Aufträge » After wearing the same uniform for the past four seasons

Tampa Bay Rays http://www.dolphinscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-michael-deiter-jersey , Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi face off Sunday as Cobb’s Baltimore Orioles try to avoid a sweep when they take on Odorizzi and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

With the Rays in a full-blown rebuild, both pitchers found new homes this past spring. Odorizzi was traded to Minnesota early in spring training while Cobb was one of the many free agents who waited out an unnerving winter before eventually signing a four-year, $57 million deal with Baltimore late in camp.

Now, only a week away from the All-Star break, neither pitcher — nor his team — is having the kind of season they anticipated Opening Day.

It’s been especially painful for Cobb (2-10, 6.53 ERA), whose deal was the largest offered to an Orioles pitcher. The right-hander was expected to be a stabilizing force in a rotation that had designs on a postseason berth but instead, he slumped out of the gate and went 2-9 with a 7.14 ERA through his first 12 starts in an Orioles’ uniform.

Through that, there have been flashes of the pitcher Baltimore had in mind when it made the deal. He’s held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in eight of his 15 starts overall, including his last time out when he held the Phillies to three while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings.

“Alex is going to be a good pitcher,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “He is a good pitcher at times this year. It’s hard. It’s hard. He’s hardened from pitching in the American League. He knows the fine line between success and failure.”

With his team holding baseball’s worst record and buried in the basement of a division dominated by the Yankees and Red Sox, Cobb knows the playoffs aren’t even a pipe dream at this point. But he still has a goal of finishing the season strong and setting the stage for a bounce-back campaign in 2019.

“I don’t want to say take it almost spring training-like, but we have to do whatever it takes for each and every one of us to get better going forward,” Cobb said. “When you get hung up on results, I think that you let that cloud the process that’s going on to make yourself get better. I don’t want it to be framed to any fans or front office, coaching staff Garrett Bradbury Jersey , that we’re not going out there trying to win ballgames. We absolutely are, every single night.

“But we also need to not be so result-oriented and take the small progressions that we’re making and get better. If we want to compete later on this year, next year, we need to get better each and every one of us — individually.”

Cobb is 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA in three starts versus Minnesota.

Things haven’t been much better in the Twin Cities, where Odorizzi (3-6, 4.57 ERA) was expected to be a key addition to a Twins team that was thought to be a contender with Cleveland for the AL Central title after making an unexpected trip to the American League wild-card game a year ago.

He opened the year on a high note, going 3-2 with a 3.17 ERA through his first 10 outings but has struggled with consistency since, posting a 6.81 ERA over his last eight starts.

“It’s upsetting and frustrating … it’s not something I take lightly,” Odorizzi said of his struggles late last month. “I take a lot of pride in getting guys out. Trust me, I’m more frustrated about this than anybody in this clubhouse. This has been one of the tougher stretches in my short big-league career.”

Odorizzi has shown signs of bouncing back in his last two outings. He held the White Sox scoreless for six innings, allowing three hits while striking out eight, but took a no-decision June 28 in Chicago and followed that with a strong showing in Milwaukee where the Brewers managed only two runs while striking out nine times over five innings.

Odorizzi, who hasn’t won since May 8, is 5-4 with a 4.42 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) versus Baltimore.

In an unprecedented four-game sweep in Baltimore, the Seattle Mariners outscored the Orioles by a total of six runs and twice prevailed in extra innings.

The difference between the two teams, to a large degree http://www.vikingscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-irv-smith-jr.-jersey , is that Seattle finds a way to win, and the Orioles keep coming up with a variety of ways to lose.

Nelson Cruz homered and drove in three runs, and the Mariners capitalized on two 10th-inning errors in a 4-2 victory Thursday that completed their first four-game sweep at Baltimore in franchise history.

The Mariners improved to 8-0 in extra innings this season. They won in 11 innings on Wednesday, after winning the first two games of the series 5-3 and 3-2.

”We won four games, four different ways,” manager Scott Servais said with pride. ”It shows what kind of team we are. Different players on different nights, all pitching in. We are playing pretty good baseball as a team right now. This sweep was a great turnaround for us.”

The Mariners came to town with a run of six losses in seven games. They headed back to Seattle in the thick of the AL West race.

”It’s great to get a sweep,” shortstop Jean Segura said. ”It gives us momentum as we go back home.”

After missing two straight games with lower back pain, Cruz celebrated his return with his 21st homer , a two-run shot in the fourth inning that put Seattle up 2-0.

Manny Machado and Chris Davis answered with solo drives off Mike Leake in the bottom half, and that accounted for all the scoring until the 10th.

Dee Gordon beat out a dribbler to the left of the mound and scored when center fielder Colby Rasmus bobbled Segura’s single off Miguel Castro (2-4). A throwing error by third baseman Steve Wilkerson and an RBI single by Cruz followed.

Gordon’s speed and Cruz’s power have proven to be a potent combination for the Mariners. It was certainly too much for Baltimore.

”Guys like Gordon put such pressure on you because you know any little bobble, anything, he’s going to take another base,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. ”A groundball that probably 95 percent of people are out on pretty easily, it’s a base hit. That’s why they’re having a good year and winning some games, because of things like that.

”You can’t say http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-drew-sample-jersey , `We don’t have it.’ Well, a lot of teams don’t have that.”

Juan Nicasio got three straight outs in the 10th for his first save after James Pazos (2-1) worked the ninth.

Leake allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, his eighth straight start of at least six innings.

Making his first major league start, Jimmy Yacabonis gave up two runs and six hits over four-plus innings for Baltimore. After Yacabonis allowed two straight singles to start the fifth, Jefry Ramirez took over and retired Segura and Mitch Haniger before striking out Cruz.

”I thought I did well,” Yacabonis said. ”There were a couple of times where I tried to make my pitches too good instead of just executing. That’s just going to come with fine tuning and experience.”

Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, Ramirez threw five innings of three-hit ball in his second big league game.

STREAKY

Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a sixth-inning single. It matches a career high, set with Seattle in 2015. … Davis has two HRs in his last two games and three in seven games since returning from an 8-game hiatus designed to break a season-long skid.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: 3B Kyle Seager did not start after hurting his toe during a swing Wednesday night, but entered as a pinch hitter in the ninth and stayed in the game.

Orioles: 3B Tim Beckham was given a day off. He had played in three straight games since coming off the DL following core surgery. ”He feels good. We just want to keep him that way,” Showalter said. … CF Adam Jones was also rested. ”I’ve been looking for a day (off) for him, and today’s the day,” Showalter said.

UP NEXT

Mariners: LHP Marco Gonzales (7-5, 4.04 ERA) starts against Kansas City on Friday night in the opener of a nine-game homestand.

Orioles: Rookie David Hess (2-4, 5.44) helps Baltimore launch a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.

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