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They outlasted the the rookie sensation and outpitched the Cy Young winner, but tonight the Orioles face the toughest challenge of them all: the soft-tossing lefty. Jason Vargas only throws 85 mph, but because he does so with his left hand, the Orioles will probably not be able to crack his mysterious voodoo. Vargas is arguably the worst starter in the Mariners rotation (he's contending for the title with Erik Bedard, sadly), but that doesn't matter to the Orioles. Just ask Bruce Chen.
Taking the mound for the Orioles and hoping that his teammates can score him at least a few runs is rookie Zach Britton (also a lefty, but certainly not of the soft-tossing variety). Britton is going for his sixth win of the season tonight, and despite what everyone says about the importance of pitcher wins, it's nice to see him getting the chance for number six in May when you consider no Oriole last year had six wins until August.
Buck Showalter has finally decided not to play Jake Fox against a lefty (well done, Bucky Boy), and instead Robert Andino gets the start in left field with both Luke Scott and Felix Pie on the bench.
If the O's can win tonight it'll be their first series sweep since the first series of the year, and it'd be nice to add a win before going to Tampa Bay this weekend.
Let's Go O's!