masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgO’s reliever Alfredo Simon got five outs last night, but it was the one he didn’t get that stands out.

With one out in the top of the tenth, Seattle catcher Adam Moore blasted a 430-foot shot to left that gave the M’s a 4-3 lead. The O’s would tie it up and win it an inning later, but Simon continues to struggle.

He has now allowed a homer in four straight outings and in six of his last ten appearances.

Since he has taken over as O’s manager, Buck Showalter has chosen to focus mostly…O’s reliever Alfredo Simon got five outs last night, but it was the one he didn’t get that stands out.

With one out in the top of the tenth, Seattle catcher Adam Moore blasted a 430-foot shot to left that gave the M’s a 4-3 lead. The O’s would tie it up and win it an inning later, but Simon continues to struggle.

He has now allowed a homer in four straight outings and in six of his last ten appearances.

Since he has taken over as O’s manager, Buck Showalter has chosen to focus mostly on the positive about his players when talking with reporters.

He didn’t change on that today.

“I like the way he came back and got other outs. We threw a fastball there that, that’s usually what happens to them.

“I said going into that series I was really impressed with (Adam) Moore. Take a look at his track record in the minor leagues and some of the things he’s done. He’s got a lot of juice and he caught real well as well.

“But I can see why he’s (Simon) had some success and people think good of him. We’ve seen the good and some of the challenges he’s faced. I’ll try to dwell on some of the good things that happened after that too.”

Simon did bounce back after the homer to get a pop up and strikeout to end the tenth.

But after pitching to an ERA of 3.15 through June, his ERA is 6.41 since the beginning of July. He has allowed seven hits over his last four outing and four are home runs.

As usual, by the way, Showalter is right about the Mariners catcher. Moore was rated as Seattle’s third-best prospect in spring training.

He was hitting .321 in Triple-A this year and entered 2010 with a career average of .301 with 55 homers over 412 minor league games.