O's pick up a walk-off win and a doubleheader split

Down 4-0 in the last of the third in Game 2 of tonight's doubleheader against the Seattle Mariners, the Orioles were in desperate need of a break.

They got a couple in that third inning that were big, but got another one in the last of the seventh to produce the season's first walk-off win.

Ramón Urías' RBI single to center with two outs gave the O's a 7-6 win and doubleheader split.

Leading 6-4, the Orioles got tied up 6-6 in the top of the seventh, the scheduled last inning of the game. No. 9 hitter Sam Haggerty hit a two-run shot off Adam Plutko and the O's had lost the lead. Plutko had thrown two scoreless innings entering the ninth tonight and 8 1/3 for the season. But that ended with the longball.

However, a few moments later, the Orioles had a win.

Right-hander Casey Sadler got the first two outs in the seventh, but walked Maikel Franco and then made an error, booting a grounder near the first base line off the bat of Ryan McKenna. Rio Ruiz pinch-ran for Franco and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. That set the stage for the Urías hit that ended the game.

The O's earlier got a couple of breaks that allowed them to eventually tie the Mariners at 4-4 in that third inning, and they would take the lead in the next inning.

The Birds entered Game 2 with a four-game losing streak and having lost six of seven after they lost the doubleheader opener 4-3 in eight innings.

With a man on first and one out in that Baltimore third, DJ Stewart hit an easy grounder to second baseman Ty France, who booted a routine play. Four pitches later, lefty Nick Margevicius hit Anthony Santander with a pitch that bounced. Up by four runs, the Mariners were helping the Orioles to rally. The bases were loaded and the O's really took advantage of the miscues.

First, Trey Mancini chased an elevated fastball and struck out for the second out of the inning. That is when Franco came up with a huge hit. He lined a three-run double at 111 mph down the left-field line. It scored two runs easily, but catcher Luis Torrens had the ball in time on a relay throw to get Santander trying to score from first, but Santander kicked the ball out of his glove on the slide. And the O's took advantage of those breaks to cut the deficit to 4-3. When Ryan Mountcastle singled to right, the game was tied at 4-4.

Seattle opened the door and the Orioles kicked it in.

That was a huge clutch hit by Franco, which came on a first-pitch 92 mph fastball. In going 1-6 their past seven games, O's batters had gone 6-for-46 (.130) with runners in scoring position.

Over his past four games, Franco is 4-for-13 with a homer and eight RBIs. He has a team-leading 12 RBIs.

The rally allowed the Orioles to overcome a second straight subpar start for right-hander Dean Kremer. He allowed four hits and four runs in three innings before Wade LeBlanc replaced him to start the fourth.

Kremer allowed all four runs in the visitors' third after a sharp start to his night on 24 pitches through the first two scoreless innings. But he served up a cut fastball to first baseman José Marmolejos with two on in the third. The ball cut right into the big part of his bat and he hit that ball out on a 3-2 pitch as the Mariners built the 4-0 lead, which didn't hold up long.

After they got back in the game in the third, the O's took the lead with a two-run fourth.

Chance Sisco led off with a single and Freddy Galvis walked. That brought up leadoff hitter Cedric Mullins. He doubled down the first-base line to produce a 5-4 O's lead. That hit extended his hitting streak to 11 games to begin the season and to 15 dating to last year. Santander's sac fly extended the lead to 6-4.

The Orioles got a much-needed win, their first since Wednesday in extra innings at New York. They had begun this homestand 0-4, losing three to Boston and the opener tonight.

They improved to 5-6 and Seattle falls to 6-5 heading into the third game of the four-game series on Wednesday night.