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Mariners' bats come alive in win over Orioles

Aug 3, 2014 - 4:14 AM Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Robinson Cano slugged a tie-breaking three-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to help power the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Cano's blast was backed by 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball from the Seattle bullpen, with Dominic Leone (4-2) notching the victory by retiring all five batters he faced in relief of James Paxton.

Kendrys Morales added a two-run single for the Mariners and Dustin Ackley finished 3-for-5 with a solo homer and three runs scored in the victory.

"That's a good recipe for winning," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said afterward. "Robby came through big time for us there. He loves hitting in this ball park, and tonight was indicative of that."

Paxton was removed after 4 1/3 innings and 83 pitches in his return from a nearly four month-long stint on the disabled list due to lat and shoulder injuries. The rookie permitted two runs and struck out five.

Miguel Gonzalez (5-6) allowed both Seattle homers to absorb the loss and was reached for seven hits in five innings.

Caleb Joseph went 2-for-3 with a solo home run for Baltimore, while Manny Machado collected three hits in defeat.

After averaging a meager 2.2 runs over a 3-7 stretch coming in, the Mariners finally busted out in the fifth inning courtesy of Cano -- who entered the game 2-of-24 lifetime against Gonzalez.

Newly acquired Austin Jackson delivered his first hit as a Mariner, a one-out single, and Ackley followed with a double before Cano broke a 1-1 deadlock by hammering a Gonzalez changeup into the right-field porch.

"It cost us the game. We had a base open there and he's a dangerous hitter," said Joseph of Cano's home run. "We've done the best we can to minimize his damage. He's a great player. He took advantage of a mistake. We all want it back, but that's baseball."

Joseph got the Orioles within two by cranking a solo homer to begin Baltimore's half of the fifth. A walk to Nick Markakis two batters later ended Paxton's night, but Leone got both Machado and Adam Jones to fly out to keep it a 4-2 game.

Machado's third hit of the night, an infield single in which he took second on a throwing error, brought the tying run to the plate for Baltimore in the eighth. However, Yoervis Medina came up with two big strikeouts of Jones and Nelson Cruz prior to Charlie Furbush getting pinch-hitter Chris Davis to fly out harmlessly to right.

Morales later gave the Mariners some breathing room with a bases-loaded two- out single in the ninth that brought in both Jackson and Ackley, each of whom reached with base hits. Fernando Rodney was touched for an RBI single by Ryan Flaherty that got Baltimore within 6-3 in the ninth, but got Machado to ground out with two aboard to end the game.

Paxton was a bit shaky early on in his first big league outing since April 8, walking leadoff man Markakis on five pitches in the bottom of the opening inning and then surrendering a double to Machado. A Jones grounder plated Markakis and sent Machado to third, though the young lefty fanned the next two hitters to prevent further damage.

Gonzalez was able to work out of a bases-loaded situation in the second, but served up Ackley's sixth homer of the year an inning later to knot the score at 1-1.

Game Notes

Jackson and Morales each had two hits for the Mariners, with the former scoring twice in his second game with Seattle since being traded from Detroit in the three-team David Price deal ... The Mariners placed outfielder Corey Hart on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised right knee to make room for Paxton on the active roster ... Cruz went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is 1-for-25 over his last seven games ... Baltimore lost for only the 10th time in 52 games this season when scoring first.