O's game blog: The rubber match against Seattle

After taking three of four games in Chicago and splitting games the last two nights in Seattle, the Orioles and Mariners play the third and deciding game of their series this afternoon at T-Mobile Park.

The Orioles hit five homers on Monday night as they won 9-2 over the Mariners, but then they were held to just one hit on Tuesday night in a 2-0 loss.

The Orioles (35-41) are 7-4 in rubber match games as they play yet another such game today. Overall, they are 4-2 on this road trip and 17-24 on the road for the season. They have gone 11-8 in their past 19 road games. They have won five of seven games overall and also six of nine and eight of their past 12 games. They are 11-6 over the last 17, 13-9 in 22 games and 21-17 over 38 games since May 19.

The O’s lost Tuesday while giving up just two runs, and they’ve allowed two runs or fewer in nine of their past 12 games with a team ERA of 2.01 in that span. O’s pitchers have allowed 11 runs the past seven games, 15 in nine and 24 runs in the past dozen games.

Baltimore starting pitchers have a 1.54 ERA (8 ER/46.2 IP) over the last nine games after Dean Kremer threw seven scoreless innings Tuesday. In allowing two runs last night the Baltimore bullpen saw a 13-game streak snapped in which the ‘pen allowed one earned run or none. The O’s bullpen ERA is 1.69 (9 ER/48 IP) over the last 14 games.

Right-hander Austin Voth (0-0, 7.81 ERA) will make his 25^th appearance of the season between two teams, counting his time with the Washington Nationals and his sixth appearance and third start for the Orioles in the series finale today.

Voth made an emergency start on Sunday, June 19 at Baltimore versus Tampa Bay when Jordan Lyles was ill. Voth pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings on three hits, throwing 41 pitches. Last Friday he got the start at Chicago and allowed one hit and one run over three innings with two walks and three strikeouts on 47 pitches. That was the game when the Orioles beat the White Sox 4-1 on a combined one-hitter.

After Voth’s outing, the Orioles bullpen took over as Joey Krehbiel, Bryan Baker, Cionel Pérez and Jorge López worked the rest of that game. Chicago batters went just 1-for-28 against that group of five pitchers, all of them claimed on waivers by the Orioles.

So Voth has allowed four hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings in his two starts with the Orioles, and they have won both of those games. In his five games for the Orioles, he has allowed nine hits and three runs over nine innings with a 1.444 WHIP, 4.0 walk rate and 10.0 strikeout rate. He had an ERA of 10.13 in 19 games with Washington. That number is 3.00 with the Orioles.

Voth today is pitching in his home state. He was born in Redmond, Wash., which is about 15 miles from Seattle, and he played his college ball in Seattle at the University of Washington. The Nationals drafted him out of that school in round five in 2013.

Today he makes his first career appearance against Seattle.

Seattle right-hander Chris Flexen (3-8, 4.31 ERA) gets the start for the Mariners, making his 15^th of the 2022 season. In 77 1/3 innings he has allowed 83 hits and 11 homers with 27 walks to 55 strikeouts. He has recorded a WHIP of 1.422 with a 3.1 walk rate and 6.4 strikeout rate.

The Mets drafted Flexen initially, in the round 14 in 2012. The Mariners went 22-9 in his starts last season. But this year they are just 4-10 in Flexen’s outings.

Since the 2021 season, he has thrown seven innings or more while allowing one run or zero eight times, which is tied for second most in the American League in that span.

Flexen has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his past four games, pitching to a 3.68 ERA in that stretch, allowing a .267 batting average and .744 OPS. He faced the Orioles this year on June 2 in Baltimore and did not get a decision as he allowed six hits and three runs over five innings on 76 pitches.