O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound in series opener with Seattle

Tonight, the Orioles host Seattle in Game 1 of a three-game series to end a nine-game homestand. The Orioles are 16-19 for the season, 3-3 on the homestand and 9-7 at Camden Yards for the season.

They are 14-15 in games against an American League East opponent and 2-4 when playing outside the division.

Like the Orioles, the Mariners are three games under .500 at 17-20. They just completed a 6-3 homestand, which ended with a four-game series split against Boston.

The Mariners' starting pitchers are on a nice roll, with an ERA of 2.33 over the last 12 games, and the team is 7-5 in that time.

Former Oriole Nelson Cruz is off to a red-hot start for his new team, batting .340 with 15 homers and 30 RBIs. He is on a 65-homer, 131-RBI pace, and has three multi-homer games.

He has been particularly good on the road this year. In 16 road contests, Cruz is batting .381 with 11 homers, 15 RBIs, a .952 slugging percentage and a 1.379 OPS.

O's right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (4-2, 2.93 ERA) will try to keep him in the park tonight when he pitches against 22-year-old right-hander Taijuan Walker (1-4, 7.22 ERA).

Since the 2014 All-Star break, Gonzalez is 10-6 with a 2.47 ERA over 18 starts.

He has allowed one earned run or less four times this season and has pitched at least seven innings three times. In three home starts, he is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA.

Walker, who has never faced the Orioles, was ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the sport by Baseball America after the 2013 season. He was No. 20 after 2011 and No. 18 after 2012.

But this year he has allowed 43 hits, including six homers, over 33 2/3 innings, with 15 walks, 33 strikeouts and a .309 average against. In four 2015 road starts, Walker is 1-3 with a 10.90 ERA, allowing four homers in 17 1/3 innings.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, O's right-hander Mike Wright became the first pitcher in franchise history to earn a win as a starter in his MLB debut without allowing any runs or walks. Only two other active pitchers have done this. They are Anibal Sanchez on June 25, 2006 with the Marlins and Odrisamer Despaigne with the Padres on June 23, 2014.

With 1,275 wins, O's manager Buck Showalter is now six wins shy of tying Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog (1,281) for 35th on the all-time wins list.

Showalter is fourth on the O's all-time managing wins list:
1,480 - Earl Weaver
517 - Paul Richards
407 - Hank Bauer
393 - Buck Showalter