Gibbons’ hit revives Orioles

BALTIMORE — Jay Gibbons didn’t have to do much more than put the ball in play when he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, none out and the score tied.

In that situation, the batter is at a distinct advantage.

“Usually, except when you haven’t had a hit in a week,” Gibbons said jokingly afterward.

Gibbons delivered, hitting a two-run single to snap an 0-for-15 skid and lift the Baltimore Orioles past the Seattle Mariners 3-1 last night.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak for the Orioles, who were limited to one hit after the first inning until taking the lead in the eighth against Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1-3) in relief of starter Jamie Moyer.

Miguel Tejada led off with a double to left. Hasegawa then issued an intentional walk to Rafael Palmeiro and loaded the bases by walking Javy Lopez on a full count. That brought up Gibbons, who was batting .206 after going hitless since Friday.

“I was just trying to hit something hard because it’s been a while since I did that,” he said.

After swinging at a pitch in the dirt, Gibbons lined a single up the middle, scoring Tejada and Palmeiro. Lopez was thrown out at third, but the damage was done.

“It’s been a struggle. Luckily, he just left one out over the plate,” Gibbons said. “I was just trying to put it in play and fortunately it found a hole.”

Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli never lost faith in Gibbons, who hit .277 with 100 RBI last year.

“I definitely felt confident when he was up there,” Mazzilli said. “This kid didn’t knock in 100 runs by mistake.”

The Orioles were stymied by Moyer but feasted on Hasegawa, whose ERA climbed to 7.20.

“I thought I made a good pitch on all the pitches. They hit, they hit,” Hasegawa said. “Sometimes it happens like this.”

Seattle manager Bob Melvin considered using a left-hander against the left-handed hitting Gibbons but opted to stay with Hasegawa. But the strategy backfired.

“We only had really one right-hander available out of the bullpen today and he just didn’t have it,” Melvin said. “If we had another right-hander, we probably would have gone to a lefty with Gibbons. But Shiggy has been known to get guys from both sides out.”

It was the sixth loss in seven games for the Mariners, who managed only four hits, none after the fourth inning.

“We had nine left on base, seven or eight in the first five innings,” Melvin said. “We had our chances, but we didn’t come up with the big hit.”

John Parrish (2-1) pitched three innings of hitless relief for the Orioles, and Jorge Julio worked a perfect ninth for his third save.

Moyer, who came in 14-2 lifetime against Baltimore, allowed one run on four hits over seven innings. He walked four, struck out three, and lowered his ERA from 6.26 to 5.10.

Baltimore starter Kurt Ainsworth was pulled after throwing 91 pitches — only 50 in the strike zone — over five innings. He allowed one run on four hits and issued four walks.

Notes — Gibbons was hit by a pitch in the first inning, the fourth time in two games that Seattle pitchers hit an Orioles batter. Ainsworth subsequently hit John Olerud with a pitch in the second inning. … Seattle third baseman Scott Spiezio has reached base in all 11 games since being activated from the disabled list April17. … Baltimore’s 11-8 start is its best since 2000.