The Orioles continue to trail the Mariners, 2-1, as we head to the top of the sixth inning. Adam Kennedy hit a two-run homer off Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta in the second, and J.J. Hardy homered off Seattle rookie Michael Pineda in the third. Arrieta has allowed four hits in five innings, with two walks and six strikeouts. As usual, he has good stuff. His fastball has been clocked at 94 mph, and he struck out back-to-back hitters on a slider and curveball to end the fourth. He got a...

If you don't think a .200-hitting shortstop who's batting ninth in a struggling lineup can make a difference, well, guess again. J.J. Hardy, in his first at-bat since April 9, lined a home run to left field leading off the bottom of the third inning. Mariners 2, Orioles 1. Hardy worked the count full against Seattle rookie Michael Pineda before homering for the first time since Sept. 8, 2010 against the Royals. Tonight's ball traveled an estimated 368 feet. Hardy was batting .200 with no...

The Mariners don't hit many homers but they used a two-run shot from Adam Kennedy to take a 2-0 lead tonight against the Orioles. They hold a 2-1 edge in the third. Kennedy's homer came in the top of the second and just made it over the leaping attempt by right fielder Nick Markakis. It was his third homer of the year and first since he homered in back-to-back games on April 20 and 21. It's the sixth homer allowed by Jake Arrieta, who has now given up a homer in four straight...

The Orioles are one of seven teams in the majors that haven't won a game when trailing after seven innings, going 0-17 in that span. They join the Red Sox, Indians, Rockies, Angels, Dodgers and Rangers. None of the Orioles' starting pitchers in this series have faced the Mariners. Jake Arrieta is 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in five career starts against the American League West. Brian Roberts is in a 1-for-26 slump since May 1. Mark Reynolds is 9-for-65 (.138). He has five RBIs in his last 22...

O's director of player development John Stockstill was just on O's Xtra on MASN2 HD and said it might be "a couple of weeks" in all before Manny Machado can get back in a game for the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds. Machado, who suffered a dislocated kneecap last Thursday, has remained with the Delmarva team which is in Hagerstown right now on a road trip. Stockstill said the club will take another look at Machado's injured left knee when the Shorebirds return home on Friday. He said there...

The Orioles have not won a game since last Wednesday at Kansas City. Jake Arrieta started that contest and he is back on the mound tonight for his eighth start of 2011. The Orioles have won just twice this year in the 18 games where they have scored three or fewer runs. One of those two was that last start for Arrieta where the Orioles won 3-2 at K.C. Maybe Arrieta will be the stopper tonight. While we all are so focused on the offense right now, let's not forget that Arrieta may be a young...

Manager Buck Showalter tackled a variety of topics earlier today while meeting with the media. Here's a sampling: On J.J. Hardy: "He's fine. I talked to him last because I know what he's going to tell us. I talked to Gary Allenson, and Bobby Dickerson has been with him for his whole rehab, and he's fine, he's ready to go. We didn't want him traveling on the day he's playing so he came in, I believe, last night or yesterday afternoon. I'm glad to get him back. It's been a while....

If anyone knows how J.J. Hardy feels after coming off the disabled list today, it's J.J. Hardy. "Good," he said. "It's been a lot longer than I thought it would be." Hardy hasn't played since April 9, when he left a game against the Rangers at Camden Yards after one at-bat. He went on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. "I was kind of hoping for less time," said Hardy, who played in three games at Triple-A Norfolk on his injury rehab assignment, going 2-for-9 with three...

I'll plug in quotes later, but I wanted to pass along a few items from manager Buck Showalter's pregame session with the media. Showalter will be in Bowie tomorrow morning to watch Alfredo Simon pitch. However, Simon won't make his scheduled start for Triple-A Norfolk on Monday because he's returning to the Dominican Republic. Simon was supposed to join the Tides for their game at Lehigh Valley, but he'll fly to the Dominican to take care of a matter that's related to his previous legal...

The Orioles' lineup for tonight's series-opener against the Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards doesn't include any drastic changes beyond the shortstop. For the Orioles: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Luke Scott LF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 3B J.J. Hardy SS Jake Arrieta RHP For the Mariners: Ichiro RF Figgins 3B Smoak 1B Olivo C Cust DH Kennedy 2B Peguero LF Ryan SS Saunders CF Pineda RHP