Orioles lineup missing Mountcastle again, Nittoli signed to minor league deal

SEATTLE – Ryan Mountcastle is out of the Orioles lineup tonight for the third game in a row.

Mountcastle was used as a pinch-hitter Saturday. Manager Brandon Hyde told the media Sunday night that Mountcastle was “under the weather.”

Heston Kjerstad is the designated hitter. Colton Cowser is in left field and Cedric Mullins is in center.

Jorge Mateo is the second baseman, with Jordan Westburg at third.

Gunnar Henderson’s on-base streak ended Sunday at 36 games. He struck out four times.

Henderson leads the majors in runs scored with 73 and is on pace for 141. Per STATS, the only other shortstops to do it over a full season are the Marlins’ Hanley Ramírez in 2008 (125), Brooklyn’s Arky Vaughan in 1943 (112) and the Tigers’ Donie Bush in 1917 (112).

No Orioles player has led the majors in runs scored. The closest was Frank Robinson in 1966, when he tied Felipe Alou with 122.

Henderson’s 73 runs scored are the most before July in Orioles history, passing Roberto Alomar’s 67 runs through June 1996.

Grayson Rodriguez is 9-3 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.239 WHIP in 14 starts. He allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of five starts last month.

Rodriguez faced the Mariners on May 18 and tossed six scoreless innings with one hit allowed and seven strikeouts. The bullpen allowed four runs in a 4-3 loss.

Tonight marks Rodriguez’s first career start in Seattle.

Right-hander George Kirby is 7-5 with a 3.35 ERA and 0.966 WHIP in 17 starts. He’s walked only nine batters in 99 1/3 innings.

In Kirby's last five home starts, he’s registered a 0.84 ERA and struck out 10.69 batters per nine innings.

Kirby faced the Orioles on May 19 and allowed five runs and nine hits in six innings in Seattle’s 6-3 loss. Henderson hit a leadoff homer, and Ryan O’Hearn homered in the third inning.

Kirby has made five career starts against the Orioles and gone 1-3 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.085 WHIP in 31 1/3 innings. Anthony Santander is 4-for-12 with two home runs. Mullins is 2-for-15 with a double.

The Mariners’ pitching staff has posted the lowest average against in the American League at .219, but their offense has the lowest average at .218.

Seattle lost its fourth straight series over the weekend against the Twins.

The Orioles took two of three games from the Mariners at Camden Yards. They won two of three last year on the road but are 107-119 all-time in Seattle. Their last three-game sweep there was in 2012.

Both teams enter this series in first place. In previous years when they sat atop their divisions on July 1, the Orioles made the playoffs in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1997 and 2016. The Mariners qualified in 1997, 2000 and 2001. The Orioles missed the playoffs in 1989 and 2015, and Seattle missed in 2002 and 2003. All of this per STATS.

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Anthony Santander RF
Heston Kjerstad DH
Jordan Westburg 3B
Colton Cowser LF
Cedric Mullins CF
Jorge Mateo 2B

Grayson Rodriguez RHP

The Orioles agreed to terms with right-hander Vinny Nittoli, 33, on a minor league contract and are assigning him to Triple-A Norfolk, per a source.

Nittoli appeared in seven games with the Athletics this season and allowed two runs in eight innings. He appeared in one game with the Mariners in 2021, two with the Phillies in 2022 and three with the Mets last summer. He’s registered a career 3.07 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.

The Cubs signed Nittoli on Thursday and designated him for assignment the next day. He refused the outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa and became a free agent.

The Orioles still list their starters as TBA for the next two games. Corbin Burnes is back from paternity leave and the birth of twin girls, and Dean Kremer could be reinstated from the injured list.

For the Mariners

J.P. Crawford SS
Ty France 1B
Luke Raley LF
Cal Raleigh C
Jorge Polanco 2B
Dominic Calzone RF
Julio Rodríguez CF
Mitch Haniger DH
Jose Rojas 3B

George Kirby RHP