Michael Saunders homered twice and drove in five runs, Erasmo Ramirez retired 18 of the first 20 batters he faced and the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 Saturday night to end a four-game losing streak.

Four home runs weren’t enough to produce a victory for the Seattle Mariners, who lost a long-ball duel with a team that knows all about going deep.

BOSTON – It didn’t much matter which arm acting Mariners manager Robby Thompson used to wave at the bullpen. None of the Seattle relievers could get anyone out. One night after blowing a lead and losing to Boston in 15 innings, the Mariners coughed up a six-run lead in regulation on Thursday night, giving up six runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose 8-7 to the Red Sox.

One night after blowing a lead and losing to Boston in 15 innings, the Mariners coughed up a six-run lead in regulation on Thursday night, giving up six runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose 8-7 to the Red Sox. M's reliever Oliver Perez, who blew a seventh-inning lead on Wednesday night, gave up a two-run single to Shane Victorino and an RBI base hit to Dustin Pedroia before striking out lefty David Ortiz. Yoervis Medina came in, but Jonny Gomes singled in another run to tie it. After Stephen Drew walked, Daniel Nava lined a ball over the center fielder’s head to win it.

The Seattle Mariners’ quick start lasted just half an inning.

SEATTLE – When the Mariners were in Cincinnati in early July, Reds manager Dusty Baker told Robby Thompson he thought he was ready to manage. The two have been close since Baker was Thompson’s hitting coach, and later his manager, with the Giants. Thompson, in fact, began his coaching career on Baker’s San Francisco staff in 2000 and 2001. Baker told Thompson in July he would be happy to help spread his name around the game as a managerial candidate.

SEATTLE – When the Mariners were in Cincinnati in early July, Reds manager Dusty Baker told Robby Thompson he thought he was ready to manage. The two have been close since Baker was Thompson’s hitting coach, and later his manager, with the Giants. Thompson, in fact, began his coaching career on Baker’s San Francisco staff in 2000 and 2001. Baker told Thompson in July he would be happy to help spread his name around the game as a managerial candidate. Thompson, who had been Eric Wedge’s bench coach in Seattle since his hiring in 2011, told Baker to hold off, for the time being. “I want to make sure I’m 100 percent in,” Thompson told Baker. “I don’t know how or when I’m going to know that, but I want to make sure I’m like you and Eric: All in.”

Nick Franklin homered twice, including a three-run shot, and Brad Miller had two hits and scored two runs in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. “They spark us up the middle defensively,” Mariners acting manager Robby Thompson said. “They spark us at the top of the order. It’s not often you see a couple guys come up from Triple-A and hit 1-2 in the order in a short period of time. They’ve done a great job for us.” Chris Colabello hit a two-run homer for the Twins, but Endy Chavez robbed him of a second one to keep Seattle close in the early innings.