The Baltimore Orioles have defied the odds this season, so it's no surprise that a West coast trip in September hasn't tripped them up.
The Orioles continued their winning ways on Monday night, defeating the Seattle Mariners 10-4 to pull a half game behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. The Yankees were off on Monday.
Baltimore is chasing its first playoff appearance since 1997 and has already clinched their first winning record since that season.
Nate McLouth started the game off with a leadoff home run that sparked a power surge for the Orioles.
"Just like scoring in a lot of innings, it's just the pass-the-baton mentality," Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the Associated Press. "I think the pitchers feel the same way, too. They're staying focused for these nine innings, they turn the page, then there's the next nine innings."
Catcher Matt Wieters added a two-run home run, while outfielder Adam Jones went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and an RBI.
The win also pushed the Orioles to three games up on the Los Angeles Angels for one of the AL Wild Card spots.
Chris Tillman pitched an excellent game, allowing only one run on three hits in six innings.
"We're all clicking right now," Tillman said. "We're going on all cylinders, playing good baseball. It's fun to watch."
Baltimore got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in the first inning. Following McLouth's home run, the Orioles scored off of RBI singles by Mark Reynolds and rookie Manny Machado.
Seattle starter Hector Noesi dropped to 2-12 with the loss and never was able to settle in, lasting only 1 1/3 innings.
"Hector has to be better than that," Wedge said. "It just wasn't a good day at all for him."
By the end of the second inning, the Orioles were up 7-0. Baltimore had four hits in the inning, including from Wieters and Jones, who each finished with three on the game.
Both Jones and Tillman were facing their former team in the Seattle Mariners. Both players were traded in 2008 for pitcher Erik Bedard. Tillman has been stellar against the Mariners in his career, going 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA.
"He's done well, period," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "He's pitched well this year but, yes, he has pitched well against us, too. He's kind of short arm, over the top, a little bit sneaky, real good breaking ball. Then he mixes in his changeup a little. He did a nice job."
The Orioles showed how deep their team is, having seven different players with at least one RBI for the second straight game.
"It's everyone picking the next guy up," Reynolds said. "We need guys to get hot right now to stay in this race. The Yankees aren't going anywhere. Oakland is a good team. Tampa Bay is right there. The Angels are a really good team. We have to take care of our own by winning games. Whether it's Wieters or Jonesy or someone else, everyone has to step up."
Seattle's only scoring in the game came off home runs in the second, eighth and ninth innings. Michael Saunders hit a solo shot in the second, while Eric Thames brought the score to 10-2 in the eighth.
With the game basically out of reach, John Jaso added another home run with Jesus Montero on base to bring it to 10-4.
The Mariners have struggled against Baltimore this season, losing six of seven games.
On Tuesday night the Mariners will start rookie Erasmo Ramirez (1-2, 3.49), while the Orioles will counter with their own rookie, Wei-Yin Chen (12-9, 4.00 ERA).
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