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BALTIMORE -- Adam Lind got back to the third-base dugout and just shook his head after he put his bat in the rack near manager Scott Servais. The Seattle first baseman had just been retired on a flyball near the warning track that center fielder Adam Jones had no trouble putting away in the fourth inning.
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Lind could be excused for being perplexed against Baltimore right-handed pitcher Tyler Wilson, who hardly throws fast enough to put fear in opposing hitters. But Lind was shaking the hands of teammates after his next at-bat, as he lofted a three-run homer to left off Wilson (2-2) in the sixth and the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 on Thursday afternoon.
"I had seen all of his pitches. It was a full count and I at least wanted to get the ball in the air," said Lind, who didn't think the ball was a homer when it left his bat. "I put a good swing on it."
Orioles manager Buck Showalter also didn't think Lind got enough of it.
"Flyball to left," Showalter said what went through his mind. "The ball was carrying."
Lind began the season in a funk but has now hit in six games in a row.
"I feel I'm making progress. I am trying to make good contact," said Lind, who is hitting .224.
It was the third homer of the season for Lind, who hit a career-high 35 in 2009 for the Toronto Blue Jays and 20 last year for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Mariners (23-17) took two of three in the series while Baltimore (24-15) lost a home series for the first time this season.
"We always want that to be newsworthy," Showalter said.
Nathan Karns (4-1), in his fifth career start against the Orioles, allowed just one run and four hits with five strikeouts in five innings before Nick Vincent took over in the sixth.
Karns got the best of Wilson, who gave up six hits and five runs in six innings.
"His command wasn't what he is capable of," Showalter said.
Vidal Nuno got the last out in the seventh for the Mariners. Joaquin Benoit, who came off the disabled list Tuesday, allowed an RBI groundout to Adam Jones in the eighth with the bases loaded to make it 5-2 before getting Chris Davis to fly out to end the frame.
"We had a shot there with the bases loaded," Showalter said.
Leonys Martin (two hits) added insurance for Seattle with a two-run homer in the ninth off Dylan Bundy to give the Mariners a 7-2 lead and sidearmer Steve Cishek pitched the ninth to close out the game.
"We have to fight every game," Martin said of his team's ability on the road. The Mariners are now 15-7 away from home.
Seth Smith of Seattle had a two-out single to left in the fifth to drive in Ketel Marte (two hits) to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
Baltimore's Pedro Alvarez, hitting .198 at game time, had a RBI double off the wall in right with two outs in the second to tie the game at 1-1.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by former Oriole Nelson Cruz, in his first career at-bat against Wilson.
Wilson, in his fifth start of the year and 10th of his career, entered the game with an ERA of 2.93 this season but appeared to labor in the sixth before Lind went deep.
Karns has allowed just one run in his last three starts against Baltimore. Mark Trumbo had two hits for the Orioles, who are 17-8 at home.
"It is a process," Karns said of being with his third team. "Being traded once prior to being traded here prepared me. I knew how to start all over again. I was pretty familiar with the AL East. For me I want to keep track of hitters' characteristics and build off it. I try to pay attention to scouting reports in meetings."
NOTES: The Mariners will begin a series on Friday in Cincinnati with RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (1-4, 4.38 ERA) going against Reds RHP Dan Straily (2-1, 3.05). ... The Orioles and RHP Mike Wright (2-3, 5.20) begin a three-city road trip on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels and LHP Hector Santiago (3-2, 3.42). ... Seattle RHP Steve Johnson is a former Baltimore pitcher who went to St. Paul's High in Brooklandville, Md. His father, Dave, also pitched for the Orioles and is a long-time broadcaster who covers the Orioles. ... Seattle C Steve Clevenger, in the starting lineup Thursday, is a Baltimore native and former catcher for the Orioles. He said he left about 10 tickets for the Wednesday game.
