The Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles will try to shake off their weekend results when they begin a four-game series Monday night in Baltimore.
It’s the first of seven games these teams will play across an 11-day period, with a three-game series in Seattle set for June 16-18.
The Orioles are coming off a 3-3 road trip, with Sunday’s 6-4 loss at Toronto marking their second loss in a row.
“You’ve got to be able to close the deal,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. ” … You can’t give a team extra outs.”
The Orioles held a 4-0 lead over the Blue Jays through five innings.
For the Mariners, this visit to Baltimore marks the middle chunk of Seattle’s 10-game road trip.
The Mariners went 1-2 in Detroit, where they lost 5-4 on Sunday. Seattle led 4-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, when the Tigers scored twice and then scored the tying and winning runs on Kevin McGonigle’s two-out single in the ninth.
“It’s tough when you lose that kind of a game,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “But the guys I thought fought extremely hard. It’s a tough one to come out on (that) end.”
Wilson said the Mariners can still count on reliever Andres Munoz despite the result from his stint Sunday.
“He has been our go-to guy for a long time, and he knows how to pitch in those situations,” Wilson said.
Baltimore has received strong recent offense from infielder Blaze Alexander, who’s batting .438 (14-for-32) across his last 10 games where he’s registered a plate appearance.
The Orioles have questions about catcher Samuel Basallo, who has been treated for injuries in two of the last three games. He left Sunday’s game after trying to make a tag, appearing to injure his left wrist.
“Sammy is learning. He’s learning a lot how to play through being nicked up,” Albernaz said. “When everything is checked out and everything is fine, Sammy is learning to play through some adversity right now.”
Right-hander Chris Bassitt (4-4, 5.27 ERA) may be in line to start in his normal rotation spot after leaving his last start last Wednesday at Boston after three innings with back tightness. The team hasn’t announced who will start, but he rejoined the team in Toronto after originally returning to Baltimore for further examination.
If it’s Bassitt, he’ll look to produce some consistency as he was solid for six innings, allowing one run in his final May outing vs. Toronto, and then gave up three runs in three innings against the Red Sox.
Bassitt has been much stronger in home games, going at least six innings in three of his last four starts at Camden Yards.
Emerson Hancock (4-2, 2.80) gets the call for the Mariners, marking the first of four right-handers scheduled to start in the series for Seattle. He has worked at least six innings in nine of his 12 starts, including in last Monday’s no-decision against the visiting New York Mets.
In his fourth major league season, his next victory will be a career-high total for a single season in that category. The only time he has faced Baltimore, Hancock allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision last June in Seattle.
–Field Level Media
