Mariners Cruise to Fourth Consecutive Series Win

After a 27-minute rain delay in the top of the third inning, a completely different Mariners offense emerged from the dugout.

Up until the delay, the Mariners offense had managed only two hits off of Orioles starter Uahara, and were trailing 2-0 in what looked like a bleak conclusion to the best of three series.

Immediately after the delay, though, Ichiro, Branyan, and Beltre each took the first pitch they saw and whacked it for a base hit. Ichiro's was a double off of the right field wall while Branyan's and Beltre's were both RBI singles.

Our starting pitching allowed three runs or less for the ninth consecutive time Thursday, as Garrett Olson limped through five shaky innings. He did look much better after the delay though, and the only two runs he surrendered came on a two-run home run by Luke Scott in the first inning.

The other Mariners runs came on a Branyan sacrifice fly, a mammoth Branyan home run (450 feet), and a Betancourt RBI double that turned into somewhat of an interesting play. Adam Jones was playing in shallow center field, and when Yuni hit it over his head, Beltre, who was on second base, was waiting to make sure it dropped.

Griffey, on the other hand, basically ran on contact and nearly passed Beltre between second and third (yes, Griffey). Beltre was waved and Griffey was held up at third. In the midst of all this, Yuniesky Betancourt managed to get caught in a pickle between bases. He was thrown out, killing our rally in the process.

Anyway, Olson went five decent innings and got the win, and Aardsma pitched a nice ninth inning for his 11th save of the season.

In other news:

Ichiro's hit streak is now at five games.

This was our fourth consecutive series win. We are now standing at a .500 record for the first time since May 10th (30-30)

The Angels lost 11-1 today in Tampa and we are now even with them in the standings.

We start a series in Colorado tomorrow to face one of the hottest teams in baseball.

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