That 7-5 Loss to the Orioles Just Got Uglier: Their Pitching Is Dialed In and Nobody Saw It Coming

Alright, Emerald City, can we talk about Thursday night? Seriously, that 7-5 loss our Mariners took against the Baltimore Orioles? It stings! What's worse, the O's are riding that momentum hard, turning into a surprisingly hot team right when nobody was looking. Our guys got dealt a tough hand, and now Baltimore's about to face the Padres looking seriously dangerous.

Baltimore's New Vibe: They're Rolling, And It Hurts Us

Those Orioles, man. They just swept a two-game set against our Mariners, capping it with that 7-5 win on Thursday. Not long ago they were on a four-game losing streak, but now? They've flipped the script! Adley Rutschman's return is huge. Out three days with a hamstring issue, he came back Thursday as the designated hitter, racking up two hits and driving in three runs. He said, "I made it through today. I'm really happy, just because you never know with injuries how they're going to formulate over days and stuff." Sounds like he's back and ready to keep dealing damage.

Then there's the pitching. Right-hander Shane Baz is scheduled to start Friday. His overall 3-6 record with a 4.09 ERA doesn't tell the whole story. He's allowed more than one earned run in only one of his past four starts, rocking a 2-1 record with a 1.75 ERA in that stretch. Plus, against the Padres, he's a perfect 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts. Yikes! Even reliever Rico Garcia, who's had a rough patch recently, still boasts a 1.26 ERA on the year with opponents batting a measly .117 off him. He even said he needs to "flush it and continue to move forward." That kind of mental toughness means their bullpen has teeth.

Tatis Jr.'s Spark, Padres' Struggles

Speaking of tough, over in San Diego, Fernando Tatis Jr. is trying to find his groove. He just hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning on Wednesday, giving the Padres a 5-4 victory against the Reds. Tatis has only two long balls this year, but he's been heating up, hitting a blistering .397, going 27-for-68, in his past 16 games after struggling at .238 through May 23. He knows it, saying, "Finally got a result. That's what I'm here for, to bring the spark every day." Padres manager Craig Stammen is behind him, noting Tatis has done "a great job, staying positive and smiling and being OK with failing sometimes. But I think his perseverance has shown lately." Tatis added, "It hasn't been looking that pretty, but we're sticking together as a group. We keep building that momentum. We're going to keep grinding, keep going."

The Padres, though? They're trying to string together back-to-back wins for the first time since May 22 and 23. They just finished a 3-3 homestand, and Stammen admitted it was "Not our best, not our worst. We've had good fight all year. We're so entrenched in just getting through the day and being positive about the day." Their Friday starter, right-hander Griffin Canning, is 0-4 with a 6.34 ERA. Historically, he's 1-4 with a 9.49 ERA in six career meetings against these very Orioles. Remember last September, when the Orioles swept the Padres in San Diego? That's the challenge they're facing.

So, what's happening tonight? The Orioles, fresh off beating our Mariners, are heading into San Diego. Can Tatis Jr. spark his team to snap their back-to-back win drought against a red-hot Orioles squad, led by a scorching Shane Baz, that just took a chunk out of our own? You better believe the league, and especially us here in Seattle, will be watching closely to see if Baltimore keeps this momentum going. Let's hope the Padres can cool them off for us!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.