Orioles, Marlins look to break free of slumps

The Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins have quite a bit in common as they try to get things going in the right direction.

Much of that was on display in the series opener, and signs of desperation might be part of Wednesday night's meeting as well.

Both teams have been slumping, but the Orioles should be in a bit of a better mood after their final-inning runs resulted in Tuesday night's 9-7 victory.

"We've shown that we can go out and compete against anyone and win," Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough had a positive spin as well, trying to find positivity during what has been a frustrating stretch.

"How we were offensively, on multiple occasions, kept coming back and getting ourselves in striking distance and then tie the game," McCullough said. "There were certainly some positive things we could take away from that. To get down and chip away and get down again and keep coming back. Coming up short always stinks."

The Orioles arrived in Miami in a bad way, with five consecutive defeats coming by five or more runs. That set a club record for consecutive lopsided setbacks, with the last four of those coming in New York to the American League East rival Yankees.

Being able to stop the downward spiral is key to getting the season headed in the right direction.

"I think the big thing is just not letting previous outcomes dictate the mindset and confidence moving forward," Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser said.

Albernaz said that in order to sustain success it's going to take more than what the Orioles have done during the past week.

"Clean baseball, fundamental baseball," Albernaz said. "All these little things."

The victory Tuesday came with a big night from Baltimore catchers. Samuel Basallo knocked in four runs and his replacement, Adley Rutschman, provided the go-ahead hit in the ninth inning.

The Marlins got a boost from their new catcher, Joe Mack, who notched his first career hit Tuesday.

Miami's struggles have come in its home ballpark. The Marlins have dipped to 11-10 in home games, including 1-4 on their current homestand.

Right-hander Brandon Young (2-1, 6.14 ERA) will look for a personal bounce-back outing when he heads to the mound for the Orioles on Wednesday. Young hasn't pitched since last Thursday's four-inning struggle vs. Houston, which tagged him for 10 runs (four earned) on nine hits.

In Young's only career matchup with the Marlins, he was drilled for seven runs in 4 1/3 innings last year in taking a loss.

Albernaz said the Orioles might need to be more aggressive in challenging pitches, particularly when they're in the field.

"When to use it and how to use it," Albernaz said of ongoing assessments on the topic.

Right-hander Eury Perez (2-3, 4.46) is charged with trying to get the Marlins back on track. He has worked at least five innings in five of his seven outings. He also has allowed at least one home run in four games.

Perez has a win in his only start against Baltimore, throwing seven shutout innings.