O's miscues help Seattle rally as Mariners win in 10 (with quotes)

The Orioles got solid pitching and held the Seattle Mariners in check through nine innings today. But two errors opened the door in the 10th and the Mariners won this afternoon to stay unbeaten in extra innings games.

Seattle beat the Orioles 4-2 to complete their third four-game sweep of the Orioles and first in Baltimore. The Mariners had lost six of seven before this series began, but leave with a record of 51-31 overall and 8-0 in extra-inning games.

The Orioles (23-57) have lost five in a row, 16 of 20 and 25 of 33. They are 0-13 versus American League West teams and 1-15 in their last 16 games at home. Today they were swept in a series of three or more games for the ninth time in 2018.

Right-hander Miguel Castro started the 10th of a 2-2 tie. Dee Gordon led off with an infield hit and then Jean Segura singled to right-center. As Gordon ran for third, center fielder Colby Rasmus mishandled the ball and Gordon scored on an E-8 with Segura taking second. An error on third baseman Steve Wilkerson followed and left runners on the corners. Nelson Cruz then singled one home for the 4-2 lead.

Much earlier, right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis acquitted himself well in his first major league start. He allowed six hits and two runs in four-plus innings. He walked one and fanned five, throwing 67 pitches, 42 for strikes. This is in line with the pitch counts the Orioles have been holding him to on the farm as he converts from reliever to starting pitcher. Over his previous seven starts for Triple-A Norfolk, he had thrown between 63 and 75 pitches.

Making his 17th career major league appearance and first as a starter today, Yacabonis pitched a 1-2-3 first on just 10 pitches and fanned two in a scoreless second with 20 more pitches. He got through three scoreless innings on 39 pitches, but Seattle got to him in the fourth.

He walked Mitch Haniger and former Oriole Nelson Cruz followed with a two-run homer to right center for a 2-0 lead. Cruz, who missed the last two games with back soreness, hit a 2-1 fastball for his 21st homer. He has hit 11 homers his past 20 games and 13 in the last 27.

When Yacabonis allowed two straight singles to start the fifth, manger Buck Showalter went to right-hander Yefry Ramirez, who was recalled earlier today. He got three straight outs to strand two runners.

The Orioles used the longball to tie it 2-2 against Mike Leake in the last of the fourth. Manny Machado led off with his 20th homer, a drive to left on a 1-0 curveball. One out later, Chris Davis homered to left-center for his second in two games. Davis hit No. 7 on a first-pitch sinker. He hit that ball 404 feet and has homered in back-to-back games for the second time this year. He also did that May 8-9. It was his third homer in seven games since his return to the lineup.

Ramirez meanwhile, did an outstanding job in relief, in his second major league game. Over five innings, through the ninth, he gave up three singles but did not allow a run. He fanned three without a walk on 52 pitches. Yep, outstanding job by Ramirez.

Seattle starter Mike Leake pitched well but got a no-decision. Over seven innings, he allowed five hits and two runs on 103 pitches. He reduced his ERA to 4.01 and allowed two earned runs or less for the seventh time in his last eight games.

The Orioles will host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night to start a three-game series.

Postgame quotes:

Davis on hitting three homers since he returned to the lineup: "I feel like a completely different person. I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I'm back to being myself. That is the benefit of having time off, being able to make some adjustments and then getting back in there actually being able to apply some of those adjustments."

Davis on losing four straight in this series after winning two of three in Atlanta: "I mean, after the series in Atlanta, I thought maybe we were starting to get things rolling. But just feel like we're shooting ourselves in the foot right now. We get a lead and then we end up giving it up. The game last night, I feel like just absolutely wiped us out. To come back there and then have them tie it up in the top of the ninth. Those games take a lot out of you and I think you see a lot of carryover. And I think you saw that today. I felt like we were dead."

Davis on defense hurting the Orioles this year and in the 10th today: "I think we've done a pretty good job with what we've had throughout the year. We've had a lot of guys that had to step up and play different positions. I still don't feel like we've had really our full strength defense out there for more than two or three nights. But at the same time, we have guys that are capable of stepping up.

"When you get a guy on first base like Dee Gordon that can run that well, it puts a lot of pressure on our defense. To be honest, I even told Buck this when he went to the mound. I think they are sending him right there, even if he fields the ball cleanly. Because it's a long throw from right-center and he's got that much speed. You know we've got to do a little bit better job of cleaning those things up and giving ourselves a chance to win."

Yacabonis on the key to his outing: "Attacking hitters. Just getting ahead of guys. Doing that's made my off-speed better, too. Just kind of working on a kind of calm-down motion and not put too much on each pitch, just kind of try and execute the right pitch. I thought I did well. I thought there was a couple of times where I tried to make my pitches too good instead of just executing the pitch and that's just going to come with fine tuning and experience, I think. I noticed that in Norfolk, too, the same way. I was like, some pitches, you try and throw that pitch and just get the guy out instead of just execute what you want to do."

Ramirez through interpreter Ramón Alarcón on his strong day: "I try to do the same things, attack the hitters, go after the hitters. As a starter, you have more time to warm up, get ready, plan ahead. (In) the bullpen, you have to work a little bit quicker and get ready quicker, but I try to attack the hitters, as well."

"The first one (June 13, his major league debut) I definitely was a little bit nervous because (I was facing) a great team like Boston. Now I feel a little bit more comfortable, more relaxed with the same mindset - go after the hitters, attack, take one out at a time."