The Mariners return home after a rough road trip with some reinforcements waiting to join the squad. The return of both Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford should alleviate some of the issues plaguing the team over the last few weeks by lengthening the lineup. There are still issues on the pitching staff — Andrés Muñoz’s back issue that forced him from the game on Sunday being the most concerning — but the roster definitely looks a lot stronger with the M’s superstar catcher back on board.
After splitting
a four-game series in Baltimore last week, the Orioles make the trip out to the West Coast this week to wrap up the season series against the Mariners. If you watched any of that series, you’re already familiar with what the O’s bring to the table — nothing much has changed in the four days since these two teams met last.
The biggest change to the O’s lineup already happened last Thursday when Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo returned from their respective minor injuries that had held them out of the first three games of that series in Baltimore. Otherwise, I’ll just paste in what Isabelle wrote about the team below:
The Orioles currently have the fifth-highest strikeout rate and the sixth-highest walk rate paired with some distinctly middle-of-the-road contact numbers. It’s also worth noting that only four players have accrued 200+ plate appearances at this point, indicative of intermittent injury struggles and some reclamation projects. Former AL Rookie of the Year contender and longtime light at the end of the Bad Years in Baltimore Tunnel, Adley Rutschman (“play badly for Adley” is a clever little ditty that will live on in my brain for eternity) had a torrid start, but has cooled in recent weeks. Gunnar Henderson is being propped up by his good defense, Taylor Ward is as annoyingly-decent as ever, and former “friend” Leody Taveras has slashed his strikeout rate by third, which makes him a reasonably functional big leaguer. Their big offensive signing, Pete Alonso, petrified everyone with his frigid start, but he’s since been about what you would expect. Other names to note are Samuel Basallo, their younger, better (?) catcher who had a scorching month at the plate in May; Jackson Holliday, former top prospect and eternal nepo baby, who started the season on the injured list; and Coby Mayo, pressed into service at third after Jordan Westburg’s season-ending elbow surgery.
Probable Pitchers
From a previous series preview:
Brandon Young graduated from the Orioles’ development pipeline last year after landing sixth on their 2025 prospect list. He’s got above average skills across the board but no clear carrying tool to push his profile above a back-end starter. His fastball is probably his best pitch, though he’s introduced a new slider this year that shows a lot of promise. He’ll also mix in a curveball and a splitter to keep left-handed batters at bay. His strikeout rate isn’t all that impressive, but he’s found some success by limiting the amount of hard contact he allows.
From a previous series preview:
Kyle Bradish looked like he had made the jump to ace-dom back in 2024 but Tommy John surgery derailed his breakout. He returned to the mound late last year and looked like he was ready to pick up exactly where he left off. Things haven’t gone so smoothly this season, however. The key to his success all those years ago were his two breaking balls. His curveball has looked fine this year, but his slider has been knocked around a bunch. The effectiveness of his sinker has also waned a bit because he’s struggled to locate that pitch in the zone. That’s led to a pretty big jump in walk rate to go along with a much lower strikeout rate.
The Orioles traded for Shane Baz this offseason in an effort to bolster their rotation and then signed him to a five-year, $68 million extension after his first start with the ballclub. At one point, Baz was a highly regarded prospect in Tampa Bay’s organization but Tommy John surgery derailed much of his development. Over the last two years since returning from that injury, he’s been merely average rather than transcendent like many thought he’d be as a prospect. With Baltimore, he added a sinker to his repertoire and emphasized his excellent curveball at the expense of his four-seam fastball. It’s a good trade off in theory but he’s struggled through an up-and-down season so far. His strikeout rate is down six points and left-handed batters in particular are crushing his pitches.
The Big Picture:
The Athletics had a weird week in Las Vegas last week, winning four of six on that special “homestand” but losing their game on Sunday by a score of 23-9 against the Rockies. The team returned to Sacramento last night and beat up on the Pirates in the first game of a three game set against Pittsburgh. The Rangers wound up salvaging a single win in their weekend series against the Red Sox but lost the first game of a series against the Twins last night.
