Arizona @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Sep 24, 2016 ) Arizona 1, Baltimore 6
Mark Trumbo is trying to improve his current team's postseason standing while adding more salt to the gaping wound that is his former club's woeful regular season. After belting a home run in each contest of the interleague series, Trumbo looks to provide an encore on Sunday afternoon as the Baltimore Orioles vie for a sweep of the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
Trumbo followed his 12th-inning homer in the series opener by launching his major league-best 45th blast in Saturday's 6-1 rout. The 30-year-old is 11-for-31 in eight career games against Arizona, with which he played parts of two seasons. Baltimore has answered four straight losses with a pair of wins to move one-half game ahead of Detroit for the second wild card in the American League and remain 1 1/2 behind Toronto for the top spot. Paul Goldschmidt continued his consistent play by extending both his hitting and runs scored streaks to five games on Saturday for the Diamondbacks, who have dropped six of eight.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, MASN2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Braden Shipley (4-4, 5.49 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Dylan Bundy (9-6, 4.13)
Shipley saw his four-game unbeaten streak come to an end on Monday after allowing three runs and six hits in four innings of a 3-2 setback at San Diego. The performance came on the heels of a pair of long relief efforts for the 24-year-old, who has permitted 14 earned runs and 28 hits in 17 1/3 frames this month. Shipley has surrendered eight homers in his last seven outings and 12 in 11 appearances this season.
Bundy fell to 2-3 with a 6.62 ERA in his last seven starts after yielding five runs for the fourth time in that stretch in a 5-2 setback against Boston on Monday. The 23-year-old was taken deep twice by the Red Sox and has served up nine homers in his last six outings. Bundy will be making his 38th career appearance and first against Arizona on Sunday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arizona LF Kyle Jensen is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in the series.
2. With a victory on Sunday, Baltimore can become the fifth team to record 50 wins at home this season.
3. Diamondbacks LF Brandon Drury has recorded 15 RBIs while reaching base safely in 17 of his last 20 games.
PREDICTION: Orioles 5, Diamondbacks 3