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Well, here we are in a strange place. The Orioles have won six games in a row and they’re going for their second consecutive series sweep against the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon. Who could have seen this coming? Maybe not even the Orioles themselves.
The winning streak the Orioles are on right now has pulled them within 1.5 games of the second wild card spot, now with just two teams to pass. That’s certainly good news, although the thing about that is that it means the Orioles must keep winning in order to get any closer than they already are.
That doesn’t mean they absolutely must win today, but it does mean that once the Orioles lose another game, it can’t be two more weeks before they win consecutive games, like what happened earlier in the month. The two teams ahead of them, the Twins and Angels, are playing bad teams right now: The White Sox and the Athletics, respectively.
With that in mind, it’s Ubaldo Jimenez pitching today. Which Ubaldo are we going to get? I have no idea. Nobody does. Hopefully a decent version of him. Pitching for the Mariners is former Oriole Ariel Miranda, who has allowed more home runs than any other MLB pitcher this season. Miranda has a 5.77 road ERA. What the Orioles SHOULD do is quite clear.