Orioles: Keys to Winning Series Against Mariners

The Baltimore Orioles are fresh off a series victory against Oakland and will begin the first of three games against Seattle on Monday night. What are some of the keys they will need to take into consideration to walk away with a winning record on their brief six-game road trip?

Baltimore lost to Oakland on Sunday but will get a chance to face another AL West team in Seattle, who have lost five of their last eight games.

During that stretch, the Mariners have been an inconsistent team. Some starters gave them solid starts while others did not. The same went with the offense. In some games, the offense would score less than two runs when just the day before they put up more than five. The results all differed.

The Seattle bullpen has not been terrible lately, which is another aspect the Orioles have to remember.

This is a prime opportunity for the Orioles to take advantage of. The offense did just fine over the past two games for Baltimore and they need to come out swinging early against the Mariners.

As for the pitching, the next men up in the rotation for the Orioles are Dean Kremer, Jorge Lopez and John Means. Kremer is expected to start Monday night, but the question remains if Means will start on Wednesday or wait until Friday for an extra day of rest. This will be something to watch out for.

The bullpen has been called upon early for Kremer and Lopez, which is something the Orioles want to avoid. Ideally, if these two starters can get through six innings, then Baltimore will gladly take that. They want to get past Sunday’s bad day and start fresh with a new series. After all, the bullpen can’t keep up its dominance all season long.

Game One is set for a 10:10 p.m. EST start from T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wa. It is not a matchup between two powerhouse teams, but it may make for some fun late-night baseball.