New York @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 6, 2018 ) Baltimore 1, NY Mets 0

Positive moments have been few and far between for the beleaguered Baltimore Orioles, who are in the midst of their ninth losing streak of at least five games this season. The Orioles (35-84) aim to put a stop to their skid on Tuesday when they open an abbreviated two-game series versus the visiting New York Mets (50-66), against whom Baltimore recorded its lone sweep of the season.

While the Orioles posted a pair of one-run wins in a low-scoring series versus the Mets on June 5-6, they were outscored 34-17 in a four-game set versus Boston to see their losing skid reach five in a row. "We have pride. We're gonna play to win no matter what our record is, no matter how many games we have left," said Tim Beckham, who is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in his last two contests after hitting safely in eight of his previous nine. The Mets enjoyed a rare offensive explosion en route to posting their fourth victory in five games on Monday, as they belted five homers in an 8-5 victory over the rival New York Yankees in a makeup game from July 22. Michael Conforto went deep for the second straight contest on Monday, but is 0-for-7 this season against Baltimore and 1-for-5 versus Tuesday starter Andrew Cashner.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), MASN (Baltimore)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets LH Jason Vargas (2-8, 8.75 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Andrew Cashner (3-10, 4.83)

Vargas fell to 0-5 in his last six outings after allowing three runs on as many hits in one-third of an inning in a 6-1 setback versus Cincinnati last Tuesday. The 35-year-old exited after a lengthy rain delay, leading to his shortest trip to the mound in 240 career starts. Vargas pitched significantly better in his last outing versus Baltimore, although he fell to 2-5 in his career against the Orioles after permitting two runs on five hits over five innings of a 2-1 setback on June 5.

Cashner recorded his 11th quality start of the season in a no-decision versus Tampa Bay on Wednesday after allowing three runs on four hits in seven innings. The 31-year-old owns a 1-5 mark at home this season despite limiting the opposition to a .255 batting average, as opposed to a 2-5 record on the road while permitting foes to bat .304. Todd Frazier went deep on Monday and is 5-for-13 with five doubles against Cashner, who sports an 0-3 mark with a gaudy 6.18 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in nine career appearances (four starts) versus the Mets.

WALK-OFFS

1. New York SS Amed Rosario is 7-for-21 with four RBIs in his last five contests.

2. Orioles OF Adam Jones went 3-for-8 with a run scored in the two-game series versus the Mets in June.

3. New York CF Austin Jackson has 14 hits and seven RBIs in his last nine contests.

PREDICTION: Orioles 3, Mets 2