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Ibanez powers Mariners to win over Orioles

Aug 8, 2007 - 5:27 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Raul Ibanez went 116 at-bats without hitting his seventh home run of the season. He only needed three more plate appearances to hit No. 8.

Ibanez's two home runs and four RBI helped the Seattle Mariners kick off a big stretch of road games with a 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Jeff Weaver (3-10) won his first road start of the year and ended a personal four-game losing streak, going six effective innings and allowing three runs on 11 hits.

However, it was the return of Ibanez's power stroke that gave the Mariners their seventh win in their last 10 games.

"I'm seeing the ball better and getting better swings on the ball," Ibanez said. "I expect to gain some momentum and build off of that."

Trailing, 3-2, in the top of the seventh inning, Ibanez launched a two-run shot to right field off Orioles reliever Jamie Walker (1-2), giving Seattle the lead for good. Ibanez hit a career high 33 home runs a year ago, but had only six long balls at the beginning of the night.

"It wasn't a good pitch," Walker said. "It was a hanging slider. It was just a bad pitch at a bad time and it cost us the game. He did his job. I've got to have short-term memory and be ready for tomorrow."

It was the major league leading 34th come-from-behind victory for the Mariners, as they remained one game behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild card race.

Baltimore starter Steve Trachsel was in line for his first win since June 8, when he departed with two outs in the sixth. He gave up two runs on eight hits and three walks.

"My stuff was alright," Trachsel said. "Location was pretty good, especially early in the game.

However the bullpen could not hold the lead, surrendering eight two-out runs in the final 3 1/3 innings for the Orioles, who had won eight of their last nine games at Camden Yards.

Ichiro Suzuki snapped a 12 at-bat hitless streak with three singles and two runs scored, while Jose Guillen had four hits and two RBI for the Mariners, who began a stretch with 22 of their next 31 games away from home.

"That was a really good win for us and it looked like it wasn't going to be much of an offensive game and then we just came alive," Seattle manager John McLaren said. "Hopefully this is a thing coming where we can start swinging the bats collectively as a group instead of a couple of guys."

Ibanez put Seattle on the board first with a solo shot to left field in the top of the second inning. The Orioles tied the score, 1-1, in the bottom half of the second when Ramon Hernandez singled to right field scoring Miguel Tejada.

Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the third on Nick Markakis' RBI single, scoring Corey Patterson, who had doubled down the left field line and stole third.

Seattle evened the score at 2-2 in the top of the fifth when Guillen plated Ichiro with a two-out RBI single to right.

Baltimore regained the lead, 3-2, when Hernandez delivered another two-out single to score Aubrey Huff in the bottom of the sixth inning.