Baltimore @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 11, 2015 ) Baltimore 5, Seattle 6

Seattle's Nelson Cruz is having an MVP-type season, but an injury could prevent him from continuing to torment his former team when the Mariners host the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber match of their three-game series. Cruz extended his hitting streak to 21 games — the longest active run in baseball — with his major league-best 34th home run in Seattle's 6-5 victory in 10 innings Tuesday, but departed after the sixth inning with neck spasms.

Cruz, who is hitting .411 with 13 home runs, 17 RBIs, 19 runs, six doubles and seven walks during the streak, also leads the majors with 140 hits as he bids to become the first player since Boston's Jim Rice in 1978 to pace baseball in homers and hits. The 35-year-old Dominican, who belted 40 home runs for Baltimore in 2014, is 7-for-17 with two home runs, four RBIs and four runs in five contests against the Orioles this season. Baltimore has alternated wins and losses in August (5-5) and sits two games behind the Los Angeles Angels for the final wild-card spot in the American League. The Orioles' Kevin Gausman lost his last start to fall to 1-3 with a 7.06 ERA in nine appearances (four starts) on the road this season and opposes Hisashi Iwakuma, who threw a career-high 118 pitches in winning his last turn.

TV: 3:40 p.m. ET, MLB Network, MASN (Baltimore), ROOT (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Kevin Gausman (2-3, 4.56 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Hisashi Iwakuma (3-2, 4.41)

Gausman permitted six runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings of an 8-4 loss to Los Angeles at Angel Stadium on Friday and is 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA in seven turns since moving into the rotation June 20. The 24-year-old Colorado native allowed two runs in 14 2/3 innings over his previous two starts, earning a victory and no-decision. Gausman earned a no-decision in his only appearance against Seattle — a 2-1 victory at Safeco Field last season when he gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings.

Iwakuma allowed three runs and seven hits while striking out six in seven innings of a 4-3 victory over Texas on Friday. The 34-year-old Japan native is 3-1 with a 3.64 ERA in seven starts since returning from the disabled list. Iwakuma is 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in three starts against Baltimore.

WALK-OFFS

1. Orioles 1B Chris Davis has 12 home runs and 30 RBIs in his last 20 games after tying Tuesday's game 5-5 with a solo shot in the eighth inning.

2. Seattle's victory capped a 15-0 performance by home teams Tuesday, the first time that has happened since Major League Baseball expanded to 30 teams in 1998. According to STATS, the previous best perfect record by home teams in a day was 11-0 and accomplished six times — the last in 1989.

3. Baltimore on Tuesday committed two errors to raise its season total to 45 — the fewest in baseball by four over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

PREDICTION: Mariners 3, Orioles 2