AL: Resilient Orioles reaching new heights

BALTIMORE - The injuries keep mounting for the Orioles.

So do the victories.

Melvin Mora, Rafael Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada homered to back a strong pitching performance by Daniel Cabrera, and Baltimore capped a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 5-2 victory Thursday night.

Mora had three hits for the Orioles, whose eighth win in 11 games moved them a season-best 14 games over .500 (30-16). Baltimore leads the East by a season-high 41/2 games.

The day started on a down note for Baltimore, which put left-handed starter Erik Bedard on the 15-day disabled list with a strained knee ligament. Bedard joins starting outfielder Luis Matos and starting catcher Javy Lopez on the DL.

But the Orioles have proven to be resilient. They went 9-7 while Sammy Sosa was on the DL, and they swept the Mariners after Lopez left in the third inning of the opener.

"What are we going to do, quit?" said second baseman Brian Roberts, who missed the middle game of the series with a bruised knee. "You've got to play. We're doing what we need to do to win. You're going to go through stretches where you don't have everybody you need, but we've got guys stepping up and doing an awesome job."

Guys like Palmeiro, who's hitting .390 over his past 13 games.

"Raffy's an important part of that lineup right now, and for him to get going now, swinging the bat the way he is, is going to pick up some of the slack with Javy out," Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said.

Baltimore has won eight in a row at Camden Yards against the Mariners, who have lost six straight and 10 of 11 on the road under former Orioles manager Mike Hargrove.

Cabrera allowed one run and three hits in seven innings before leaving with a 3-1 lead. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two.

"That's the first time I've seen Cabrera since spring training of '03, and he certainly throws the ball very well," Hargrove said. "He was throwing the ball 95 to 99, and once you got past the second inning, he started getting his breaking ball over, which made him double nasty."

Seattle starter Ryan Franklin gave up three runs and eight hits over seven innings but fell to 0-4 lifetime against Baltimore.

"Here's Franklin throwing another good ballgame and we can't generate any offense for him," Hargrove said. "I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that the other guy was on the mound and he had outstanding stuff."

After Cabrera left, Jorge Julio struck out Richie Sexson with two outs and runners at the corners in the eighth before Tejada hit a two-run homer off Shigetoshi Hasegawa in the bottom half to make it 5-1.

Asked to explain the Orioles' resiliency, Mazzilli said, "Chemistry, I think, is a big thing. And good pitching."

BLUE JAYS 8, RED SOX 1: Eric Hinske homered as part of a six-run first inning, and host Toronto completed a three-game sweep.

The Red Sox, who have lost seven of 10, open a three-game set tonight in New York against the Yankees.

Russ Adams had a career-high four RBIs for the Blue Jays, who swept the Red Sox in a three-game series for the first time since May 30-June 1, 2003. Toronto is 6-2 vs. Boston this season.

ANGELS 3, WHITE SOX 2: John Lackey pitched seven sharp innings and Dallas McPherson hit a go-ahead two-run homer as host Los Angeles earned a split of a four-game series dominated by solid pitching.

The Angels, who have scored three or fewer in 13 of 23 games this month, canceled batting practice, except for a few players who sharpened their swings in the indoor batting cage.

One of those players was McPherson, who homered to centerfield on his first pitch from Jose Contreras with two outs in the seventh. Garret Anderson scored after hitting a leadoff single and advancing to second on Jeff DaVanon's sacrifice.

TWINS 5, INDIANS 4 (11): Shannon Stewart homered with two outs in the 11th off David Riske to give visiting Minnesota a split of their tight four-game series.

Of the 10 games between the Twins and Cleveland this season, six have been decided by one run.

Twins starter Brad Radke, the former Jesuit standout, cruised into the seventh with a 4-1 lead, but it fell apart in the span of four batters as the Indians hit three straight doubles and a Casey Blake triple that tied it.

RANGERS 8, ROYALS 1: Kenny Rogers didn't have to be at his sharpest to win his sixth straight start as host Texas hit three home runs to complete a sweep. Rogers gave up a run in the first and allowed six baserunners through four, but he held Kansas City to just the one run in seven innings and improved his league-best ERA to 1.69.

[Last modified May 27, 2005, 01:12:21]