Orioles lineup missing Mountcastle again, Nittoli signed to minor league deal

SEATTLE – For the third straight game, Ryan Mountcastle is not starting for the Orioles tonight.

On Saturday, Mountcastle was utilized as a pinch hitter. On Sunday night, manager Brandon Hyde informed the media that Mountcastle was “under the weather.”

As designated hitter, Heston Kjerstad is used. Cedric Mullins is in center, and Colton Cowser is in left field.

Jordan Westburg plays third base, and Jorge Mateo is the second baseman.

On Sunday, Gunnar Henderson’s 36-game on-base streak came to an end. Four times he struck out.

With 73 runs scored, Henderson leads the majors and is on pace to score 141. The only other shortstops to accomplish it during a whole season, according to STATS, are Hanley Ramírez of the Marlins in 2008 (125), Arky Vaughan of Brooklyn in 1943 (112), and the Tigers’ Donie Bush in 1917 (112).

Runs scored by Orioles players have never led the big leagues. Frank Robinson came the closest in 1966, sharing the lead with Felipe Alou with 122.

Henderson’s 73 runs scored before July surpasses Roberto Alomar’s 67 runs through June 1996 to become the highest total in Orioles history before July.

After 14 starts, Grayson Rodriguez has a 3.72 ERA, 1.239 WHIP, and a 9-3 record. In four out of the five starts he made last month, he gave up two earned runs or less.

On May 18, Rodriguez pitched six scoreless innings against the Mariners, allowing only one hit and striking out seven. The team lost 4-3 and the bullpen gave up four runs.

Rodriguez is making his professional debut in Seattle tonight.

George Kirby, a right-hander, has made 17 starts and is 7–5, with a 3.35 ERA and 0.966 WHIP. He has strolled

only nine batters in 99 1/3 innings.

In Kirby’s last five home starts, he’s registered a 0.84 ERA and struck out 10.69 batters per nine innings.

On May 19, Kirby played the Orioles; in six innings, the Mariners lost 6-3, giving up five runs and nine hits. Ryan O’Hearn homered in the third inning, after Henderson had hit a home run in the first.

In five career starts versus the Orioles, Kirby is 1-3 in 31 1/3 innings with a 4.02 ERA and 1.085 WHIP. Anthony Santander has hit two home runs and is 4-for-12. Mullins has a double and is 2-for-15.

In the American League, the Mariners’ pitching staff has the lowest average against (.219), but their offense has the lowest average (.218).

Against the Twins over the weekend, Seattle dropped its fourth consecutive series.

At Camden Yards, the Orioles defeated the Mariners in two of their three games. They emerged victorious in two of

They are 107-119 all-time in Seattle but only three last year on the road. That was in 2012 when they last won three games there.

Each team is ranked #1 going into this series. The last time the Orioles finished first in their division on July 1st, they advanced to the postseason was in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1997, and 2016. The Mariners were eligible in 2000, 2001, and 1997. Seattle missed the playoffs in 2002 and 2003, and the Orioles missed them in 1989 and 2015. As per STATS, all of this.