A late offensive surge by the Baltimore Orioles was not enough to make up for seven lackluster innings.
Roenis Elias took a four-hitter into the eighth, while Justin Ruggiano homered as the Seattle Mariners beat Chen Wei-yin and the Orioles 4-2 Wednesday night.
Baltimore trailed 4-0 in the eighth before things got interesting. After Elias got two quick outs, Rey Navarro and Manny Machado both singled.
Photo: AFP
Jimmy Paredes greeted reliever Carson Smith with an RBI single. However, Paredes was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double after former Oriole Nelson Cruz fumbled the ball in right field.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter asked for a replay, and the call was confirmed.
In the ninth, Baltimore got runners on the corners against closer Fernando Rodney before Chris Davis looked a third strike on a 3-2 pitch. Steve Pearce was also called out on strikes and J.J. Hardy hit an RBI single before Rodney retired Travis Snider to end it.
“We put ourselves in a hole early, but we gave ourselves a chance at the end,” Pearce said. “That’s all you can ask for. Unfortunate that we didn’t get a job done, but we still had a chance.”
The comeback might have been completed if two close decisions did not go against the Orioles — the out call on Paredes and the third strike to Davis on the outside corner.
“It’s one of those 50-50 calls,” Showalter said. “That one went against Chris and it went against us at second base.”
Chen (1-3) allowed four runs and eight hits in seven innings. It was the first time in eight starts that the Taiwanese left-hander yielded more than three earned runs.
“He was good,” Showalter said. “Left a couple breaking balls up that he paid for, but other than that, he was crisp. Deep into the game and wasn’t much margin for error for him the way their guy was pitching.”
Adam Jones had three hits for the Orioles to raise his batting average to .343, but Baltimore did little else offensively until the late innings.
Elias (1-1) allowed one run, six hits and no walks in 7-2/3 innings. He did not permit a runner past first base until the seventh and at one point retired 10 in a row.
“Everything went well. I felt real good,” Elias said through an interpreter. “I could tell from the bullpen that it was going to be a good outing because I felt real good.”
Rodney got three outs for his 10th save.
Seattle used doubles by Ruggiano and Mike Zunino to go up 1-0 in the second inning.
Cruz led off the fourth with a double and Ruggiano hit a 2-2 pitch into the left-field seats for a 3-0 lead.
After Chris Taylor tripled in a run in the seventh for Seattle, Jones led off the bottom half with a single and was promptly erased in a double play. Davis followed with a double, but was stranded.
ASTROS 6, ATHLETICS 1
In Houston, Texas, Evan Gattis hit a two-run homer to help Dallas Keuchel earn his eighth straight win as the Houston Astros kept rolling with a 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
The Astros improved to an American League-best 27-14, giving them the best start through 41 games in franchise history. Sitting atop the AL West, this is the latest the Astros have led their division since May 22, 2004.
Keuchel (6-0) allowed six hits and no earned runs in seven innings to lower his ERA to 1.67. He has won eight straight decisions dating back to last year, which is the longest streak by a starter in the majors. And his 6-0 mark this year is the best by an Astro since Roger Clemens opened the 2004 season at 9-0.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Nationals 3, Yankees 2
‧ Giants 4, Dodgers 0
‧ Indians 4, White Sox 3
‧ Cardinals 9, Mets 0
‧ Royals 7, Reds 1
‧ Phillies 4, Rockies 2
‧ Rangers 2, Red Sox 1
‧ Cubs 3, Padres 2
‧ Angels 4, Blue Jays 3
‧ Braves 2, Rays 1
‧ Twins 4, Pirates 3, 13 inns
‧ Diamondbacks 6, Marlins 1
‧ Mariners 4, Orioles 2
‧ Tigers 5, Brewers 2
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