The Seattle Mariners have made the best out of some unfortunate situations this week.
They will take the confidence that goes with that into Wednesday night’s game against the host Baltimore Orioles.
Seattle is 11-3 in its last 14 games. The Orioles, in turn, are mired in a four-game losing streak.
The Mariners won the second consecutive contest of the four-game series — 6-5 in 10 innings Tuesday night — despite squandering a ninth-inning lead.
Seattle has won twice against Baltimore with shortstop Colt Emerson sidelined because of an ailing back.
“He seems to be better (Tuesday) than he was (Monday),” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “So that’s a really positive thing, and we’ll just keep monitoring as we go.”
The Mariners have survived for both victories in the series despite some adventurous work from the bullpen.
The Orioles, who’ve cranked out late-inning offense, haven’t been able to totally make up for some of their lineup tweaks.
“We have to get better to win those margins, whatever that is,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s looking at how we can get better and make adjustments.”
Catcher Adley Rutschman has been out of Baltimore’s lineup for the first two games of the series because of hamstring tightness.
“We just want to make sure that we stay on top of that,” Albernaz said, not revealing a timetable for Rutschman’s return to action.
Sam Huff has been behind the plate for both games, marking his return to the big leagues for the first time since mid-April. Along with Samuel Basallo, the Orioles are carrying three catchers.
“Having the third catcher is a great safety valve for us,” Albernaz said. “So it’s something that for right now it makes the most sense, but also moving forward it could be or it could not be. So there’s a lot of factors that go into that. But right now, it’s definitely a benefit for us.”
Right-hander George Kirby (5-5, 4.04 ERA) will start for the Mariners on Wednesday, seeking his first victory in nearly a month. In his last four starts, he’s 0-3. He’s coming off a season-low four innings in last Wednesday’s 7-1 loss to the New York Mets. Kirby gave up five runs (four earned) and nine hits.
Matchups against the Orioles generally haven’t gone Kirby’s way, as he’s 2-5 with a 3.26 ERA in eight starts vs. Baltimore. That’s the most losses to any opponent in Kirby’s career.
The Mariners lost bullpen regular Cooper Criswell, who was placed on the 15-day injury list Tuesday because of a shoulder strain. In his place, Nick Davila was called up from Triple-A Tacoma and recorded his first career save Tuesday.
The Orioles’ starting pitcher on Wednesday will be right-hander Brandon Young (4-1, 3.47 ERA), who’ll face Seattle for the first time in his career.
Baltimore has won six consecutive outings with Young on the mound, though he’s 2-0 during that stretch. He picked up the victory Friday at Toronto, where the Blue Jays managed three runs in 6 1/3 innings off Young. The Orioles won 13-3.
In his last three starts, Young has gone 19 2/3 innings, issuing three walks and logging 15 strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
