Monday night Orioles game thread: vs. Mariners, 7:05

The O’s pulled off the unlikely sweep of the Red Sox over the weekend to get themselves back to .500. I have to admit I’d be a lot more excited about the O’s chances of getting over that mark for the first time since June 11 if Chris Tillman was not the starting pitcher in this game against the Mariners tonight.

Tillman hasn’t pitched well in nearly a month and a half. He’s only had three quality starts out of 16 this whole season. There’s just nothing even a little bit positive to say about him or the idea of him pitching.

What’s weird about this game is that, knowing Tillman could be likely to go short, the O’s still decided to option Mike Wright to Norfolk prior to the game, bringing Donnie Hart back up to the team. I don’t know. Hopefully it doesn’t end up mattering.

The wild card stakes in this game are real. The Twins are off on Monday, so the O’s can gain a half game on them with a win. They will pull ahead of the Mariners if they beat them in this game. An Orioles win and an Angels loss would mean the O’s would be 1.5 games out of the second wild card spot with only the Twins to pass. It seems like something that’s too good to happen.