Orioles rotation and Mariners lineup change (O's lose 4-3)

Each open date on the Orioles' schedule leaves room for manager Buck Showalter to tweak his rotation. The Orioles are off Monday after returning from the West Coast, and Showalter told reporters today in Seattle that he may adjust the order of his starters. Right now, Miguel Gonzalez is slated to pitch Sunday afternoon in the series finale at Safeco Field. All three starters for the Angels series that begins Tuesday at Camden Yards are listed as TBA. Could Showalter bump Gonzalez to Tuesday? The right-hander has never faced the Mariners, but he's 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA in four career starts against the Angels, with 16 hits, seven walks and 21 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen and Kevin Gausman are lined up to face the Angels. However, Chen is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA in two starts against them, and 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA in five starts versus the Mariners, who visit Baltimore for a three-game series beginning Friday night. Chen threw eight scoreless innings two nights ago in Seattle, and Showalter may favor a rematch. Also, left-handers are hitting .298 against Chen this season, an average that's actually come down in recent starts. The Angels, meanwhile, rank second in the American League with a .279 average against southpaws, trailing only the Tigers (.283). Showalter may not favor that matchup. Gausman faced the Mariners last night and held them to one run over 6 2/3 innings. There's a lot to consider and Showalter is running all the possibilities through his head, including who would replace Gonzalez on Sunday if a change is made. Gonzalez, by the way, is 4-3 with a 3.22 ERA in eight career road starts against the American League West, including a 1-1 record and 2.51 ERA in two starts this season - May 30 in Houston and July 22 in Anaheim. Meanwhile, former Oriole Endy Chavez was scratched from Seattle's lineup today with a jammed left pinky finger. Here's the new lineup: James Jones CF Dustin Ackley LF Robinson Cano 2B Kendrys Morales DH Kyle Seager 3B Corey Hart RF Logan Morrison 1B Brad Miller SS Jesus Sucre C Chris Young RHP Update: Bud Norris allowed two runs in the third inning. Norris hit Kendrys Morales inside the left knee after an intentional walk to Robinson Cano loaded the bases with one out. Norris has hit 10 batters this season. Morales didn't appear to check his swing, which brought Showalter out of the dugout. Kyle Seager and Logan Morrison singled for a 3-0 lead. Morales was out trying to get back to third base, doing the Orioles a huge favor. The Blue Jays beat the Yankees today, leaving both teams 3 1/2 games behind the Orioles in the American League East. Update II: Back-to-back doubles by Dustin Ackley and Cano in the fifth increased Seattle's lead to 4-0. Update III: The Orioles finally scored in the top of the eighth on Seager's error on Chris Davis' scorching ground ball. Mariners 4, Orioles 2. Adam Jones was hit by a pitch and Nelson Cruz walked with two outs before Seager's error. Two runs scored without the benefit of a hit. Davis just scored on J.J. Hardy's single to reduce the Mariners' lead to 4-3 in the eighth. The Orioles have three hits - two by Delmon Young and one by Hardy. Update IV: David Lough walked with one out in the ninth, but he was thrown out after breaking too soon for second base to end the game. The Orioles lose to the Mariners 4-3. The Orioles are three games ahead of the Blue Jays and Yankees in the American League East. They're now 57-46 overall, 14-21 in day games and 9-9 on Saturdays. They're also 18-16 in one-run games, including 8-11 on the road.