Game update, notes and Duquette on Saunders (O's lead 2-1)

Adam Jones is celebrating his 29th birthday today, and I mention it for reasons other than to make you feel guilty for not sending him a card or ordering an ice cream cake. As the Orioles pointed out in today's notes, Jones has four multi-hit games in six career games on his birthday. He's batting .375 (9-for-24) with two RBIs and two runs scored. Jones grounded into a double play tonight to end the first inning, with Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager making a nice stop to his left. Robinson Cano reached on an infield hit against the shift with two outs in the top of the first inning. In 76 career games at Camden Yards, he's posted a .360 average with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs. Wei-Yin Chen has retired seven in a row since Cano's single. Nick Markakis singled leading off the bottom of the first, leaving him 78 hits behind Boog Powell for fifth place on the club's all-time list. Still counting. Delmon Young doubled in the third. He's 5-for-9 against the Mariners this season. The Orioles ranked fourth in the majors with a 2.96 ERA in July, their best monthly mark of the season. It also was the fifth-best July ERA in club history and the lowest since 1976 (2.90). The Orioles also posted their best ERA in a full month since May 1981 (2.90). Last night marked the 15th extra-inning shutout loss in franchise history and the first since a 2-0 loss to the Athletics on Sept. 2, 2003. Earlier tonight, I talked to executive vice president Dan Duquette about his decision to sign veteran left-hander Joe Saunders to a minor league deal. Saunders will report to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday. The Orioles are doing some experimenting again, trying to convert Saunders into more of a lefty specialist. Saunders has never pitched out of the bullpen in the majors. Left-handers have registered a .242 career average against Saunders. Right-handers are batting .295. "Joe Saunders has always been very proficient at getting out left-handed hitters," Duquette said. "We discussed with him that it might be time to transition into that role, and he agreed to it. We discussed it with his agent, he got back to us and said he was open to it." Saunders was 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA in seven starts for the Orioles in 2012 and won the Wild Card game in Texas. "He had that experience with the Orioles in 2012 and now he wants to be in position where he could pitch well and he wants to be under consideration if the club advances to the playoffs, so he's giving it a shot. He'll make the transition in Triple-A. "Let me tell you, we like Joe Saunders. He did a good job for us and he's a good, solid veteran major league pitcher. We're really happy he decided to join the Orioles." Update: Markakis reached on an infield hit with two outs in the third, and Young scored on Manny Machado's single into center field. The Orioles hadn't scored in 19 consecutive innings. Markakis has 40 multi-hit games. He's now 77 hits behind Powell. Update II: The Mariners tied the game in the top of the fourth on Cano's one-out single followed by Kendrys Morales' RBI double to left. J.J. Hardy's relay throw beat Morales to the plate, but catcher Caleb Joseph didn't hold onto the ball. Nelson Cruz led off the bottom of the fourth to snap an 0-for-21 streak, the longest of his career. Update III: Hardy's two-out RBI single in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie. Machado doubled and Jones reached on an error. Cruz and Chris Davis struck out before Hardy lined a single up the middle.