For once, Erik Bedard received some run support. This time, he didn't need it and picked up his fourth win of the season in the Mariners' 8-2 victory over Baltimore tonight at Safeco Field.Pitching against his old team, the lefty once again showed why Seattle paid so dearly to get him, pitching 6.1 innings with four hits, one run and seven strikeouts.
Orioles rookie David Hernandez, coming off a dominant first performance May 28, was not so good this time, getting pounded for 10 hits and five runs in 5.1 innings of work.
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Just about everybody had a good hitting day for Seattle. Only two batters failed to reach base, Endy Chavez and Yuniesky Betancourt, and the team managed to score at least one run in five-of-eight innings.
Seattle's best success came at the top of the lineup, where first baseman Russell Branyan was inserted, batting second. The top three batters, Ichiro Suzuki, Branyan and Adrian Beltre, accounted for seven hits and six runs scored.
For the Orioles, only center fielder Adam Jones managed more than one hit, going 2-for-4.
Bedard's lone run came after he walked two straight batters to load the bases with one out in the seventh. Sean White came in relief, and pinch hitter Luke Scott grounded out to first, scoring Ty Wiggington.
The performance hasn't been anything new for Bedard, who leads the team with a 2.37 ERA. He's won only four-of-10 starts though, mostly due to poor run support.
The two teams meet for the final game of the series at 7:10 p.m. tomorrow at Safeco Field. Jason Vargas will get the start for the Mariners, coming off his first win of the season as a starter on May 30.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
