Mariners Take Two of Three From Orioles, Head to Cincinnatti

The Mariners, after getting swept at home by the Angles to end an otherwise successful homestand, won two of three in Baltimore and face the Reds tonight.

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I admit the old worries were starting to gather concerning the Mariners after they were swept by the struggling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at home last weekend. After a month and a half of winning baseball, I thought maybe this is where the wheels come off and the dream ends for the 2016 Mariners. After all, the Mariners have missed the postseason by either playing terribly all year or falling flat in critical points every season since 2001. Maybe six weeks of good baseball was all we were going to get from this team.

Then the Mariners clobbered the Baltimore Orioles 10-0 in the opening game of their series at Camden Yards, and I felt a little better. Former Oriole Nelson Cruz hit a home run and drove in five runs in the route while starter Wade Miley continued his recent success with six shutout innings. Third baseman Kyle Seager also homered and second baseman Robinson Cano continued his MVP-caliber season, going 3-for-4.

The Orioles would take one back from the Mariners in the second game, getting to starter Taijuan Walker, who said after the game that he didn’t trust his fastball. Walker has struggled in May, going 0-3 with a 5.23 ERA this month after dominating in April. Orioles starter Chris Tillman, who entered the game 6-0 in eight starts against the Mariners in his career, won yet again by tossing 6.1 innings and allowing two runs on four hits. The Mariners lost 5-2.

In the rubber match, the Mariners took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning off of Baltimore starter Tyler Wilson. In the sixth, first baseman Adam Lind extended the Mariners’ lead with a three-run home run. A two-run home run by center fielder Leonys Martin gave the Mariners an even bigger lead and their final score, 7-2. Starter Nathan Karns continued his recent success with five innings of one-run ball, striking out five. Lind now has two home runs in his past four games and finally appears to be shaking off the slump that plagued him in the early season. Martin now has seven home runs and seven steals. His previous career high in home runs was eight in 2013 with Texas.

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The Mariners gave the Orioles their first home series loss of the season and will start a three-game road series with the Cincinnatti Reds starting tonight at 4pm.

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