Mariners get three-run homer from Cruz but can’t contain Orioles

BALTIMORE – Nelson Cruz returned with a bang Tuesday night to Camden Yards. A three-run bang, in fact.

It turned into a nice little footnote, and nothing more, after the Baltimore Orioles mugged Taijuan Walker and Danny Farquhar in a 9-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Cruz’s homer came in the third inning against Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez and staked Walker to a 4-1 lead. This story was writing itself, but then…

Walker never made it through a three-run fourth inning.

“It just wasn’t a good outing,” he said. “I wasn’t getting ahead. A couple of walks hurt me because I wasn’t locating.”

On came Farquhar, who pitched well initially before coughing up the tie in a three-run sixth inning.

The key figure in both three-run bursts was Jimmy Paredes, who extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a two-run, two-out single against Walker in the fourth before hitting a two-run homer against Farquhar in the sixth.

“I think it was like a foot off the plate,” Farquhar said, “but it was up. And he kind of stands on the plate. I guess that’s the middle to him.”

Cruz had a forgettable moment, too, when he failed to scoop a single to right in the seventh inning. The resulting two-base error permitted an unearned run to score against Mark Lowe.

“I have no excuse,” Cruz said. “That’s a routine play.”

The Orioles scored their final run courtesy of a wild pitch and a passed ball in the eighth inning.

It was, in sum, the sort of wasted opportunity that continues to plague the Mariners, who slipped to 17-21 at the start of a nine-game trip through Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay.

“(Walker’s) command wasn’t there,” manager Lloyd McClendon said, “and he struggled with his velocity as well. … It’s unfortunate because we scored some runs.”

Gonzalez (5-2), in contrast, recovered nicely after Cruz’s homer and allowed nothing more while pitching through the seventh inning.

“He put some zeroes up there after we got back in it,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “That’s pretty typical Miguel.”

Brian Matusz and Darren O’Day closed out Gonzalez’s victory.

For Walker, this was step backward in a roller-coaster season that had been moving in the right direction. He gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings on seven hits and four walks.

“When you talk about growing pains, a young pitcher getting better, there’s going to be some failure,” McClendon said. “That’s the only way you’re going to gain that knowledge and get better.

“With a young pitcher like Taijuan, out of five starts, there are going to be two bad ones. And one is just going to be OK. And two are going to dazzle you. We have to show patience.”

Walker’s ERA zoomed to a Boeing-esque 7.47, although he avoided the loss. That went to Farquhar, who gave up a pair of line-hugging doubles in the sixth inning before Paredes sent a 388-foot drive over the left-field wall.

Paredes’ four RBIs are a career high.

Seth Smith led off with a home run, the second of his career to open a game. His first was on July 1, 2014, as a member of the San Diego Padres.

M’s add Castillo

In a move that appears to sacrifice defense and bullpen depth in order to add a veteran backup catcher, the Seattle Mariners acquired Welington Castillo on Tuesday morning from the Chicago Cubs.

In return, the Mariners surrendered right-handed reliever Yoervis Medina, who served as a key element in their bullpen over the last two-plus seasons prior to his May 3 demotion to Triple-A Tacoma.

Castillo, 28, will be activated prior to today’s game against the Orioles. The Mariners cleared space for him by optioning catcher Jesus Sucre, a defensive specialist who had just one hit in 15 at-bats this season, to Tacoma.

Manager Lloyd McClendon confirmed Castillo, a .252 hitter over his six-year career, will serve as the backup to catcher Mike Zunino, who has started 32 of the club’s first 38 games.