BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles finally found some offense on its just-concluded six-game road trip Christian McCaffrey Jersey , a big reason the team split six games.
They scored 20 runs while taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves over the weekend, and the Orioles want to try to keep that going against the Seattle Mariners when their four-game series starts on Monday at Camden Yards.
The Orioles scored 10, 7 and three runs against the Braves, and Mark Trumbo’s bat has come to life. Trumbo had five homers in the past week after getting a pinch-hit blast on Sunday during a 7-3 loss.
Baltimore needs that kind of offense if it wants to continue playing competitively.
Baltimore (23-53) will take on Seattle (47-31) for the first time this season in this series. The Orioles lost two of three in Washington against the Nationals before taking those two games in Atlanta and finally got some good pitching and hitting.
Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.72 ERA) starts for the Orioles Monday against Felix Hernandez (6-6, 5.14). Despite his record, Cashner has not pitched that badly. The Orioles just have not given him a lot of offensive support at times.
He is 2-4 with a 4.04 career ERA versus the Mariners.
Hernandez has been inconsistent throughout much of this season but fared better lately. He has thrown well in three of his last four starts, and the Mariners are hoping for more of the same in this game.
Hernandez has a 5-4 career record and a 3.30 ERA against the Orioles.
The Orioles are starting to get back a number of players who were out due to injuries or have players who are finding their way after being out awhile.
Closer Zach Britton gave up four runs in the ninth inning of Friday’s 10-7 victory over Atlanta. That forced the contest into extra innings Curtis Samuel Jersey , and the Orioles won that in 15, but Britton rebounded and closed out Saturday’s win.
Trumbo has gotten hotter, and infielder Tim Beckham could return as early as Monday after missing about two months due to core muscle surgery.
“We’re looking forward to getting Tim back,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the Baltimore Sun. “We’re hoping to get him back to the player he was when he originally came over (in last summer’s trade with the Tampa Bay Rays). I’m hoping this surgery and some of the things can help him.”
Seattle is hoping that shortstop Jean Segura also will return Monday.
Segura has missed four straight games due to an infection in his right forearm. The arm was drained on Friday but he did not play over the weekend at the Boston Red Sox.
Nelson Cruz has hit in eight straight games and will face his former team in this series. He played for the Orioles in 2014 and helped them win the division and make it to the American League Championship Series before signing with the Mariners after that.
The Mariners could use help from Segura and Cruz as they have struggled throughout this East Coast swing. Seattle has gone just 1-5 on the trip so far, dropping three straight to the Yankees and two of three to Boston.
“We’ve got to get it turned back around,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We had a lot of momentum going but this trip has not gone well, obviously.”
A look at what’s happening around the majors Wednesday:
NATIONAL DECLINE
The Nationals could use a spark before the July 4 fireworks go off in D.C. Washington is at risk of falling below .500 for the first time since May 2 as it continues a series against Boston at 11 a.m. EDT. The Red Sox thumped the Nationals 11-4 on Tuesday, giving Washington its fourth straight loss and 16th in 21 games to fall to 42-42. That slide has the preseason NL East favorites chasing the Braves and Phillies in the division. Erick Fedde (1-3 Antonio Morrison Jersey , 6.00) tries to stop Washington’s skid against Boston left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3, 4.11).
THE SHO GOES ON
Shohei Ohtani is back from the disabled list, albeit without full use of his electric right arm. The Japanese two-way sensation has been cleared to hit and was in the Angels’ lineup as a designated hitter Tuesday night, but he won’t be pitching anytime soon due to a Grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament suffered more than three weeks ago. Ohtani has received stem cell therapy and a platelet-rich plasma injection on his right elbow, and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to return to the mound this year. For now, Los Angeles welcomes him as a hitter. He entered Tuesday batting .289 with a .907 OPS and six homers in 114 at-bats.
ROTATION RESET
Gerrit Cole (9-2) will pitch on regular rest for the Astros after a slight tweak to their rotation. Lance McCullers Jr. was initially scheduled to start at Texas, but Cole will pitch instead. Justin Verlander (9-4) will follow Thursday at home against the White Sox and McCullers goes Friday. Manager A.J. Hinch said the switch keeps Cole and Verlander pitching every fifth day, and provides extra rest for McCullers (9-3) and Charlie Morton (10-2). The reset rotation means likely All-Star selection Verlander is scheduled for the final game before the break. ”This is always going to be the priority Torrey Smith Jersey ,” said Hinch, the All-Star manager who then won’t have Verlander available to pitch for the AL team on July 17 in Washington D.C.
BAUER POWER
Trevor Bauer tries to carry over an outstanding June when the Indians play at Kansas City. Bauer (7-6, 2.45) was 3-3 with a 2.18 ERA last month, striking out 62 batters in 41 1/3 innings. He gets probably his easiest test of the year against the Royals, who scored a major league-low 58 runs in June – the second-lowest output was Tampa Bay at 87.
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