Baltimore @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 2, 2016 ) Baltimore 6, Seattle 12

The Baltimore Orioles are the most potent home-run hitting team in the majors, but they have been easily outclassed in that regard during their battles with the Seattle Mariners this year. The Mariners hope to continue flexing their muscles and complete a four-game home sweep of the Orioles on Sunday as the clubs wrap up their season series.

Seattle has homered in every game while outscoring the American League East leaders 41-18 and clubbing 14 home runs to Baltimore's five to take five of the six meetings. Seth Smith left the yard for the third time in as many games and Mike Zunino belted two of his own in his season debut as the Mariners matched the Orioles' season homer tally against them in Saturday's 12-6 victory. Baltimore belted a major league-record 56 home runs in June and has hit exactly one in each game of this series to increase its total to 127 - five more than second-place Seattle - but will have revenge on its mind as it tries to avoid a sweep in the finale. The Orioles will square off against Hisashi Iwakuma for the first time since Aug. 12, when the 35-year-old joined Hideo Nomo as the only Japanese pitchers to throw a no-hitter in major-league history.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), ROOT (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7, 6.63 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6, 4.34)
Jimenez closed out June with a pair of victories over San Diego, including a road triumph on Tuesday in which he allowed one run on three hits and four walks in five frames. The 32-year-old Dominican, who finished 3-1 last month despite a 7.23 ERA, had been charged with at least five runs in seven of his previous eight outings before facing the Padres. One of those poor starts came in a loss to Seattle on May 17, when Jimenez was tagged for six runs across 4 1/3 innings.
Iwakuma won for the third time in four tries and sixth time in eight starts overall with a victory Tuesday against Pittsburgh, yielding two runs in 6 2/3 innings after having permitted nine runs over his previous 11 2/3 frames. The outing marked the first time in 10 turns the Tokyo native gave up fewer than three runs and only the second time in his last nine trips to the mound he did not surrender at least one home run. Iwakuma is 1-2 with a 2.51 ERA in four career starts against the Orioles.

WALK-OFFS
1. Smith is batting .375 with three home runs and eight RBIs in six games against Baltimore and .268 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 64 contests against every other opponent this season.
2. Orioles 1B Chris Davis has homered in each of his last two contests to run his career total to 182 - tied with Ken Singleton for eighth in team history.
3. Seattle has swatted 64 of its 122 homers at Safeco Field, trailing only Baltimore's 68 home runs at Camden Yards for the most by a club in its home park this season.

PREDICTION: Mariners 8, Orioles 6