Orioles grab lead in fifth, hang on to top Mariners

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Remember the offseason trades by the Baltimore Orioles that were supposed to pay off years from now? Well, it took less than one week for those deals to produce tangible results.

Luke Scott went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, and the Orioles received solid contributions from several other newcomers Saturday night in a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Matt Albers (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of one-hit relief and George Sherrill worked the ninth for his third save in three tries. Albers and Scott were both obtained from Houston in the December trade that sent Miguel Tejada to the Astros, and Sherrill came from the Mariners in the February swap for Erik Bedard.

Adam Jones, also part of the Bedard trade, hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give Baltimore a 6-4 lead.

"They've done a really good job putting this team together," Sherrill said. "You hear things like rebuilding and stuff like that, but that's why you play the games. You never know how people are going to jell and come together."

Two holdovers from years past played key roles as well. Melvin Mora had three hits and Kevin Millar doubled, walked three times and scored three runs for the Orioles, who are off to a 3-1 start despite being picked by many to finish last in the AL East. Baltimore is 2-0 against Seattle after going 2-7 against the Mariners in 2007.

"We've got loud guys, we've got quiet guys, we've got serious guys, we've got funny guys and we've got everything you can ask for, young and old," Sherrill said. "It's working so far. It takes everybody to win a game."

Meanwhile, the guy the team traded away to Seattle -- Bedard -- will miss his scheduled start against his former team on Sunday because of a hip injury. Seattle manager John McLaren said he expected Bedard would be ready to pitch Tuesday.

Orioles starter Adam Loewen allowed four runs, four hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander had a screw inserted into his elbow last June and was pitching in the regular season for the first time since May 1. He was 1-4 with a 7.56 ERA in spring training and missed a start with shoulder tendinitis.

"He needs to get some innings under his belt, get the warm weather here and go out every fifth day and pitch," Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said. "We think we really have to be patient with him."

Jose Vidro and Jose Lopez hit two-run homers for the Mariners, who led 2-0 in the second inning and 4-2 in the fifth. Seattle pitchers yielded nine walks -- including four by starter Miguel Batista (0-1) -- and the Mariners made four errors.

"We have the best defense and pitching, but we are going to have bad days," Batista said. "It can happen to any team. You just can't let it happen too often."

McLaren was more succinct. "It wasn't a good game," he said.

Baltimore took the lead with a three-run fifth inning against Batista. Mora hit a one-out single before Batista issued three straight walks to force in a run. Scott followed with an RBI single and Ramon Hernandez added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.

Vidro put the Mariners up 2-0 in the second inning with his second homer, a low liner that sliced inside the left-field foul pole. The Orioles tied it in the fourth when Scott hit an RBI double and scored on an error by shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt.

Lopez homered to put Seattle up 4-2 in the fifth.

Game notes
Bedard was scratched from Sunday's start against his former team because of inflammation of the hip. He will be replaced by Felix Hernandez. ... Vidro has at least one hit in 14 of his last 16 games against Baltimore. ... Brian Roberts walked twice and leads the AL with 7. He also stole two bases. ... Seattle's Richie Sexson went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.