New M’S Relievers Team Up To Lose Timlin Blows Save Chance; Slocumb Gets Loss Against Orioles
On this day at least, Jose Cruz Jr. had the last laugh.
Cruz hit his third homer since becoming a Blue Jay during a Toronto victory earlier in the day before one of the men he was traded for blew a save for the Seattle Mariners.
Brady Anderson homered with one out in the 11th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-3 win over the M’s Wednesday night.
Anderson’s 11th homer - his 500th RBI in 10 seasons with the Orioles - came off Heathcliff Slocumb (0-6), Seattle’s fifth pitcher, after Mike Timlin, traded with Paul Spoljaric for the popular Cruz, blew a save opportunity in the eighth as Baltimore rallied to tie it.
Jesse Orosco (4-3) got the victory by getting pinch-hitter Mike Blowers to ground out with two on and two out in the 10th. Randy Myers worked the 11th for his 32nd save.
Anderson homered 384 feet over the right-field fence on a 3-2 pitch from Slocumb, acquired from Boston just before the trading deadline last Thursday night.
Baltimore improved to 25-9 against the A.L. West this season, including 6-3 against Seattle, while the Mariners dropped out of a virtual tie for first place with Anaheim in the A.L. West. Baltimore has won for the fourth time in five games in the Kingdome this season.
The Orioles tied it at 3 in the eighth on pinch-hitter Harold Baines’ RBI single off Timlin, who joined Seattle last Thursday in a deal with Toronto.
B.J. Surhoff singled with one out off Norm Charlton before Timlin came in and gave up a single to Cal Ripken to put runners at first and second. After Baines tied the game, Ripken was thrown out at the plate by shortstop Alex Rodriguez on Lenny Webster’s fielder’s choice grounder.
The Mariners took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on Paul Sorrento’s three-run homer, a 451-foot shot into the third deck in right field off Scott Erickson. Sorrento has 22 homers this season, 11th in his last 28 starts.
With two out in the first, Baltimore scored its first two runs on a double by Rafael Palmeiro and singles by Geronimo Berroa, Surhoff and Ripken. The hits by Berroa and Ripken drove in runs.
Erickson pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits, while Seattle starter Jamie Moyer worked six innings, allowing two runs on six hits.
Notes
Sorrento homered into the third deck in Seattle for the fifth time in his career and the second time this year… . In addition to his home run, Sorrento made an outstanding defensive play in the second inning when he made a diving stop of Mike Bordick’s hard grounder. He threw Bordick out from his knees.
Surhoff was 4 for 5 to raise his average against Seattle this season to .448 (13 for 29). It was Surhoff’s third four-hit game of the season.
Coming up
Seattle begins a four-game series today with the Chicago White Sox with a 7:05 p.m. game in the Kingdome.
Probable starting pitchers: Scott Eyre (0-1, 12.46 ERA) vs. Jeff Fassero (10-6, 4.06).
xxxx ON DECK Today: Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners, 7:05 p.m. TV: FSN, WGN