Orioles spoil scoring chances in 5-2 loss

SEATTLE - Andrew Cashner's mission tonight was to gain control of his pitch count, work through the middle innings and keep the Orioles within striking distance. Don't let the game get away from him. Don't become the grand marshal for a parade of relievers.

The Mariners were trying to make it through the fifth inning without setting the major league record for errors.

Provided with two unearned runs and a lead in the fifth, Cashner surrendered back-to-back homers in the bottom half and the Orioles lost to the Mariners 5-3 at Safeco Field.

Cashner surrendered three home runs, all solo shots, to tie his season high in his first start on March 31 against the Twins. He was removed after 4 2/3 innings and 100 pitches with the Mariners ahead 3-2.

The Orioles are 1-5 on the road trip and 41-99 overall. The 1954 and 1988 teams reached the 100-loss mark, the latter going 54-107. They're about to have company.

Mitch Haniger broke a scoreless tie in the third by depositing a curveball into the center field seats with the bases empty. Cashner threw 31 pitches in the inning to raise his total to 72, loading the bases with two outs before retiring Kyle Seager on a line drive to center field.

Former Oriole Nelson Cruz drove a 94 mph fastball to left-center field to tie the game with two outs in the fifth and Denard Span pulled a changeup to right, bringing manager Buck Showalter out of the dugout.

On a night when the Orioles kept fumbling their scoring opportunities, the Mariners got sloppy in the sixth. They committed three errors, two by shortstop Jean Segura, and the Orioles grabbed a 2-1 lead.

Cedric Mullins doubled with one out and scored on Segura's throwing error. Jonathan Villar somehow managed to avoid a pickoff at second base, moving his arm around the attempted tag, and he came home when Segura couldn't handle Adam Jones' one-hopper.

A shutdown inning didn't materialize and the Orioles fell to 17-55 on the road.

The Mariners began the night trailing the Athletics by 5 1/2 games for the second wild card. The Orioles continue their road trip with a weekend series against the Rays, who were 7 1/2 back. The O's host the A's next week and close the season with a road trip to New York and Boston and a four-game series at home against the Astros.

Sellers can become spoilers, though manager Buck Showalter doesn't sense the enthusiasm for it inside the clubhouse.

"I don't think so, other than they'd like to end the season on a good note individually and as a team," Showalter said before tonight's game.

"I think there's a good amount of jealousy this time of the year because we've been where they are, the teams that we're playing. But it's a challenge lineup-wise because I need to have the integrity of the competition with the teams that are counting on us to put our best foot forward, but I'm also always not going to let that get in the way of what's best for the Orioles."

Mullins' foot was hit by a Mike Leake pitch with two outs in the third inning, the initial call overturned, and the rookie raced to third base on Villar's infield hit. Villar stole second, making him 24-for-27 this season, but Trey Mancini grounded out.

Leake retired the side in order in the first inning on only seven pitches and stranded Jones in the second after a leadoff double. Jones and Chris Davis opened the fourth with singles and were stranded.

After scoring twice in the fifth, the Orioles left two more runners on base in the sixth after one-out singles by Joey Rickard and Caleb Joseph.

Through six innings, the Orioles were 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine. The 10th came in the seventh after Jones singled.

The Orioles began the night providing Cashner with the lowest run-support average in baseball at 3.14. They were done scoring after the Seattle follies in the fifth, and the Mariners padded their lead in the seventh on Span's RBI single off Sean Gilmartin that followed Cruz's double off Mike Wright Jr. Guillermo Heredia plated another run with a sacrifice bunt off Ryan Meisinger.

Cruz started the rally with a double off Wright. Miguel Castro worked the eighth.

Showalter used five relievers, including left-hander Tanner Scott, who struck out two in a scoreless inning after replacing Cashner. The mission failed.