Jimmy Paredes on his latest big game, plus other clubhouse quotes

Some of the pregame talk centered on Nelson Cruz and his return to Baltimore. By the postgame interviews, there was more talk about Jimmy Paredes and another big night for him at the plate.

He went 2-for-5 and drove in a career-high four runs as the Orioles beat Seattle 9-4. Paredes delivered a two-run single in the fourth, which tied the game at 4-4, and a two-run homer in the sixth that gave the O's a 7-4 lead.

"Feels great," he said, after raising his average to .346. "(Cruz is) a big man right there, and a lot of fans were waiting for something big from him. We changed that and played a good game.

"It's been great. An amazing season. We lost a couple of games, but we're shooting for some wins now and to finish strong."

Has Paredes ever had a hot stretch like this before?

"In Triple-A before, I've started great. Now I'm doing it here in the big leagues. It's amazing," he said after increasing his RBI total to 22 in 25 games.

Paredes has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games at a .323 clip, and 15 of his 36 hits have gone for extra-bases. He is second to Adam Jones in RBIs and has reached base in a career-high 20 consecutive games.

"Feels great to put up some good numbers and help the team to win," Paredes said.

Paredes was 2-for-2 tonight batting with runners in scoring position. On the year, he is batting .545 (12-for- 22), with two homers and 16 RBIs with RISP. With RISP and two outs, he is batting .636 (7-for-11), with a homer and 11 RBIs.

Meanwhile, Miguel Gonzalez gave up a three-run homer to Nelson Cruz to trail 4-1 in the fourth, but he gave up just one hit over four innings after that to get the win.

"First couple innings, I just didn't really have it," he said. "After that, I settled down and started making pitches when I needed to. There were two bad pitches and a couple of walks that hurt me.

"Just told myself to stay aggressive. After we scored some runs, I got really pumped up and got after it. My four-seam was really moving today. It was cutting, something that doesn't really ever happen. But overall, we did a good job."

Gonzalez also commented on Paredes after the game.

"That kid, he grew up to become a hitter," he said. "You can see it every day, he's working so hard. Happy to have him and he's having fun."

Caleb Joseph drove in two runs tonight, but also was asked about Paredes, who has a locker right next to Joseph in the O's clubhouse.

"He played with my brother (Corban) a few years ago and he told me what a great guy he is," Joseph said. "I hang out with him all the time, being lockermates. He is so upbeat and I'm always pulling for the underdog. For a guy to get claimed and DFA'd and get claimed again and kind of find a home, it's big and we're glad he's on side. Real stable for us in the two-hole right now."

Joseph said it was big for another O's starter to pitch seven innings or more, which has now happened five consecutive games thanks to Gonzalez's latest outing.

"I was telling him we'll take that outing because he was able to shut the door when he needed to," Joseph said. "He's got a knack for staying out of trouble and making pitches when he needs to."