5/18: Open game thread

Welcome to a work-abbreviated and tardy game thread! Today the Mariners try to get back on the horse of winning series by capturing another victory in Baltimore against the Orioles. Yes, I too have trouble mentally fashioning the abstract and arbitrary concept of winning baseball series into the equine. No I will not delete the metaphor, because this is a game thread and YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO EDIT GAME THREADS. A lot of people forget that actually.

Taijuan Walker has been dazzling the majority of the year, and a 23 year old with a big fastball and so-so command some of it. His biggest weakness, the home run ball, could very well make an appearance tonight against a big, bad, bopping Orioles lineup.

That may not matter, however, as the Mariners bring a formidable offense of their own to play, and Chris Tillman is prone to a touch of the gophers himself. The Mariners have been playing great on the road so far this year. How great? Well let me embed a tweet to help accentuate and prove my point:

#Mariners have the best road run differential in the league BY FAR. pic.twitter.com/P2THh7KWUJ

— mariners fan tibbs (@tibbsaf) May 18, 2016

Baseball is a game of adjustments, ebbs, flows, and reactions. Getting swept by the Angels sucked. However, it's a huge credit to the team that, after a long flight cross country, they came ready to play and jumped all over the Orioles last night. Good teams don't win every game, but good teams keep themselves from spiraling downward. The Mariners have now done it twice this year, and it's a refreshing change of protocol.

Game info

• Mariners @ Orioles, 4:05 PM PDT, Oriole Park at Camden Yards
• TV: ROOT, Radio: 710 ESPN, Online: MLB.TV

Win, you fearsome, soul-crushing, first place beasts of war.