Wei-Yin Chen (1-2, 2.53 ERA) and the Baltimore Orioles (17-19) square off against Roenis Elias (0-1, 3.24 ERA) and the Seattle Mariners (17-21) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the second of a three-game series at Camden Yards. The Orioles won the last game 9-4 and Baltimore leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May. 20 and can be seen on ROOT-NW and MASN2.
Chen is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his appearances against the Mariners, and goes up against a below-average Seattle offense which is batting just .237 this season. Jimmy Paredes (.346, 18 Rs, 6 HRs, 22 RBIs, 1 SB) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run, one home run, and four RBIs. Elias is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA when pitching against the Orioles. He is up against a good Baltimore offense which is hitting .261 this season. Nelson Cruz (.347, 26 Rs, 16 HRs, 33 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate for the Mariners, going 2 for 3 yesterday with one run, one home run, and three RBIs.
Baltimore is a -128 favorite against Seattle and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Orioles have an overall money line of -336 and a record as the favorite of 10-8. The Orioles have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 3.3 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.5 runs per game. The Orioles have no trouble scoring as they rank third in the AL in home offense with 5.1 runs per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, the Orioles are the third-best team in the AL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 7.6 hits per game so far this season.
Over in the other dugout, Seattle is coming in with an overall money line of -755 and a disappointing record of 3-6 as the underdog. The Mariners allow 4.1 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 2.7 runs per game during that span. The Mariners have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an AL-best 7.8 strikeouts per game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
The Orioles have the edge in the season series, 1-0. Chen (LHP) will be on the hill against the Mariners, who have a 3-5 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – BAL, O/U – Over
Notes
When the Orioles play into extra innings, they have a 1-0 record. The Mariners are 3-3 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Mariners managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Orioles who are heading in with a 4-1 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mariners are 8-7. The Orioles have a 15-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 26th, Seattle sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 144 this season. Baltimore ranks in the top half at 13th with 165.
Baltimore and Seattle both rank near the bottom of the league in walks. Baltimore sits at 27th with 88 this season and Seattle ranks 21st with 99.
The Orioles are 15-12 when they hit at least one home run. The Mariners perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 14-12 record.
