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Orioles aim for fifth straight win

Apr 7, 2008 - 1:18 PM Seattle (2-4) at Baltimore (4-1) 3:05 pm EDT

BALTIMORE (Ticker) - Picked by nearly everyone to finish in last place in the American League East after an offseason spent rebuilding, the Baltimore Orioles have caught some early fire.

The Orioles will be looking for their fifth consecutive win when they host the Seattle Mariners on Monday in the finale of a four-game set.

After trading away their best pitcher (Erik Bedard) and their best hitter (Miguel Tejada) in the offseason and making a commitment to building for the future, Baltimore was essentially throwing up the white flag in the hotly contested AL East.

But a scrapy bunch of youngsters combined with a few solid veteran bats has been enough to get the club off on the right track.

Trailing 2-0 entering the ninth inning on Sunday, the Orioles pushed three runs across in the bottom of the frame, getting the game-winning single from Luis Hernandez, who had been hitless on the season.

To get to a fifth consecutive victory, Baltimore will have to get a good performance out of starter Daniel Cabrera (0-0, 13.50 ERA). The 26-year-old righthander was terrible in his first start of the season, allowing six runs and six hits while walking five in four innings.

The Orioles came back to secure a 9-6 win in the game, but the bullpen was forced to turn in five innings.

The Mariners will counter with righthander Carlos Silva (1-0, 1.29), who will be making his second start after signing with the club in the offseason.

The burly sinkerballer yielded just one run and three hits in his Seattle debut, picking up a win Wednesday against the Texas Rangers.