Gonzalez gives up homer, Cruz receives ovation (O's win 9-4)

Seth Smith hit his second career leadoff home run tonight to give the Mariners a quick 1-0 lead over the Orioles.

Smith lined Miguel Gonzalez's fourth pitch onto the flag court in right field.

Gonzalez struck out the next two batters to bring former Orioles outfielder Nelson Cruz to the plate. Fans cheered loudly for Cruz, some of them standing. A few yelled "Cruuuz."

It's a sparse crowd tonight, but it made a lot of noise before Cruz lined an 0-2 pitch into center field for a single.

Gonzalez threw 16 pitches, 13 for strikes, in the first inning.

Earlier today, manager Buck Showalter was asked how he'd greet Cruz if he sat in the stands as a fan of the Orioles.

"I'd do what's in my heart and be like Baltimore always is - sincere," Showalter replied. "I don't go, 'OK, how should I react now? Should I be mad, should I be happy?' I know what I would do. I've also got a feeling I know what they'll do.

"I'm not going to tell them what they should do. It's like, would you like to be a fan in the stands and they tell you to clap and tell you to make noise? I'm not going to tell them. I think I've got a good idea what they'll do. I know I would."

Cruz led the majors with 40 home runs in his only season with the Orioles and quickly became a favorite inside the clubhouse.

"He handled himself with a lot of class here and everybody would like to have had him," Showalter said. "We're very lucky he passed our way. I've known him for a long time. The same guy he was the day we first got him in that deal in Texas. He's one of those guys who early in spring guys were asking me, 'Is this real?' I said, 'Yeah, it is, just give him some time. You'll see.'

"Nelson's a very real guy. He knows he's not perfect. He's done some things he wishes he hadn't. Not many. But I don't think it surprises anybody what's going on with him."

Cruz leads the majors with 15 home runs and the American League with a .694 slugging percentage and 1.089 OPS. What's the best way to pitch him?

"Get people out in front of him and have a lead," Showalter said. "Somebody says, 'Well, you've got to pitch to the big part of the park.' There is no big part of the park with Nellie, OK?

"He got some big hits for us. He enjoys winning. He's a good teammate. You can't stay in one place all the time with him. There isn't one set way all the time. He'll make an adjustment because he has power to both sides. Just try to minimize the damage around him because those kind of guys always seem to find a way to do their thing."

Update: Steve Pearce's two-out single scored Manny Machado and tied the game in the bottom of the first inning.

Pearce has three hits in his last seven at-bats.

Machado and Chris Davis drew walks off Taijuan Walker. Machado stole his sixth base to tie his career high set in 2013.

Update II: There isn't as much cheering for Cruz after his three-run homer into the Orioles' bullpen in the third inning gave Seattle a 4-1 lead.

Cruz has 16 homers to again lead the majors. The Nationals' Bryce Harper tied him earlier tonight.

Robinson Cano singled with two outs to extend the rally. He was 3-for-25 vs. Gonzalez before the at-bat.

Update III: The Orioles twice had the bases loaded with no outs in the fourth and scored three runs to tie the game 4-4.

Caleb Joseph singled to reduce the Mariners' lead to 4-2 and keep the bases loaded. He was 1-for-20.

Machado grounded into a 1-2-3 double play, but Jimmy Paredes poked a two-run single into left field to extend his on-base streak to 20 games, tying Machado for the season high.

Update IV: De Aza and Joseph doubled off Danny Farquhar to break a 4-4 tie in the sixth and Paredes hit a two-run, opposite-field home run to give the Orioles a 7-4 lead.

Paredes' four RBIs tonight are a career high.

Update V: Pearce singled to lead off the seventh and scored when Cruz overran Travis Snider's single. Orioles 8, Mariners 4.

The Orioles are 24-3 when Joseph has an RBI. They're 1-12 when the opponent scores first.

Brian Matusz replaced Gonzalez, who allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings, with two walks, eight strikeouts and two home runs. Gonzalez threw 98 pitches, 68 for strikes.

Orioles starters have gone seven or more innings in five consecutive games.

Update VI: The Orioles won their second consecutive game tonight, beating the Mariners 9-4 before 19,494 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles scored their most runs since an 18-7 win over the Red Sox on April 26.

Machado scored on a passed ball in the eighth inning to account for the final margin.

The last two hitters in the order, De Aza and Joseph, were 5-for-7 with a walk, two RBIs and four runs scored.

Machado stole two bases, giving him a career-high seven.