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01-29-2019 at 09:05:01 PM

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BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles finally found some offense on its just-concluded six-game road trip Joe Flacco Jersey , a big reason the team split six games.

They scored 20 runs while taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves over the weekend, and the Orioles want to try to keep that going against the Seattle Mariners when their four-game series starts on Monday at Camden Yards.

The Orioles scored 10, 7 and three runs against the Braves, and Mark Trumbo’s bat has come to life. Trumbo had five homers in the past week after getting a pinch-hit blast on Sunday during a 7-3 loss.

Baltimore needs that kind of offense if it wants to continue playing competitively.

Baltimore (23-53) will take on Seattle (47-31) for the first time this season in this series. The Orioles lost two of three in Washington against the Nationals before taking those two games in Atlanta and finally got some good pitching and hitting.

Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.72 ERA) starts for the Orioles Monday against Felix Hernandez (6-6, 5.14). Despite his record, Cashner has not pitched that badly. The Orioles just have not given him a lot of offensive support at times.

He is 2-4 with a 4.04 career ERA versus the Mariners.

Hernandez has been inconsistent throughout much of this season but fared better lately. He has thrown well in three of his last four starts, and the Mariners are hoping for more of the same in this game.

Hernandez has a 5-4 career record and a 3.30 ERA against the Orioles.

The Orioles are starting to get back a number of players who were out due to injuries or have players who are finding their way after being out awhile.

Closer Zach Britton gave up four runs in the ninth inning of Friday’s 10-7 victory over Atlanta. That forced the contest into extra innings Maxx Williams Jersey , and the Orioles won that in 15, but Britton rebounded and closed out Saturday’s win.

Trumbo has gotten hotter, and infielder Tim Beckham could return as early as Monday after missing about two months due to core muscle surgery.

“We’re looking forward to getting Tim back,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the Baltimore Sun. “We’re hoping to get him back to the player he was when he originally came over (in last summer’s trade with the Tampa Bay Rays). I’m hoping this surgery and some of the things can help him.”

Seattle is hoping that shortstop Jean Segura also will return Monday.

Segura has missed four straight games due to an infection in his right forearm. The arm was drained on Friday but he did not play over the weekend at the Boston Red Sox.

Nelson Cruz has hit in eight straight games and will face his former team in this series. He played for the Orioles in 2014 and helped them win the division and make it to the American League Championship Series before signing with the Mariners after that.

The Mariners could use help from Segura and Cruz as they have struggled throughout this East Coast swing. Seattle has gone just 1-5 on the trip so far, dropping three straight to the Yankees and two of three to Boston.

“We’ve got to get it turned back around,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We had a lot of momentum going but this trip has not gone well, obviously.”

Nick Foles stood tall in the pocket, ignored the pressure and made one big throw after another.

On the biggest stage of his life Jimmy Smith Jersey , Foles silenced the critics who thought the Eagles couldn’t get to the Super Bowl without MVP candidate Carson Wentz. Foles threw for 352 and three touchdowns to lead Philadelphia to a convincing 38-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game Sunday.

Now he’s headed to Minnesota to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

”Words can’t describe what I feel right now,” Foles said. ”All glory goes to God. I’m grateful and humbled to be part of this team. No one in the locker room doubted me. We kept working, I got more reps in practice and it’s a rhythm thing.”

While Wentz watched from the sideline, using a cane to walk following surgery to repair his torn left ACL, Foles picked apart the NFL’s top-ranked defense. He tossed a perfect 53-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery with the pocket collapsing around him to give Philadelphia a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.

Foles then directed a 60-yard drive in 29 seconds to set up a field goal before halftime. He fired a 49-yard TD pass to Torrey Smith off a flea flicker to start the second half and tossed a 5-yard TD to Jeffery early in the fourth to make it 38-7.

Foles was at his best on third downs, completing 10 of 11 for 159 yards and two TDs. The Eagles had been 0 for 13 on third-and-10 or longer after Wentz went down. On Sunday, Foles threw an 11-yard pass to Zach Ertz on third-and-10 on the Eagles’ first touchdown drive. His long TD pass to Jeffery came on third-and-10.

The Eagles (15-3) have been underdogs in both playoffs games, mostly because Wentz was no longer playing. They were the first No. 1 seed not favored in a divisional round game Kenneth Dixon Jersey , a 15-10 win over the Falcons. The Vikings (14-4) were 3-point favorites despite also being led by a backup quarterback – Case Keenum, Foles’ good friend and former teammate.

”You know everyone was against us,” Foles said. ”Coming out here, stick together and come away with an amazing victory against a great team.”

Keenum congratulated Foles in the tunnel after the game.

”He did a great job,” Keenum said.

Foles walked into the X-ray room after the game, but told The Associated Press after he came out: ”I’m good. I’m fine.”

Foles put on a passing clinic, completing 78.8 percent of his passes (26 of 33). Not bad for a guy who contemplated retirement before the 2016 season.

”I’m not surprised,” said Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur Justin Tucker Jersey , who held the same position with the Eagles in 2013. ”I’ve seen the best of Nick.”

A third-round pick by former Eagles coach Andy Reid in 2012, Foles had tremendous success as a starter under Chip Kelly his sophomore season. He threw 29 TDs and only two picks in 11 starts, including playoffs in 2013. Foles posted a passer rating of 119.2, third-highest in league history. He tied an NFL record with seven TD passes in a game at Oakland in November 2013 won an offensive MVP award at a Pro Bowl.

But Foles was traded to St. Louis for Sam Bradford in March 2015. He lost his starting job to Keenum and asked for his release after Jared Goff was drafted No. 1 overall. Foles considered hanging up his cleats before Reid persuaded him to go to Kansas City to be Alex Smith’s backup.

After one season with the Chiefs, Foles returned to Philly to provide insurance behind Wentz.

He’ll become a folk hero if he can deliver the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl title.




In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech writer.