Orioles to face former birds in Chicago
The Baltimore Orioles will face two of their former pitchers in Jake Arrieta and Tsuyoshi Wada. Both Arrieta and Wada will start against the Orioles and are having career revivals in Chicago.
Arrieta is having a great season for the Cubs with a 2.61 era with a six and four record. Arrieta was traded to the Cubs last season by the Orioles in the Scott Feldman trade. Arrieta was a former fifth-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2007 but never lived up to the hype.
With the Orioles, Arrieta never had an era lower than 4.50 and it seemed like he struggled with his confidence. Fans and coaches grew tired of seeing Arrieta, who had great stuff, have mysterious struggles. The stuff was always there but one or two innings in a game it seemed like he would just lose control of everything. Pitching in the NL Central, where the hitting is not as tough as in the AL East, might have helped Arrieta regain his confidence. Having to pitch to a pitcher instead of a DH can totally change a lineup.
For Wada, injuries and Tommy John surgery really set him back. The Orioles signed Wada to a two-year/$8 million but he never pitched for the Orioles. Wada had to have Tommy John surgery his first season and spent the second season in triple-A Norfolk recovering. Now Wada has a 3.15 era with the Cubs.
The Orioles cannot blame Wada for his injury, it’s simply one of the unfortunate things that happens in baseball. The Orioles know these pitchers well and hopefully they can take advantage of that.
