Play it again

A recap of the Orioles' 7-4 win over the Mariners on Friday night:

Power ball

Forget playing small ball, at least for one night. The Orioles muscled up against the Mariners, getting solo home runs from Kevin Millar in the fifth inning and Ramon Hernandez in the sixth and a two-run shot from Melvin Mora in the seventh. Millar broke a 2-2 tie when he connected off Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn. Hernandez homered off reliever Cha Seung Baek, and Mora increased the lead to 6-2 when he cleared the left-field fence against Ryan Rowland-Smith.

Working overtime

The Orioles forced Washburn to throw 38 pitches in the second inning. Though they scored only once, on a sacrifice fly by Luis Hernandez, they shortened his night by leaving his count at 58 heading into the third. Hernandez ran the count full before lifting a fly ball to center field that scored Jay Payton, who led off by reaching on an infield hit, and Brian Roberts did the same before drawing a walk. The Orioles sent six batters to the plate. Washburn was gone after the fifth.

Big contributor

Luis Hernandez wasn't in Thursday's original lineup before the game was postponed because of rain. He started Friday night and delivered the Orioles' first two runs with sacrifice flies. He tied the score, 2-2, in the fourth when he drove in Ramon Hernandez, who singled and took third base on Adam Jones' double.

On deck

Game 2 of the four-game series took place last night with left-hander Adam Loewen opposing Miguel Batista. Loewen made his major league debut at Safeco Field on May 23, 2006, and retired only one of four batters he faced in relief. The Orioles rushed him from Double-A Bowie because Hayden Penn underwent an emergency appendectomy. The circumstances were different last night but not exactly ideal. Loewen was making his first regular-season start since May 1 after undergoing elbow surgery. Batista was 0-3 with a 7.86 ERA in 17 career games against the Orioles, including three starts.