Brian Bass earned his 5th win of the season. George Sherrill locked up his 19th save.
The Orioles went from losing the series to winning the series in 1 inning. The O’s were trailing 3-0 heading into the 9th inning. Melvin Mora led off the inning with a double, his 2nd of the game and 9th of the season, Gregg Zaun walked, and Oscar Salazar singled to left to load the bases. Adam Jones reached on an infield single to score the first run. Nick Markakis reached on an error to cut the lead to one. Then Ty Wiggington singled to give the Orioles their first lead at 4-3. Brian Roberts pinch hit for Nolan Riemold and he reached on another Seattle error to score the 5th run. Luke Scott singled before Mora ended the inning on a fielder’s choice. It turned a potentially devastating road trip into a 6 game split on the west coast.
David Hernandez started for the O’s and got into a little trouble right out of the gate. He got the first batter to pop out, and should have gotten the 2nd batter to do the same but Robert Andino misread the fly ball and it dropped in front the left fielder Riemold. A couple batters later Jose Lopez hit a 2 run homer to give the Mariners an early lead. But Hernandez would settle down after that, pitching 5 consecutive scoreless innings before leaving the game. He would give up 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 3. Brian Bass pitched the 7th and 8th giving up an unearned run on a throwing error by Salazar, who has absolutely no business playing shortstop. Salazar is a butcher at first base, let alone the hardest position to play on the field. After the Orioles took the lead, Sherrill would come in and get the save. He gave up a hit, but it didn’t affect the outcome. Good way to end a road trip and go into an off day.
Player of the game: Ty Wiggington (1-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB (.257 AVG))
The Orioles go home to play a three game series against the Blue Jays before the all-star break. First up is Jason Berken (1-5, 6.25) against Brett Cecil (2-1, 6.23).
