 9 against the Cardinals, the most they’ve tallied in…Ubaldo Jimenez makes his return tonight to Progressive Field, where he went 16-17 with a 4.00 ERA and 26 quality starts while pitching for the Indians.

In his last 11 starts in Cleveland since June 1, 2013, Jimenez went 5-2 with a 1.66 ERA and nine quality starts over 70 1/3 innings. The Indians won nine of the 11 games.

Not sure whether that will earn him a video tribute.

jimenez-high-knee-white-sidebar.jpgThe Orioles scored nine runs in Jimenez’s last start on Aug. 9 against the Cardinals, the most they’ve tallied in his 19 outings this season. They scored only 33 in the first 18 games he started this season, giving him a run support average of 2.98.

Catcher Caleb Joseph gets the start tonight. Jimenez has posted a 1.66 ERA over 38 innings in six starts with Joseph behind the plate, and opponents are batting .209 against him.

Joseph currently owns the lowest catcher ERA (3.01) of any rookie with at least 50 starts since the Expos’ Nelson Santovenia (2.83) in 1988, according to STATS.

Joseph has thrown out 16 of 37 potential basestealers this season, according to the Orioles. Baseball-Reference.com credits him with an extra caught-stealing, but he never touched the ball. The pitcher threw to third and nabbed the runner.

Among rookie catchers with a minimum of 50 starts since 1974, Joseph’s 43.2 caught-stealing percentage ranks fourth in the majors behind Ivan Rodriguez (48.6 in 1991 for Texas), Gary Carter (46.3 in 1975 for Montreal) and Lance Parrish (44.4 in 1978 for Detroit).

Left-hander Zach Britton notched his first career save on May 15 and his 25th on Wednesday, exactly 90 days later. According to STATS, he’s only the third pitcher since saves became an official statistic in 1969 to earn his first and 25th within 90 days, joining Eric Gagne (74 days) and Jonathan Papelbon (88 days).

Update: If Ubaldo Jimenez is going to register his second consecutive quality start, he’s going to hang up a string of zeros.

Carlos Santana hit a three-run homer to center field after Jimenez walked the first two batters.

Jimenez leads the American League with 65 walks. He threw 33 pitches in the first inning tonight.

If you’re still wondering why manager Buck Showalter wanted to save a few of his relievers last night, well, here you go.