It appears that a trip to Camden Yards in Baltimore was all that was needed for the M's slumbering ofense to perk up. For the second night in a row, the M's offense kept piling up the hits and the runs, churning out 15 hits on a way to a 8-3 victory. My prediction of a closely-knit well-pitched ballgame lasted all of seven pitches, with Jose Vidro knocking a two-run home-run against Jeremy Guthrie in the top of the first inning. Still, Felix Hernandez didn't have his best stuff either, as evidenced by the fact that the score was a 3-3 tie after three innings, making clear this game was not going to be a pitcher's duel. However, at that point the M's scored five more runs, while the Orioles feebly answered with just one.



Besides Vidro's bomb, Jose Guillen also homered while Raul Ibanez hit his third home-run in two games. John mcLaren has been saying that Raul is on the verge of busting out and leaving his slump behind him, and with every indication os far in the Baltimore series, McLaren's been proven correct. Adrian Beltre picked up two hits in five at-bats, bringing his average to .279. Besides some stellar defensive gems- which Mike Blowers commenting that this year's Gold Glove for American elague third basemen should all ready be locked up in Beltre's locker- the most exciting play that Beltre was involved in all night was when he attempted to score with two outs in the ninth inning, chugging from first on Raul's double, only to be thrown out on a close play at the plate.



So the M's have taken the first two games of the series, and go for the sweep tonight. Tonight's pitching match-up is a face-off between two disappointing pitchers, Horacio Ramirez against Daniel Cabrera. Seattle traded dominating reliever Rafael Soriano to Atlanta for HoRam, who was supposed to provide stability in the Mariners' rotation. Instead, HoRam has been wildly consistent, with a 6.88 ERA despite a 6-3 record. HoRam has been downright putrid on the road, where in five starts he's allowed 31 runs in 20.1 innings for an astronomical 13.72 ERA. However, HoRam has won all three career starts against the Orioles, with a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings, and will be looking to avenage his aborted four-inning performance against the Red Sox last Friday, in which he coughed up thelead right after the Mariners got ahead and McLaren wasn't about to let HoRam put the team into any kind of hole. HoRam's record against the Orioles includes seven innings of two-hit ball tossed against them a month ago in a 4-2 Mariners victory. Ramon Hernandez- who seems to love facing Mariners pitching- is the only Oriole batter to have success against HoRam, with a .400 average and two home-runs in ten at-bats. Otherwise, HoRam has been quietly dominating over the Orioles throughout his career. Will this dominance continue today?



The Orioles answer with Daniel Cabrera, a promising, talented young arm who was supposed to benefit the most from Leo Mazzone signing on to be the Orioles' pitching coach. Instead, Cabrera has solidified his reputation as one of the wildest pitchers in the league. He led the league in walks with 104 last season, and his 79 free passes currently lead the league as well, though the 4.7 BB/ 9 IP rate he's averaging this season is much lower than last year's 6.3 BB/9 IP. The walks have frsutrated Cabrera's dvelopment, as he has done an excellent job of keeping opponent's batting average low- around the .250 mark- and has limited the number of home runs he's allowed. But with all the baserunners he allows (an average of eight walks plus hits over his last five starts, including seven innings of one-hit ball tossed against Tampa bay) it always appears as if he's going to get blown out of each start.

Cabrera is unbeaten against the M's in five career decisions over seven starts, with a 3.61 ERA over 47 innings. However, the last time he faced the M's was a month ago, when he allowed five runs in five innings for a no-decision in a game the M's won 6-5, allowing a home-run to Ben Broussard. It remains to be seen whether Broussard will get a start in tonight's game against the wild Oriole right-hander, as who would sit to have their bat replaced by Ben: the hot Guillen or Ibanez, or Richie Sexson, who's got on the hit parade as well, who's picked up three hits in eight bats so far in the first two games. Broussard's not the only Mariner who enjoyes facing Cabrera- Ichiro has a .348 average against Cabrera in 23 at-bats, Beltre a .333 average in 15 at-bats, and both Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez have homered against him. Sexson, meanwhile, is hitless in thirteen, so her's hoping the McLaren makes the right decision and sits Richie in plays Broussard at first tonight.

If the M's are able to stay patient and allow Cabrera to fill the bases up with runners, building up the pressure which would allow Cabrera to make a mistake, then they have a chance in tonight's win. But I have very little faith in HoRam on the road, despite his history of success against the Orioles. It'll be another wild one, but I think the Orioles will pull this one out. The final: 9-8, Baltimore.

And by the way, the M's wake up this morning ot find themselves statistically in front in the wild card race:

Seattle Mariners 62 49 -- 51 games left
Detroit Tigers 63 50 -- 49 games left
New York Yankees 63 51 0.5 48 games left

Oh yeah, and Barry Bonds became home run's new king this past week. Woo-hoo. Now we can root for A-Rod to break Bonds' record.