O's lose momentum in ninth, fall to M's

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles came up short in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Mariners despite a pair of singles to start the frame.

Down three, Adam Jones and Delmon Young each delivered hits off Mariners closer Fernando Rodney. Rodney proceeded to get a pair of strikeouts, starting with Chris Davis, who watched a ball on the inside corner of the plate go down as strike three.

"You've got a guy who's kind of scattering it around a little bit," manager Buck Showalter said of Rodney. "He's trying to go away on that pitch. As a hitter, you get a feel for the catcher moving and where he's coming, and then throw it all the way across the plate. Someone said it may have nicked the corner of the plate. I know it's close. It's one of those 50-50 calls."

Rodeny struck out Steve Pearce -- fooling him on a few changeups -- next before J.J. Hardy's flare brought the deficit within two. But pinch-hitter Travis Snider grounded out to end the game.

"We haven't played consistent baseball all year," Pearce said of an Orioles club that is 17-20 on the year. "It's still early. We're only 3 1/2, 4 1/2 games out of it. We haven't been playing good baseball all year, and we're still right here. We have a chance to turn this thing around. We're not pressing yet. We're only a quarter of the way through the season."