Richards (1-2) gave up eight hits and walked two with four strikeouts. Only 66 of his 111 pitches were strikes.

Richards has allowed 12 earned runs over his last two starts spanning 12 2/3 innings in back-to-back defeats.

He was sharp in the start before that and will look to return to that Sunday against Baltimore.

Richards will take on the Athletics Tuesday. The A's actually lead baseball with 138 runs scored. Their .337 team wOBA ranks them third this year. Strong starts from Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and Seth Smith, among others, have fueled the team's offensive outburst.

Things don't get any easier later in the week, as the Orioles rank second in baseball in runs. Their .329 wOBA ranks them fifth in baseball. Richards is not known as a power pitcher, and is going to allow players on both teams to put the ball in play. While he does have two starts, he might not be the best pickup in Fantasy leagues this week. 

Richards brings an overpowering 95 mile-per-hour fastball with him to the mound, but he has produced very middling results at the major-league level. Richards is striking out just 6.9 batters per nine innings on the year, though he flashed elite control in his first three starts that has helped him to a 3.65 ERA. He is coming off an outing with five earned runs in seven innings, and he now has just one quality start out of three.

Richards is benefiting from a high groundball rate (55.1 percent) that he should be able to sustain, and a low batting average on balls in play (.206) that he likely will not, so regression could be on the way for him. Richards will face the A's and Orioles in Week 5, both of whom rank in the top-five in runs scored per game in the majors. Fantasy owners are keen on Richards' potential, but he might not be worth your time this week. 

Richards, who has a 3.65 ERA, came off a brilliant performance against the Tigers. He's scheduled to take on the A's in Oakland Tuesday in his next start.