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  Sunday, Jun. 25 4:35pm ET
Flying south in June: Orioles lose 9th in row
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

SEATTLE (AP) -- Tom Lampkin picked the right moment for his first career grand slam.

Lampkin hit the slam with two outs in the eighth inning as the Seattle Mariners rallied to hand the Baltimore Orioles their ninth straight loss, 4-2 Sunday.

"I don't even think I ever hit a grand slam in Little League," Lampkin said. "I don't hit home runs. I just got a pitch I was looking for, and I drove it. Things are going our way right now."

It was Lampkin's seventh homer of the season.

The Mariners, who have won six straight, swept the Orioles in a four-game series for the first time in their history. It was also Seattle's first four-game sweep at Safeco Field.

Tom Lampkin
Tom Lampkin's seventh homer of the season, off Orioles closer Mike Timlin, was a grand one.

Seattle remains only a half-game behind Oakland in the division.

"Everyone's confidence is very high right now," Lampkin said. "We have to just take care of our own business and not worry about what the A's are doing each night. I'm sure they think it's kind of weird to keep looking back and see that we won't go away. We keep winning."

Baltimore's Sidney Ponson took a three-hitter and 2-0 lead into the eighth inning before faltering. He walked Stan Javier and Alex Rodriguez to open the inning and was replaced by Alan Mills.

Mike Timlin (2-3) came in with two outs and runners on first and second and blew his third save of the season. He hit Mike Cameron with his first pitch before Lampkin drilled a 2-1 pitch to right field to give Seattle the lead.

"What is most difficult about today is that we had a chance to win, and I feel like I let the whole team down," Timlin said. "We haven't been winning, so this loss is especially tough for me."

Timlin pitched for Seattle in 1997 and '98, but left after the season as a free agent. It was his first appearance at Safeco Field.

Arthur Rhodes (2-2) struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth, and Kazuhiro Sasaki pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 16 opportunities.

"This loss is no harder than the one we lost 12-13 or yesterday's 2-1 game," said Orioles manager Mike Hargrove. "Each of them are special in their own sick way."

Harold Baines and Charles Johnson hit solo homers for Baltimore.

"Baines hit a change that did absolutely nothing," Mariners starter Paul Abbott said. "It was like a batting practice pitch."

The Mariners won for the second straight day despite getting only four hits. They beat Baltimore 2-1 Saturday behind John Halama's strong pitching.

Abbott did the job Sunday, but ended up with a no-decision. He allowed only four hits and two runs over seven-plus innings.

"My job is to soak up innings and give the team a chance to win," Abbott said. "My change was not very good, but my slider was sharp. I had good location, and could put it where I wanted."

Abbott has allowed three or fewer runs in all but one of his 10 starts this season. In his last five outings, he is 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA (31 IP, eight ER).

"Paul had a nice game," Lampkin said. "He should definitely not be overlooked. He kept us close when we were struggling to score runs. He did his job right."

Game notes
The last four series between these teams have been sweeps. ... Baltimore's B.J. Surhoff extended his hit streak to 19 games with a single in the second inning to match Detroit's Juan Encarnacion for the longest streak in the AL, and second longest in the majors this season. ... Despite going 1-for-12 in the series, Cal Ripken Jr. more hits against Seattle (256) than any other team. ... Seattle's Edgar Martinez is 0-for-11 in his last three games. ... The Mariners came from behind to win in all four games. It was their 19th come-from-behind win of the season.

 


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