BALTIMORE - The bottom of the batting order is becoming troublesome for Scott Feldman.
And the rest of the Baltimore Orioles' pitchers Saturday night, for that matter.
Feldman managed to work his way around the first five Seattle hitters Saturday night despite a lack of control and the Mariners' aggressive attack. The other four spots became a source of frustration for Feldman and the Orioles, who lost 8-4 in front of 35,231 at Camden Yards.
Seattle flustered Feldman & Co. with a bottom line of Michael Morse, Justin Smoak, Michael Saunders, and Humberto Quintero. The Mariners' foursome combined to go 9 for 17 with three home runs, seven runs and seven RBIs. Seattle totaled 15 hits and left 16 men on base during the barrage.
Saunders had two homers and five RBIs batting in the No. 8 spot, and his second long ball was a two-run shot in the ninth that padded Seattle's lead.
"It's pretty basic. Just really falling behind on everybody and walking guys, just no command of the baseball," said Feldman, who fell to 2-3 since being acquired July 2 in a trade. "I've got a few days to get that ironed out. ... But when you're pitching behind and not hitting your spots, it makes pitching a lot tougher."
The Orioles (61-50) threatened in the late innings, cutting the lead to 6-4 in the seventh and getting the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth. Manny Machado doubled down the right-field line with two outs in the eighth for his 40th of the season, the most in the majors. Machado hadn't doubled since July 6.
Nick Markakis followed with a walk but Adam Jones flied to center to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Feldman didn't make it out of the fifth and he left two runners on base for T.J. McFarland. They didn't stay on for long - McFarland gave up a three-run home run to Saunders, who had struck out twice against Feldman, and the Mariners led 6-2.
It was Feldman's shortest outing with the Orioles and matched his second shortest of the season. He lost for the second consecutive start and fell victim to the bottom of an order once again - Boston's 7-8-9 hitters went 4 for 6 with three runs and three RBIs last Saturday in a 7-3 win against Feldman.
He lasted just 4 2-3 innings Saturday and gave up five runs on seven hits, and he had four of Baltimore's seven walks.
Smoak had three hits and reached base five times while Morse added two hits and two runs, and Quintero, the No. 9 batter, added a pair of hits.
"We were fortunate, they could have scored a lot more runs," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who wasn't in the dugout for the final few innings.
Showalter drew his second ejection of the season when home plate umpire Larry Vanover tossed him for arguing during Markakis' at-bat in the seventh inning.
"That wasn't what caused us to lose the game tonight," Showalter said. "There's plenty of things that can happen to offset that. I know my player pretty well. Nick doesn't argue unless he knows he's right. It was one pitch."
Morse delivered in the fifth with a two-out single to right that scored Kyle Seager and gave Seattle a 3-2 lead. Feldman walked Seager to open the frame and Seager stole second when Feldman struck out Raul Ibanez for the second out. Morse drove him in, however, and the Mariners (51-59) regained the lead.
Seattle's Erasmo Ramirez improved to 3-0 thanks to six innings and six strikeouts. Ramirez allowed four runs on four hits.
Machado led off the fourth with a home run to left field, his 10th of the season, and the game was tied at 2-2. Machado became the fifth Orioles player to reach double digits in homers this year.
Matt Wieters ended a 0 for 25 skid with a solo homer to right field in the second inning. The first-pitch blast tied the score at 1-1 and was Wieters' 15th homer of the year. It was also his first hit since July 25.
"I'd rather win," said Wieters, who went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a stolen base. "It feels good to swing but at the same time I'd rather go 0 for 4 and win."
Smoak waited on a Feldman curveball and drilled it over the scoreboard in right field for a solo homer and a 1-0 Mariners lead in the second inning. Smoak was hitting .333 vs. Feldman coming into Saturday before hitting his second career homer off the right-hander.
"Any time you don't feel like you're doing your job, it's disappointing," Feldman said. "But at the same time ... if you hang your head every time something doesn't go your way, you're not going to last too long in this game."
NOTE: The Orioles optioned pitcher Steve Johnson to Class-AAA Norfolk after the game, and a corresponding move will be made before Sunday's game.
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