O's lose lead but not game as Hardy's tiebreaking single provides 5-4 win

For the Orioles, a long afternoon of baseball and rain ended with a win.

The Orioles took a 4-0 lead early on before a rain delay of two hours and five minutes after the top of the third. They lost the lead and were tied 4-4 after the delay, but J.J. Hardy's RBI single in the eighth broke the tie and lifted the O's to a 5-4 win over the Mariners at chilly Camden Yards.

After Seattle had tied the game in the seventh, Chris Davis led off the eighth with an infield single off Danny Farquhar and advanced to second on a groundout. Hardy singled to center on a 2-1 pitch for his fourth RBI and the 5-4 lead.

The Orioles took the series two wins to one, concluded a 5-4 homestand and improved to 18-20 for the season.

The Orioles took a 4-0 lead in the last of the first when Steve Pearce hit his first career grand slam. Pearce hit the first pitch he saw from J.A. Happ - an 85 mph changeup - over the left-field wall for his fourth homer.

Manny Machado led off the first with a single and was forced out on a grounder by Jimmy Paredes. Later, Delmon Young singled and Davis walked to load the bases for Pearce. It was the O's second grand slam of the season. Jonathan Schoop hit one April 11 against Toronto.

Before the delay, a Wellington Castro sac fly in the second made it 4-1. After the delay, Rickie Weeks' two-run single off Brian Matusz in the fourth cut the O's lead to 4-3.

The Mariners tied it 4-4 in the seventh after Darren O'Day almost pulled off a big escape. He came on with two on and none out, and a Nelson Cruz single loaded the bases. O'Day then got two outs and was ahead 0-2 on the count to Logan Morrison. But Morrison worked an eight-pitch walk to tie it at four.

O's starter Chris Tillman, pitching for the first time since May 12, did not return after the delay. Over three innings, he gave up one hit and one run, throwing 58 pitches. The O's used six relievers the rest of the way. Tommy Hunter got the win, and Zach Britton the save.

Now the Orioles hit the road for a weekend series at Miami. On Friday night, Ubaldo Jimenez (3-3, 2.43 ERA) pitches against right-hander Henderson Alvarez (0-3, 6.23 ERA).