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 After using his glove to scoop and throw the ball for a out at
home plate in the first, the Orioles left-hander didn't allow
another runner past first base. He threw eight innings of five-hit
ball in Baltimore's 4-0 win over the Mariners.
"He took us as far as he could," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter
said after Chen's 109-pitch effort. "That's about as good as he's
pitched."
The closest Seattle got to a run came in the first inning, when
leadoff hitter James Jones tried to score from third base on a slow
chopper hit by second baseman Robinson Cano in front of the mound.
Chen scooped the ball with his mitt and tossed it home in one
motion, recording the second out of the inning when catcher Caleb
Joseph tagged out Jones at the plate.
"I saw the runner was going, so I just did what I needed to do to
get the ball to the plate," Chen said through an interpreter. "I had
a lot of practice on those in spring training, and that's the result
of all that practice."
Chen and reliever Darren O'Day combined on the shutout, while
Baltimore (56-45) got all the offense it needed in the third inning.
The Orioles rode a four-run third inning, highlighted by Delmon
Young's three-run homer, to the victory.
Chen (11-3) won his fourth consecutive start and held an opponent
without a run for only the second time this season.
"My slider and curveball worked well today, and I had good command
of my fastball," Chen said. "That's why I was able to pitch so well
today."
Young provided the big blow with a three-run homer in the third
inning. He hit the first pitch he saw from Seattle starter Hisashi
Iwakuma over the left field fence for a 4-0 lead.
"(Iwakuma) elevated his slider," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon
said, "and you can't do that against a guy who hits the slider so
well."
Iwakuma only had one bad inning, but it was enough to saddle the
right-hander with his first loss in almost a month. Iwakuma (8-5)
gave up four runs, all of them coming in the third inning, on seven
hits in seven innings. He did not allow a walk, extending his streak
to 35 2/3 consecutive innings without issuing one.
Since his previous loss on June 25, Iwakuma was 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA
through four July starts heading into Thursday.
The Mariners, who acquired veteran slugger Kendrys Morales from the
Minnesota Twins earlier in the day but had yet to welcome him to the
team, were held to five hits. Seattle (53-49) has scored just three
runs during a three-game losing streak.
"We're not swinging the bats well right now," McClendon said. "We
just have to keep grinding it out. When you don't hit, you don't
look good."
The Orioles had eight hits, five of which came in the third inning.
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In the third inning, the first four Baltimore batters reached base.
Third baseman Ryan Flaherty and catcher Caleb Joseph collected
singles before right fielder Nick Markakis drove in the first run
with a single. Young then hit the first pitch from Iwakuma over the
left field fence to open up a 4-0 lead.
The seldom-used Young, who went 2-for-4, collected his first home
run and first multiple-hit game of July.
The Mariners had a chance to get on the board first, when Jones
walked to lead off the bottom of the first inning and moved to third
base on a stolen base and groundout.
After he was retired on Cano's grounder, McClendon challenged the
call at the plate, which was upheld. Afterward, the Seattle manager
was scratching his head about the new rule that forbids catchers to
block the plate. Joseph's foot was in the way when Jones attempted
to make a headfirst slide, but the catcher was not called for
obstruction.
"I'm a little puzzled with that," McClendon said. "(Joseph) didn't
have the ball, and he was in front of the plate. To me, that's
blocking the plate."
NOTES: The Mariners made a pre-deadline deal, sending RHP Stephen
Pryor, a hard-throwing reliever, to Minnesota to reacquire DH
Kendrys Morales. The 31-year-old Morales hit 23 homers and had a
team-high 80 RBIs for Seattle last year but opted not to re-sign
with the team. He played 39 games for the Twins after being signed
in June, hitting .234 with one home run and 18 RBIs. ... Orioles 3B
Manny Machado (back spasms) was out of the lineup for the third game
in a row. ... Seattle placed INF Willie Bloomquist (knee contusion)
on the 15-day disabled list, selected SS Chris Taylor from Triple-A
Tacoma and recalled DH Jesus Montero from Tacoma. The Mariners had a
roster spot available after optioning RHP Taijuan Walker back to
Tacoma after his Wednesday start. ... Baltimore acquired OF/INF
Jimmy Paredes from Kansas City for future considerations. Paredes
was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Paredes, 25, was
hitting .305 for Triple-A Omaha.
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