SEATTLE Olerud's game-winning hit leaves Orioles feeling blue

The Mariners showed off their little-used navy jerseys during the 3-2 win.
SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seattle Mariners might show off their dark navy jerseys more often, especially if that's what it takes to keep John Olerud and his teammates on a roll.
Olerud's two-run single capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning Friday and gave the Mariners a thrilling 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mariners, wearing their rarely used navy jerseys instead of the usual whites, won for only the second time in 10 games. If Seattle reaches the playoffs, Olerud's hit will almost certainly be remembered as a turning point.
"We'll see. I hope so," said Olerud, the team's most understated player. "We want to get this turned around as soon as possible, get on a good winning streak. Hopefully, it's a game that turns things around."
The victory was a huge emotional lift for the Mariners, who led the AL West all summer but were overtaken by Oakland in the past week. They trail the Athletics by two games in the division.
"We got it when we needed it," outfielder Mike Cameron said. "We finally got it done. It was a very big victory."
In the hunt
Seattle is a half-game behind Boston in the wild-card race, and the Mariners were poised to fall further back when Baltimore rookie Eric DuBose -- making his fifth major league start -- took a one-hit shutout into the ninth.
DuBose, a lefty, looked like a veteran, using a slow-breaking curve reminiscent of the stuff thrown by Seattle's crafty Jamie Moyer. Until the ninth, he faced only three over the minimum.
"That guy threw more changeups than Jamie Moyer," Cameron said. "He was very good. We hadn't seen him before and he did a very good job."
Jay Gibbons and Tony Batista homered to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead, and DuBose looked great. He walked two and struck out three, holding Seattle to Dan Wilson's third-inning double until the ninth.
"It was a picture-perfect game through eight innings," said DuBose, who started the ninth by giving up a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki and walking Cameron.
Pulling ahead
Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove wasn't going to let DuBose face the winning run, so he turned to reliever Jorge Julio (0-6) to face Edgar Martinez. The veteran designated hitter singled up the middle, scoring Suzuki.
Pinch-runner Mark McLemore stole second and, after Bret Boone struck out, the Orioles intentionally walked Carlos Guillen. Lefty B.J. Ryan came in to pitch to the left-handed hitting Olerud.
He grounded to second baseman Brian Roberts, but the ball rolled past for the winning hit.
"If he catches it, it's a double-play ball," Olerud said. "Over the course of this streak, anytime a play could go either way it seems it's gone the other way. It's nice to get a break."
Hargrove called it "a tough play" but said it should have been made. Roberts felt the ball "might have skipped a little."
"It's a play you get once or maybe twice a year," Roberts said. "You've just got to put your glove where you hope it's going to go. If it's not there, then you're in trouble."
Cameron came in from third and McLemore raced home from second as the Mariners and the fans celebrated.
"The ninth inning was euphoria," Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. "You can't get a bigger contrast between what happened for the first eight innings and then the ninth inning."
Mariners reliever Rafael Soriano (3-0) replaced Ryan Franklin in the eighth. Franklin, though, made a key contribution by suggesting the Mariners wear their dark jerseys to kick-start the team.
"We might do that again," Melvin said.
Notes
Gibbons snapped an 0-for-13 skid with his homer.
Boone made an error on the first play of the game, the eighth time in 10 games Seattle has committed one. They're on pace for 63 errors.
DuBose almost had the 32nd one-hitter in Orioles history. The last was by Mike Mussina on Aug. 1, 2000, against the Twins.