Matusz on his game in fourth win: When Orioles starter Brian Matusz is on his game, he can be very good for Baltimore. When he’s bad, he can be very bad. Tuesday night against Boston, the former top prospect came out to pitch as Matusz was extremely sharp against the Red Sox. Matusz recorded a season-high nine strikeouts and his only issue was throwing too many pitches and lasting just one out into the seventh inning in the victory over Boston. Matusz needed 101 pitches to go 6 1/3 innings, but was quite good in improving .500 at 4-4 on the year. Matusz allowed just one earned run on two base hits – including one homer – and one walk over his time on the mound. His ERA is now at 4.86 on the year after the solid outing. "Just having confidence with all my pitches," he said. "Attacking the zone, letting guys put it in play. That's been the key." (Updated 05/22/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/24/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Matusz had perhaps his best start of the season on Tuesday night against Boston. He put an end to a two-game Orioles losing streak and beat one of the hotter teams in the league. Matusz has now won three consecutive outings for the Orioles and he’s even begun adding strikeouts to the mix. The Orioles starter still has a long way to go before he becomes viable and trusted in mixed Fantasy leagues, but he does have that kind of ability and upside. Matusz makes his next start on Sunday against Kansas City for his second start of the current scoring period. His next start was supposed to come Monday at Toronto, but he will go on normal rest despite Thursday's day off. Matusz can be used mostly in AL-only Fantasy leagues at this point, though he's quickly gaining value. (Updated 05/22/2012).
05/23/2012 17:51 Matusz is getting a lot of attention
No one may know inconsistency more than Brian Matusz. After his last start, is it time to give him a shot at your roster? The Fantasy Baseball 360 crew weighs in.
05/23/2012 12:42 Zach Britton to make rehab start Saturday
Orioles starting pitcher Zach Britton will make his first injury rehab start Saturday in Double-A, according to manager Buck Showalter (via School of Roch). He will make at least two rehab starts before the Orioles consider the next step. Britton has been on the shelf all season with a shoulder injury.
05/22/2012 22:36 Tolleson, Betemit homer in O's win
Brian Matusz allowed two hits and struck out nine in 6 1-3 innings, Steve Tolleson and Wilson Betemit both hit two-run homers, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Tuesday night.
05/17/2012 17:55 O's top Royals, make it 7 in row on road
Adam Jones hit a two-run homer, J.J. Hardy also drove in a pair of runs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Thursday for their seventh straight road win.
05/12/2012 22:20 Orioles take advantage of sloppy Rays
The Baltimore Orioles capitalized on five errors by the Tampa Bay Rays and got two hits and two RBI from Adam Jones in a 5-3 victory Saturday night.
Brian Matusz will have to perform to keep a rotation spot heading into 2012 after going 1-9 over 12 starts last season for the Orioles. Matusz made it through just 49 2/3 innings as he pitched to the worst single-season ERA in MLB history. The one promising note to take from that dubious distinction is that he passed future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay as the previous owner of that mark. If he can turn his career around, a la Halladay, the ceiling remains incredibly high for the 25-year-old. Once one of the organization's top pitching prospects, Matusz went 10-12 in 2010 with a 4.30 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 175 2/3 innings. Even more impressive, Matusz finished that season incredibly strong, going 7-1 with a 2.18 ERA over his final 11 starts. He spent the offseason working on getting stronger with former Oriole Brady Anderson and could be in for a bounce-back season. His struggles last year will keep him off most draft boards, making him a possible steal in AL-only Fantasy leagues. (Updated 2/17/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start