Orioles Magic

Monday, July 6 - Wednesday, July 8

Baltimore Orioles (36-46) at Seattle Mariners (42-39)

Pitching Matchups

Monday: BAL - Brad Bergesen (5-2, 3.53)
SEA - Jarrod Washburn (4-6, 3.36)

Tuesday: BAL - Jeremy Guthrie (6-8, 5.20)
SEA - Erik Bedard (5-2, 2.47)

Wednesday: BAL - David Hernandez (2-2, 4.15)
SEA - Felix Hernandez (8-3, 2.62)

The Orioles journey out west continues in Seattle for a three game series. As I predicted, the Orioles were only able to take 1 out of at 4 at Anaheim. It won't get any easier in Seattle. The Mariners were atrocious last year but it has been a different story for them this year. They find themselves in contention for the AL West and Wild Card.

I usually lead off with the offensive side of things but the main reason the Mariners have had a sudden turnaround has been their pitching. The Mariners have a fantastic 3.73 team ERA. The Orioles will get to see the best starting pitchers that the Mariners have over the next three games. Don't let Jarrod Washburn's 4-6 record fool you, he has been the victim of poor run support as his fantastic 3.36 ERA will attest.

On Tuesday, Baltimore gets to face former teammate Erik Bedard. This will be Bedard's first start off of the disabled list. The Orioles traded Bedard two years ago for All-Star Adam Jones and closer George Sherill. So far it would seem the Orioles won that deal. Jones and Sherrill have each earned All Star nods since coming to Baltimore while Bedard has been a regular on the DL. However, this year Bedard has pitched well and has been discussed as possible trade bait.

It doesn't get any easier for the Orioles on Wednesday as King Felix Hernandez starts. Hernandez was one of two Mariners named to the All-Star team. He has been lights out this year and one of the better pitchers in baseball. At just 23 years old it is scary about how potentially dominate Hernandez could be in future years.

While pitching has dominated the headlines for Seattle this year, they do have some potent bats in the lineup. RF Ichiro Suzuki is having another fantastic season and was the other Mariner named to the AL All-Star team. He leads the American League with a .362 average. 1B Russell Branyan is quietly having a strong year. He is hitting .293, with 20 HRs and 45 RBIs. 2B Jose Lopez leads the team in RBIs with 48. The Mariners also have DH Ken Griffey Jr. who hopefully will hang it up after this season, as he is hitting just .214 with 10 HRs and 26 RBIs.

The Orioles are throwing two potential stars at the Mariners. Brad Bergesen continues to pitch excellently and gets the start tonight. David Hernandez has had some quality starts recently and pitches Wednesday night. It is cautious optimism that O's fans have for Bergesen and Hernandez because of the status of Tuesday's starter, Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie came out of nowhere a few years ago and became the ace after the trade of Bedard. However, Guthrie has been terrible this year, with an ERA over 5.00.

The Orioles have one All-Star, the aforementioned Adam Jones. Jones is hitting .308, with 12 HRs, and 46 RBIs.

I like the O's chances of taking this series, expect nothing but low scoring games.