Mariners waste Moore’s career night in Baltimore

BALTIMORE – Adam Moore looked about as happy as any guy could be when he’d just sweated off 4 pounds in 11 innings and had a career-best night go down the tubes.

Years from now, the rookie catcher will look back on this moment and laugh, choosing instead to savor a four-hit game on a sweltering night when he should have had the decisive home run. Actually, plenty of folks already are laughing at the way the Mariners blew this 5-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in a Monday night battle of American League bottom feeders.

But none of the giggles were coming from inside the visitors’ clubhouse. Not after a mistake-filled night when the Mariners struck out 12 times and stranded an equal dozen runners on base.

“It’s real tough,” Moore said. “Obviously, after I hit that home run … everybody was feeling good, and to see that team celebrating on us in the late innings was discouraging.”

His team watched David Aardsma walk in the tying run in the 10th after Moore’s solo homer off Alfredo Simon in the top of the inning snapped a 3-3 tie.

Sean White opened the Baltimore 11th with a double off Sean White. With two out and a runner on third, former Mariners outfielder Adam Jones dropped a perfect suicide-squeeze bunt up the third-base line to send the crowd of 12,375 sweat-drenched fans at Camden Yards home happy.

The temperature was 90 degrees at first pitch, with a humidity factor that made it feel like 103. Pitchers had trouble gripping the ball on breaking pitches, while position players became exhausted as the innings wore on.

Baltimore grabbed a 3-1 lead off Mariners starter Doug Fister, but Seattle tied it in the third inning as Russell Branyan and Jose Lopez hit back-to-back home runs off Orioles starter Brad Bergesen. Fister had trouble gripping the ball at times, uncorking two wild pitches that led to runs the first two innings, and struggled to make it through five frames.

“I had trouble getting around on the curve ball a little bit,” he said.

Moore was about the only reason the Mariners were still in the game by the 11th. He made two huge throws to second base for outs in the bottom of the ninth, the first one on a bunt attempt by Brian Roberts that fell in front of the plate with a runner on first and none out.