The Baltimore Orioles will try to salvage a split of their four-game series with the Seattle Mariners when the two teams play the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Baltimore won Saturday night to get its first win in the series after Seattle had taken the first two matchups.
Working For The Future
The Orioles are currently 22-55 and in very last place in all of baseball. It’s safe to say the Orioles are in full rebuild mode from top to bottom and will take any wins they can get to find things to build on. They are currently 1-10 in their last 11 games after winning their last matchup against the Mariners. In the entire month of June, Baltimore is 3-16.
Gabriel Yona will be getting the start for the Orioles in their last game against the Mariners in their current series. Yona is 0-4 this season with a 5.65 ERA and 31 strikeouts. In his last start, Yona gave up six runs on seven hits, including three home runs, as the Orioles lost 16-2 against the Oakland Athletics. The 26-year-old starter will be looking to bounce back in a big way and get his first winning decision of the season in this next outing.
Leading the way batting for the Orioles has been a group effort. Renato Nunez leads the team in home runs with 16, Trey Mancini leads in batting average with .304, and Dwight Smith Jr’s 42 RBI is the most this season in Baltimore. After winning their last game, look for the Orioles to hold on to anything positive they can to build off of and carry it into their next game.
Treading Water
Seattle is currently 34-47 and favored to win their next matchup against the Orioles. The Mariners won the first two games of the series but dropped the last game 8-4 after giving up a three-run home run early and two runs in the eighth to give Baltimore the win. Seattle is currently 5-5 over its last 10 games. They will be looking to wrap this series up with a win before heading on the road to take on a tough Milwaukee Brewers squad.
Getting the start for the Mariners will be lefty Yusei Kikuchi. The 28-year-old is currently 3-5 with a 5.15 ERA and 60 strikeouts. In his last start against the Royals, he took the loss after pitching five innings and allowing six runs. Against the Royals, he allowed two runs off of three hits before recording his first out and was never able to bounce back and get on track.
Domingo Santana leads Seattle in both batting average (.283) and RBI (58), while the 36-year-old veteran Edwin Encarnacion did lead the team in home runs with 21 before being dealt to the New York Yankees earlier this month. Now the home run leader for the Mariners is Daniel Vogelbach with 18. The Mariners are also a team looking to rebuild, but they currently have the talent on their roster to overcome a team like the Orioles consistently.
What to Expect
Watching two losing teams play can be a game to stay away from, but in this case, I would expect the bats to get going against two weak pitchers and for Seattle to win in a shootout. I’m taking the Seattle Mariners at home and the over.
