Orioles at Mariners
The Seattle Mariners have dropped the first five contests of their seven-game homestand and look to halt the slide when they host the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. The Mariners were pounded 11-3 by the Orioles in the opener of their three-game series and have been outscored 33-16 during the skid.
Baltimore is 4-4 on its 10-game West Coast trip and has rolled up 23 runs in its last two victories. The Orioles sit two games behind the Los Angeles Angels for the American League's second wild-card spot while Seattle is 2 1/2 games off the pace. Baltimore's Manny Machado slugged his second grand slam of the road trip and is batting .355 with five homers and 20 RBIs this month. Seattle's Nelson Cruz hit his 29th home run in the opener and has gone deep eight times in August while batting .396 and recording 16 RBIs.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), ROOT Northwest (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles LH Wade Miley (6-9, 5.19 ERA) vs. Mariners LH Andrew Albers (2016: 0-0, 5.82)
Miley has displayed signs of turning his season around by going 2-0 while giving up just five runs in 17 innings over his last three starts. The stretch of success follows a period during which the 30-year-old gave up 25 runs in a 23-frame span over five outings. Miley is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two career turns against the Mariners, a team for which he made 19 starts last season before being dealt to the Orioles.
Albers was acquired from Atlanta last week immediately after Seattle lost left-handed ace James Paxton (pectoral) for at least three weeks. The 31-year-old hasn't pitched in the majors this season but was a stellar 12-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 26 appearances (17 starts) at Triple-A Gwinnett. Albers previously has been in the big leagues with Minnesota and Toronto, going 2-5 with a 4.41 ERA in 17 career games (12 starts).
WALK-OFFS
1. Orioles SS Tim Beckham recorded three hits in the opener and is 29-for-58 with four homers since being acquired from Tampa Bay.
2. Seattle OF Ben Gamel is just 1-for-15 on the homestand.
3. Baltimore 1B Chris Davis is 6-for-13 with five RBIs over his last three games after struggling through a 4-for-40 stretch over his previous 11 contests.