masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgNate McLouth made a triumphant return to the Orioles’ lineup tonight.

One night after sitting on the bench against a left-hander, McLouth hit his 11th career leadoff home run to give the Orioles a quick 1-0 lead.

Mariners starter Brandon Maurer threw four straight fastballs to McLouth, at 91, 91, 93 and 91 mph. He might want to mix in an off-speed pitch.

He might want to just avoid McLouth, who has reached base in 23 of his last 37 plate appearances. He’s 16-for-30 with 14 runs scored in…Nate McLouth made a triumphant return to the Orioles’ lineup tonight.

One night after sitting on the bench against a left-hander, McLouth hit his 11th career leadoff home run to give the Orioles a quick 1-0 lead.

Mariners starter Brandon Maurer threw four straight fastballs to McLouth, at 91, 91, 93 and 91 mph. He might want to mix in an off-speed pitch.

He might want to just avoid McLouth, who has reached base in 23 of his last 37 plate appearances. He’s 16-for-30 with 14 runs scored in his last 10 games.

Manny Machado followed with a double to extend his hitting streak to nine games and tie Andres Mora (April 27-May 22, 1976) and Boog Powell (July 24-August 1, 1962) for the longest streak by an Oriole younger than 21 years old, according to Elias.

Machado is 15-for-35 during the streak, with three doubles, a triple and five RBIs. He’s 8-for-14 in his last four games, with three doubles, two RBIs and four runs scored.

The Orioles didn’t have an at-bat with runners in scoring position last night against former teammate Joe Saunders. They had two games in 2012 where they didn’t have an at-bat with RISP: R.A. Dickey’s one-hitter June 18 and James Shields’ two-hitter on Oct 2.

Well, they got one tonight after Machado’s double. Nick Markakis singled, but only after Machado scored on two wild pitches by Maurer, who must not have followed Saunders’ routine yesterday.

I would have eaten the same lunch and dinner and borrowed one of his protective cups.

Chris Davis walked with one out and Matt Wieters delivered a two-run double to increase the Orioles’ lead to 4-0.

The Orioles had four hits last night. They collected four hits in the first inning tonight.

Maurer had a 15.43 ERA in the first inning going into tonight’s game. He’s now allowed 12 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

He’s a bit of a slow starter.

Update: Maurer is done after four innings. All the runs against him scored in the first.

Jason Hammel is shutting out the Mariners on three hits, three walks and three strikeouts in four innings. He’s thrown 70 pitches, 39 for strikes.

Hammel isn’t sharp, but he’s resourceful.