Orioles manager Buck Showalter gave a nod to experience when he announced Joe Saunders (9-13, 4.07 ERA) will start in Friday's American League wild-card game against the Texas Rangers.

Part of the decision to start Saunders is due to the knee injury of Steve Johnson, and the questions surrounding how he'd be able to hold up.

Saunders, acquired from Arizona in August, is 0-6 with a 9.38 ERA in six career starts in Texas (and 3-7 with a 6.48 ERA in 11 career starts against the Rangers), but it isn't something with which Showalter is concerned.

"If you're looking for pitchers with good numbers against the Texas Rangers, they're hard to find," Showalter said.

The Rangers will throw Yu Darvish at Baltimore, and in that, they are giving a nod to inexperience, in a sense. He is 10-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 95 innings against teams he's pitched against for the first time this season. He's struck out 108 and walked 41 in that span.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:37 p.m. ET Friday in Arlington.