Baltimore Orioles vs Seattle Mariners Box Score on Aug 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 16, 2017

SEATTLE -- Andrew Albers did his best James Paxton impression for the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Albers, 31, acquired in a minor league trade with the Atlanta Braves last Friday, took the injured Paxton's spot in the rotation and allowed just one run in five innings as the Mariners earned a 3-1 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field.

Seattle snapped its season-high, five-game losing streak.

Albers, who, like Paxton, is a left-hander from Canada who attended the University of Kentucky, was making his first appearance in the majors this season. He was a Paxton-like 12-3 with a 2.61 ERA for Triple-A Gwinnett; Paxton was 12-3 with a 2.78 ERA for the Mariners when he was placed on the disabled list on Friday with a strained left pectoral muscle.

Albers allowed six hits and one walk while striking out four. Four Seattle relievers combined for four perfect innings as the final 20 Baltimore batters were retired in order.

Mariners righty Emilio Pagan pitched two innings, fanning four. Pagan came out for a third inning, but was lifted for left-hander Marc Rzepczynski after Baltimore pinch hitter Seth Smith was announced to lead off the eighth. Rzepczynski got Smith to fly out to center find and handed the ball to Nick Vincent, who got Tim Beckham to fly out to right field and Manny Machado to line out to center.

Edwin Diaz worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 26th save of the season, striking out Trey Mancini to end the game.

The way the game started, it didn't appear Albers would last long.

Jonathan Schoop gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the top of the first inning, his 26th of the season. Schoop hit an 0-1 changeup from Albers into the Baltimore bullpen in left field. It was one of three hits by the Orioles in the inning, but a double play helped limit the damage.

Albers allowed two more hits in the second, but no runs.

He faced more trouble in the third.

Machado led off by dumping a double down the right field line among three fielders, and Schoop walked.

Adam Jones then lined out to center field, with Machado tagging from third. Center fielder Jarrod Dyson made a one-hop throw to the plate from 288 feet, with catcher Mike Zunino applying the tag for the out.

That seemed to bolster Albers, who retired the final eight batters he faced.

The Mariners tied it at 1-1 in the fourth as Guillermo Heredia led off with a double to left field, moved to third on a groundout to the right side by Robinson Cano and scored when Nelson Cruz grounded a single into left field. It was Cruz's AL-leading 96th RBI.

Seattle took the lead in the next inning.

Danny Espinosa led off with a double to right-center. Dyson bunted down the third base line, and pitcher Wade Miley bobbled the ball as he attempted to get the lead runner. That left Mariners runners at first and third with no outs.

Jean Segura grounded a run-scoring single to left to make it 2-1. Dyson advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Heredia and scored as Cano also grounded into a fielder's choice to give the Mariners a 3-1 advantage. Heredia took out Orioles shortstop Beckham at second base on the play to thwart any chance at a double-play attempt.

A walk to Cruz ended the night for Miley, a former Mariner. The left-hander went 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out four.

NOTES: Mariners 3B Kyle Seager wasn't in the lineup because of what manager Scott Servais called "some sort of stomach virus." ... The Mariners made a series of roster moves Tuesday. LHP Andrew Albers was selected from Triple-A Tacoma to make the start against the Orioles, and RHP Sam Gaviglio was recalled from the Rainiers to serve as a long reliever. RHP Casey Lawrence and RHP Thyago Vieira, who made his major league debut Monday night, were optioned to Tacoma. To make room on the 40-man roster for Albers, RHP Christian Bergman was designated for assignment. ... Orioles manager Buck Showalter was inducted, in absentia, into the New York-Penn League Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the league's All-Star Game. ... The Orioles are scheduled to send RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7, 6.25 ERA) to the mound for the Wednesday afternoon series finale against Mariners LHP Marco Gonzales (0-0, 6.48 ERA).