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Mariners End Orioles’ Home Win Streak at 11

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<i> From Associated Press</i>

For the first time in three weeks, the Baltimore Orioles’ clubhouse was quiet after a game at Camden Yards.

No music, no laughter and no victory to celebrate.

Jeff Fassero put a clamp on the Orioles’ torrid offense and Joey Cora drove in two runs as the Seattle Mariners ended the Orioles’ 11-game home winning streak with a 4-2 victory Saturday at Baltimore.

It was the first time since July 1 that Baltimore lost at home. The Orioles fell one short of matching the team record of 12 consecutive home victories, set in 1969.

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Baltimore reliever Jesse Orosco pitched in his 1,000th game, becoming one of only six pitchers in major league history to reach that milestone. Orosco, 41, retired the Mariners in order in the ninth inning.

“I’m proud of this, but it would have been nice if we got a victory,” Orosco said.

Fassero (10-6) scattered 11 hits, striking out seven and walking three over eight innings against a team that was averaging 7.6 runs over its last 10 games.

Edgar Martinez went four for four and scored twice to help Seattle to its eighth win in 11 games. The Mariners are 10-5 since the All-Star break as they attempt to get back into the AL West race.

Ken Griffey Jr. was hitless in four at-bats and remained one homer short of Babe Ruth’s AL record for most home runs in a season through July 31. Griffey has been stuck at 40 for three straight games.

Before the game, the Orioles, convinced that Robert Alomar can’t swing the bat with a sprained right pinkie finger, placed All-Star second baseman Roberto Alomar on the 15-day disabled list.

Alomar hurt the finger in Anaheim on July 18 while sliding into second base. The move is retroactive to July 19 and he will be eligible to return Aug. 3.

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“The doctors said if he swings and aggravates it now it could last all year, but if you wait another four or five days and get treatment it should be 100%,” Orioles Manager Ray Miller said.

The Orioles replaced Alomar on the active roster with right-hander Scott Kamieniecki, who started against the Mariners.

Boston 5, Toronto 3--Nomar Garciaparra’s two-run homer broke an eighth-inning tie at Boston and gave the Red Sox the victory.

Mo Vaughn, who singled to tie it, 3-3, in the sixth, walked with two outs in the eighth and Garciaparra followed with his 18th home run of the season.

Derek Lowe (1-7) earned his first victory since June 23, 1997, pitching one inning of perfect relief.

Woody Williams (9-5) gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out four in 7 2/3 innings. All five of his losses have come on the road.

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Cleveland 6, Detroit 5--Manny Ramirez homered, doubled and drove in three runs at Cleveland to help Bartolo Colon get his 11th victory. Colon (11-5) lost his grip on the AL earned-run average lead, giving up four earned runs and seven hits in six innings with four walks and four strikeouts. The 22-year-old’s ERA rose from 2.60 to 2.74. Boston’s Pedro Martinez now leads the league at 2.71.

Ramirez hit a two-run shot in the fourth, his 22nd, and a run-scoring double in the fifth to atone for a couple of defensive lapses. Kenny Lofton ended an 0-for-13 skid with a single in the fifth, eluding a tag in a rundown that led to three Cleveland runs.

The Tigers got two runs against Colon in the sixth on Joe Randa’s run-scoring groundout and Brian Hunter’s run-scoring double to cut it to 6-4, then loaded the bases against Ron Villone and Paul Shuey in the seventh. But pinch-hitter Frank Catalanotto grounded into a double play.

Tony Clark was four for five with two doubles, including one in the ninth. He was thrown out at the plate by Lofton on Luis Gonzalez’s single.

Tampa Bay 7, Oakland 5--Mike Kelly hit a two-run homer and Aaron Ledesma broke an eighth-inning tie with a run-scoring single as the Devil Rays beat Kenny Rogers and the Athletics at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The victory gave the Devil Rays their first three-game winning streak since sweeping Toronto June 15-17. Oakland has dropped five in a row.

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Sloppy defense led to an insurance run in the eighth against Rogers (10-4), who had his personal four-game winning streak ended. Ledesma stole second, and throwing errors on the play by catcher A.J. Hinch and center fielder Ryan Christenson allowed him to score.

Kelly homered for the first time since June 18 in the fourth inning, building on a 2-1 lead the Devil Rays had taken on Bobby Smith’s two-run double against Rogers, who gave up seven hits, walked two and struck five in 7 1/3 innings.

Minnesota 7, Texas 6--David Ortiz, mired in a two-for-23 slump, hit a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning to complete a seven-run comeback and lead the Twins at Minneapolis.

With the score tied, 5-5, Ortiz doubled off Eric Gunderson into the left-center field gap to score Pat Meares and Paul Molitor. The hit capped Minnesota’s comeback from a 5-0 deficit.

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