Final
Huff's homer lifts Orioles to fifth straight win
Apr 7, 2008 - 10:50 PM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The surprising Baltimore Orioles continue to find ways to win.Aubrey Huff blasted a solo home run in the eighth inning Monday to break a tie and lift the Baltimore Orioles to their fifth straight win, a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
It was the second home run of the season for Huff, who hit the first pitch he saw off Seattle reliever Eric O'Flaherty (0-1) with one out in the eighth inning.
"I was looking fastball and I guessed right," Huff said. "It was a good pitch to hit."
Brian Roberts had three hits and two RBI and Melvin Mora hit a two-run homer for the Orioles, who completed a four-game series sweep of the Mariners.
On Sunday, Baltimore had rallied from two runs down in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a 3-2 victory over Seattle.
"Everybody expects us to be bad," Huff said. "We don't believe it. We are playing with a lot of confidence now. You never know what happens in baseball."
George Sherrill pitched a perfect ninth to seal the win, earning his fourth save of the young season. The lefthander, who was acquired as part of the deal that sent Erik Bedard to Seattle, recorded saves in three of the four games against his former team.
"The guys we brought over in trades are really helping this team right now," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Especially the bullpen."
Seattle had a 2-0 lead just three batters into the game when Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez each blasted solo home runs off Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera in the top of the first.
Baltimore responded in the bottom of the third when Roberts doubled home Luis Hernandez and scored on Mora's two-run blast to left-center field, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.
But the advantage did not last long. Adrian Beltre led off the fourth with a single and came around to score the tying run on a fielder's choice, and Seattle went in front, 4-3, in the top of the fifth on an RBI double from Ibanez.
However, the Orioles tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom half of the fifth when Roberts singled home Adam Jones, who led off the inning with a double.
"The Orioles kept battling," Ibanez said. "We couldn't hold the lead. Just one of those days."
Cabrera allowed four runs over six innings with five hits, four walks and five strikeouts before the Orioles bullpen worked three scoreless innings.
"I just tried to stay focused after they hit those home runs," Cabrera said. "I kept it close and the bullpen did their job."
Dennis Sarfate (2-0) worked 1 1/3 perfect innings with one strike out, picking up the win for the second straight game.
"We are going about our business with confidence," Sarfate said. "Doing it with our tune, 'Orioles magic,' or whatever you want to call it. It's fun right now."
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
SEATTLE 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 6 0
BALTIMORE 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 1 x 5 10 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: SEA - CARLOS SILVA, ERIC O'FLAHERTY (8TH), SEAN GREEN (8TH) AND
KENJI JOHJIMA
BAL - DANIEL CABRERA, JAMIE WALKER (7TH), DENNIS
SARFATE (7TH), GEORGE SHERRILL (9TH)
Apr 7 5:35 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY AUBREY HUFF (2) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 1 OUT
IN THE 8TH OFF ERIC O'FLAHERTY.
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 4, BALTIMORE 5
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: L SCOTT (.500, 1-FOR-3)
Mariners 4, Orioles 5 Bot 8, 0 OutsApr 7 5:19 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BRIAN ROBERTS SCORED ADAM JONES.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B ROBERTS ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 4
BALTIMORE 4 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M MORA (.273, 1-FOR-2, HR, 2 RBI)
Mariners 4, Orioles 4 Bot 5, 0 OutsApr 7 4:23 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY RAUL IBANEZ SCORED YUNIESKY BETANCOURT.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R IBANEZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 4
BALTIMORE 3 TOP, 5TH
DUE UP FOR SEATTLE: A BELTRE (.304, 1-FOR-2)
Mariners 4, Orioles 3 Top 5, 0 OutsApr 7 4:16 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY JOSE VIDRO SCORED ADRIAN BELTRE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J VIDRO ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 3
BALTIMORE 3 TOP, 4TH
DUE UP FOR SEATTLE: K JOHJIMA (.111, 0-FOR-1)
Mariners 3, Orioles 3 Top 4, 0 OutsApr 7 4:02 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY MELVIN MORA (2) TO LEFT CENTER WITH 1
OUT IN THE 3RD OFF CARLOS SILVA SCORED BRIAN ROBERTS.
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 2, BALTIMORE 3
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: N MARKAKIS (.350, 1-FOR-1)
Mariners 2, Orioles 3 Bot 3, 0 OutsApr 7 3:48 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY BRIAN ROBERTS SCORED LUIS HERNANDEZ.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B ROBERTS ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 2
BALTIMORE 1 BOTTOM, 3RD
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M MORA (.238, 0-FOR-1)
Mariners 2, Orioles 1 Bot 3, 0 OutsApr 7 3:46 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
SEATTLE 2 2 2 0
BALTIMORE 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: SEA - CARLOS SILVA
BAL - DANIEL CABRERA
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: B ROBERTS (.267, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
M MORA (.250, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
N MARKAKIS (.316, 0 HR, 1
Mariners 2, Orioles 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsApr 7 3:18 PM
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