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Fansided

Baltimore Orioles go for series and road trip wins

ByRandy Buchman|

Jun 24, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez (50) throws in the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles will finally get to put an end to the long road trip to the West Coast with a Sunday game against the Seattle Mariners. It was incumbent upon the Birds to win at least five of the 10 games, and they have already done that at 5-4. But winning Sunday and flying east with a 6-4 road record would be extra sweet.

Coming out of the All-Star Game, it looked like this road trip could be a most critical set of games for this season. Having played less games against the tough triad of the A’s, Angels, and Mariners than have their own divisional foes, the Orioles need to grind through (the favorite verb of the Birds this season) and maintain their advantage in the standings.

With Toronto’s win over the Yankees on Saturday, both of these teams have gained a single game in the standings since the break. The Rays are now only 6.5 games behind, having won nine straight. The last time they lost a game was on July 11th! This is the same team that, at one point this season, lost 14 out of 15 games.

After winning the first two of the four-game set against the Mariners, the Orioles dropped a 4-3 game on Saturday afternoon. It was a day thatBud Norrissimply could not find his command, falling behind 4-0 in his five innings of work. And a late rally of three runs in the eighth inning would not be sufficient. The Orioles offence could only muster a grand total of three hits on the day.

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    • The opposition pitching on this trip has been outstanding, as anticipated. Perhaps when the Orioles face a merely average pitcher again, they’ll totally pound him. Maybe that could even happen on Sunday?

    The Birds will be facing first-year pitcherRoenis Eliaswho is 8-8 with a 4.41 ERA. Though a rookie, he is approaching age 27. Looking over his stats, the Cuban lefty either pitches really well or gets rather lit up.

    The Baltimore Orioles will counter withMiguel Gonzalez. Though 5-5 / 3.91, Gonzalez has pitched great baseball over his past three starts, giving up only five runs on 16 hits in 25.2 innings. He is a relative unknown to Seattle batters, as onlyRobinson Canohas many at-bats against him. Cano is 2-for-18 andKendrys Morales0-for-3 … that’s it!

    This is a game the Orioles should win. We will see Schoop back at second base andCaleb Josephbehind the plate.Nick Hundleyhas been 0-for-15 on this trip, while Joseph is 4-for-15 and looking more comfortable at the plate.

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