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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- Since the departure over the summer of superstar Ken Griffey Jr., the
Mariners might be better than ever.
|  | | Edgar Martinez, left, scored on Jay Buhner's three-run home run, then added a grand slam of his own in the eighth. |
Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez, two of Griffey's favorite former teammates, homered, and Jamie Moyer beat Baltimore for the 10th
straight time, 11-4 Thursday night.
Seattle's third straight victory and fifth in six games pushed the Mariners to 10 games over .500, their best start ever after 70 games. The Mariners have turned around their fortunes in June with a 14-6 record after going 13-14 in May.
With Griffey last season, the Mariners weren't even a .500 team.
"I'm not going to go out on a limb and say we're going to do
this or we're going to do that, but we're winning and we're winning
series and that does worlds for your confidence," Buhner said.
"But we know we have to continue to do that."
Said manager Lou Piniella: "We've got to be pleased, yes."
Buhner got the Mariners started with a three-run homer in the
second inning off Jason Johnson, and Martinez hit a grand slam in the eighth off Buddy Groom, giving him a major league-leading 77 RBI. It was his 21st homer of the year, second grand slam this
season and sixth of his career.
"What can you say about Edgar?" said Moyer (6-2), who has been Martinez's teammate since 1996. "What you see is what you get. Let's just say he's very good at what he does."
The Mariners, swept in a three-game series in Baltimore in May, handed the Orioles their sixth straight loss.
Moyer won for the fourth time in five decisions since coming off the disabled list June 2. He was on the DL for seven weeks because of a strained muscle in the back of his left shoulder.
"I made a couple of bad pitches and left the ball up in the
zone a little bit," Moyer said. "Fortunately, I got a little bit
of a lead and that makes a big difference."
The Mariners took a 3-1 lead in the second off Johnson (0-6) on
Buhner's 13th homer of the season following singles by Martinez and
John Olerud.
After two injury-filled seasons, Buhner, 35, is having a strong
one. He's playing a solid right field, hitting .245 with 46 RBI.
"It feels good to contribute any time," said Buhner, Griffey's
closest friend on the team before he forced a trade to Cincinnati
in February. "But I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could
play. If I didn't think I could do the job again, I wouldn't want
to embarrass myself."
With the help of two Orioles errors in the fourth leading to two
unearned runs, the Mariners made it 7-1. Joe Oliver had an RBI
single, Rickey Henderson singled in two runs, and Mike Cameron
added a sacrifice fly.
Olerud opened the inning by getting on base after second baseman
Mark Lewis' fielding error. On Henderson's single, left fielder B.J. Surhoff's throw to the plate attempting to get Oliver was an
error, allowing David Bell to go to third and later come in on Cameron's sacrifice fly.
Will Clark had an RBI single in the second for Baltimore. Surhoff doubled in a run and scored on Jeff Conine's two-run homer,
his ninth, in the sixth. Surhoff extended his hitting streak to 16
games.
Moyer, who improved his career record against the Orioles to
10-1, wasn't as sharp as in his previous four starts. In six
innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk, with five
strikeouts.
Seattle's bullpen pitched three hitless innings, giving it nine
consecutive scoreless innings in three games.
Johnson, an eight-game winner for Baltimore last season, saw his
ERA go to 6.15 in his 10th start of the season. His ERA for June,
when he's 0-3 in five starts, is 9.00. In 5 1/3 innings, he allowed
seven runs, five earned, on nine hits and two walks. He struck out
seven.
Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove defended his starting pitcher,
pointing out he struck out Alex Rodriguez twice.
"He threw a couple of curveballs to Alex Rodriguez that Superman couldn't have hit," he said. "Rodriguez didn't hit them so obviously Superman couldn't have, either."
Game notes
Cal Ripken made his fourth start of the season as DH
Thursday night instead of playing 3B because of a sore back.
Ripken, 39, had back surgery last September after spending time on
the DL twice last season because of nerve irritation in his lower
back. He came out of Wednesday night's game in Oakland in the
seventh inning. Ripken has made 55 starts at 3B this year. ...
Seattle ended a seven-game losing streak to Baltimore. ... Moyer's
only loss to the Orioles came May 30, 1989, when he pitched with
Texas. Moyer's 10 wins against Baltimore are his most against any
opponent. ... Seattle starters are 33-17 this year. ... The
Mariners hit their fourth grand slam of the season. ... Cameron
struck out four times.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Baltimore Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 4
NY Yankees 2
Toronto 7
Detroit 4
Chi. White Sox 6
Cleveland 0
Minnesota 3
Texas 2
Anaheim 4
Kansas City 3
Seattle 11
Baltimore 4
Atlanta 6
Chicago Cubs 4
Milwaukee 6
Florida 1
Montreal 6
Pittsburgh 5
NY Mets 5
Philadelphia 4
Cincinnati 5
Colorado 3
Houston 6
Los Angeles 3
St. Louis 11
San Francisco 10
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