Seattle @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Aug 3, 2013 ) Seattle 8, Baltimore 4
Joe Saunders attempts to continue his dominance of Baltimore when the Seattle Mariners conclude a three-game series against the Orioles on Sunday. The left-hander is 6-0 in eight career starts against Baltimore and Seattle is looking to claim the series after Michael Saunders hit two homers and matched his career high with five RBIs in Saturday’s victory. The Orioles are 5 1/2 games behind first-place Boston in the American League East as they conclude a nine-game homestand.
The Mariners snapped a four-game losing skid with Saturday’s victory as Justin Smoak reached base five times on three hits and two walks and Brad Miller also had three hits. The teams have combined for 31 runs and 12 homers (seven by Seattle) while splitting the first two games. The Orioles lead the majors with 148 homers and have hit three or more in 19 contests.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Joe Saunders (9-10, 4.65 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (6-3, 2.87)
Saunders has lost back-to-back outings, allowing six runs (five earned) and nine hits in each while losing to Cleveland and Boston. He won four consecutive starts – giving up just five earned runs – before lasting five innings or less in each of his last two outings. Saunders has a 4.22 ERA in 49 career innings against Baltimore.
Chen is 3-0 in four starts since coming off the disabled and has won four straight decisions overall. His last loss was to Seattle on May 1 when he gave up five runs and eight hits in four innings. Chen is 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA in three career starts against the Mariners and even retired the first 19 Seattle hitters in a no-decision last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mariners DH Kendrys Morales, who had two hits Saturday, is 15-for-22 over the first five contests of the six-game road trip that concludes Sunday.
2. Orioles 3B Manny Machado smacked his major league-leading 40th double on Saturday, but it was his first since July 6.
3. Seattle 3B Kyle Seager is hitless in nine career at-bats against Chen.
PREDICTION: Orioles 9, Mariners 8