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 His answer was to shave his five o'clock shadow into a 1970s-style
mustache. Apparently, that did the trick.
The Orioles rebounded from their extra-inning loss behind homers
from Davis and Adam Jones and a solid outing from starting pitcher
Wei-Yin Chen to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Monday night.
"I was just looking for something to loosen the guys up," Davis said
of his mustache. "Something to shake things up. And I guess it
worked.
"I'm not going to shave it now. And besides, it looks good."
Davis gave the Orioles (57-54) a 2-1 lead with an RBI single in the
fourth inning then added a solo homer, his 30th of the year, for a
two-run lead in the sixth. Baltimore survived an error, a wild pitch
and a passed ball in the ninth to hold on for the 3-2 win.
Chen (6-6) turned in a stellar outing at Safeco Field for the second
year in a row, following up last year's eight innings of shutout
ball with another dominant performance Monday. He allowed one run on
three hits over 7 1/3 innings before closer Zach Britton came on to
earn his 28th save of the season by pitching the final 1 2/3
innings.
"(Chen) got stronger as the game went on," manager Buck Showalter
said.
Britton allowed an unearned run with two outs in the ninth, when
what appeared to be the game-ending strikeout resulted in a run
because the ball got away from catcher Caleb Joseph. It marked the
fourth time this season that Britton has come on in the eighth
inning to earn a save.
"I've done it quite a bit now this year, so I'm getting used to it,"
said Britton, who has converted 24 consecutive save opportunities.
"Normally, I don't have to sit down, so that's probably the hardest
part: sitting down between innings."
Davis drove in two runs, giving Baltimore a 2-1 lead with a
fourth-inning single before taking reliever Mayckol Guaipe deep for
his 30th home run of the season in the sixth. It marked the third
time in four years that Davis has hit 30 homers in a season.
Jones hit a solo home run, his 18th of the season, in the first
inning to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead.
The Orioles (57-54) had seven hits in the win, with four of them
going for extra bases.
Seattle (52-61) managed just two runs on five hits. The Mariners
haven't scored fewer than two runs in a game since July 19.
"(Chen) has had our number this year," Seattle manager Lloyd
McClendon said. "I thought tonight he was locating (his pitches)
extremely well."
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Seattle starter Vidal Nuno (0-1) allowed two runs on five hits over
five innings in his second start of the season. The converted
reliever struck out five without issuing a walk.
"He just left one pitch up (to Jones)," McClendon said. "Other than
that, he did a pretty nice job."
Mariners left fielder Franklin Gutierrez went 2-for-4 with a double
and a solo home run. He also scored Seattle's second run on the
passed-ball strikeout in the ninth.
Seattle stranded two runners in the eighth and had three baserunners
in the ninth. Cruz was doubled up on a Robinson Cano grounder, and
then Austin Jackson, who reached on the passed ball despite swinging
at strike three, was stranded on first base when Jesus Montero
struck out to end the game.
Both Baltimore home runs went to center field, with two fans sitting
four seats apart attempting to catch each with a baseball cap. On
both occasions, the ball and hat fell to the ground beneath the
center-field stands.
"A lot of times, fans don't think about how fast that ball is
coming," Davis said with a grin. "They were both good attempts,
though."
Seattle right fielder Nelson Cruz, a former Oriole, extended his
hitting streak to a career-best 20 games with a fourth-inning
single.
NOTES: Before Monday's game, the Orioles placed RHP Chaz Roe on the
15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Mychal Givens. Roe has
bursitis in his right shoulder. ... Baltimore RHP Chris Tillman, who
is scheduled to start Tuesday's game, is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA over
his past six starts. Tillman was originally scheduled to start
Monday, but a tender ankle pushed him back a day while LHP Wei-Yin
Chen was moved up to become Monday's starter. ... Seattle's
Gutierrez was in the lineup Monday after missing the entire Texas
series with the flu.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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