BALTIMORE -- Bob Melvin isn't much for souvenir collecting, yet he was delighted to pocket a keepsake from his 100th victory as a major league manager.
Maybe it's because he had to wait nearly a week to get it.
Dan Wilson homered in the fourth inning and drove in the tiebreaking run in the seventh, and the Seattle Mariners snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Baltimore Orioles 7-5 Tuesday night.
Melvin improved to 100-82 since taking over as manager of the Mariners last year. Even though he was stuck on 99 wins for six days, no one in franchise history has reached the 100-win mark quicker.
"Ah, those big round numbers. I don't have a shrine at home with a bunch of different things. I don't even know where my first hit ball is," he said. "But I do have my first win ball, from last year at Oakland, and this is 100, so I'll keep this one, too."
John Olerud had three of Seattle's 13 hits, and the Mariners improved to 1-11 when allowing five or more runs in a game. The marathon featured 375 pitches and lasted 3 hours, 46 minutes, but no one in the Seattle clubhouse was complaining.
"Every win is big, but it just feels good to come away from this game with a win," Wilson said. "We battled, we fought, we scratched and clawed, and to come away from that one with a win feels good."
Rafael Palmeiro and Larry Bigbie homered, and Brian Roberts had three hits for the Orioles, who have lost a season-high three straight.
Baltimore rallied from a 5-2 deficit, but had nothing left after pulling even in the sixth.
"There are just so many times you can come back," manager Lee Mazzilli said. "We kept fighting, but came up short."
With the score 5-all in the seventh, Rich Aurilia drew a two-out walk from Rodrigo Lopez (1-1). Buddy Groom then gave up a single to Olerud, and Wilson followed with an RBI single off Mike DeJean. Jolbert Cabrera made it 7-5 with a single up the middle.
Ron Villone (2-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings and Eddie Guardado, the sixth Seattle pitcher, got four outs for his third save. He retired Javy Lopez in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs.
Seattle starter Gil Meche labored through three innings in which he gave up two runs and four hits and walked three. He threw 87 pitches.
But he was better than Orioles starter Matt Riley, who allowed nine hits -- eight in a stretch of nine batters -- before being yanked in the fourth.
"I've got to make some adjustments," Riley said. "It's definitely mechanical. I'm falling off the mound, not following through on my pitches. It's terrible."
The Mariners scored four in the fourth to go up 5-2. After Wilson hit a leadoff homer, Cabrera doubled and Ichiro Suzuki hit an RBI single. Scott Spiezio then chased Riley with a single, and Suzuki scored on a passed ball before Edgar Martinez hit a run-scoring groundout.
Miguel Tejada hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom half, but Melvin Mora was thrown out at second on the play to end the inning.
"That will be addressed," Mazzilli said, tersely.
Mora made amends in the sixth. After Bigbie hit a solo homer, Roberts doubled and Mora singled in a run to tie the game for the last time.
The Orioles opened the scoring in the first when Meche walked Jay Gibbons with the bases loaded to force in a run.
Seattle drew even in the third when Raul Ibanez hit an RBI single, but the tie lasted only until Palmeiro connected on Meche's first pitch in the bottom half. It was his third homer of the year and 49th of his career against the Mariners, the most against any team.
Notes
- Seattle improved to 2-8 when scoring at least five runs.
- After the start of the game was delayed by rain for 29 minutes, Riley failed to throw a strike until his seventh pitch.
- No one has hit more homers against the Mariners than Palmeiro.
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