HEADLINE

Orioles, Mariners set to play two after rainout

Field Level Media

April 13, 2021 at 8:00 am.

The Seattle Mariners don’t intend to let a little rain pour cold water on their recent hot streak.

The Mariners bid for their third straight win and fourth in five outings on Tuesday when they play the opener of a doubleheader against the host Baltimore Orioles.

The clubs waited out a rain delay of more than 90 minutes in Monday’s scheduled opener of the four-game series before the contest was postponed.

Seattle left-hander Justus Sheffield (0-1, 7.20 ERA) will square off against Baltimore southpaw John Means (1-0, 0.77) in the opener, while Mariners lefty Nick Margevicius (0-1, 7.71) will be opposed by rookie right-hander Dean Kremer (0-1, 9.00) in the nightcap.

Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager highlighted a four-hit performance with two homers and four RBIs on Sunday in an 8-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins. His three-run shot in the ninth inning provided the final salvo in the contest.

Afterward, Seattle manager Scott Servais credited his bullpen, which threw four no-hit, no-run innings. The relievers also played a big role in the team’s Saturday win with four innings of one-hit, one-run work.

“It was a really nice job by the bullpen to come in for the second half of this game and shut down an extremely good offense,” Servais said postgame Sunday. “That was a huge part of it.”

Sheffield was on the losing end of a 6-0 home defeat to the Chicago White Sox on April 5. He surrendered six runs (four earned) on eight hits in five innings.

His only previous Camden Yards experience was not a pleasant one personally, but a happy one for the team in the end. He left a September 2019 game with the Mariners trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, having given up five hits and a walk. Seattle was able to rally for a 7-6 win in 13 innings.

Sheffield will aim to slow Cedric Mullins, who has been the Orioles’ driving force offensively for a team that has lost five of its past six. He had two hits and scored twice Sunday, giving him 17 hits in Baltimore’s first nine games. He is batting .486, having already produced five multiple-hit games.

“It’s been extremely impressive,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s not something I was expecting. I thought he might put together some good at-bats, but I did not think he’d be able to stay closed and stay on the baseball like he is against good left-handed pitching.”

Means will make his first home start of the season after receiving a no-decision in his last outing. He allowed one run on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings against the New York Yankees before exiting after 93 pitches on Wednesday.

Means won his lone career encounter with Seattle, permitting one run in seven innings of a 2-1 victory on Sept. 22, 2019.

Margevicius, who is getting the nod in place of James Paxton (forearm strain), has produced mixed results in a pair of relief appearances this season. He retired all three batters he faced in one spotless inning on April 2 against the San Francisco Giants. He then yielded four runs on as many hits — including two homers — in 3 2/3 frames of a loss four days later against the White Sox.

Margevicius has yet to face the Orioles in his career.

Kremer was his own worst enemy in a 7-2 road defeat to the New York Yankees in his season debut on April 6. He walked four in three-plus laborious innings during which he threw 85 pitches. Kremer was able to limit the damage to three runs but took the loss nonetheless.

The 25-year-old, who has made just five career starts, has never faced a team from outside the American League East.

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