73).ddddddddddddAfter posting a minus-74 run differential prior to the All-Star break -- the worst mark in the American League, the Rays entered the series with Houston with the second-best run differ

SEATTLE -- All the reports from the minors said Mike Zunino was making the changes the Seattle Mariners wanted to see. His power was still there, but the strikeouts were down and the pitch recognition was improved.Now back in the majors, Zunino provided a promising glimpse on Saturday night of what the Mariners hope is an improved version of the former first-round pick.Zunino homered twice in his first game of the season, Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith both hit three-run home runs, and the Mariners slugged past the Baltimore Orioles 12-6 on Saturday night.Adam Lind had four hits including a solo homer as the Mariners won for the sixth time in eight games and took their third straight from the AL East leading Orioles.Its always exciting to get back. Obviously how last year ended isnt how you write it up. Theres been a lot of work put into it and just to get the opportunity to come back and do that, that was a lot of fun, Zunino said. To come in and have that type of game was even better.Cruz staked Seattle to a 3-0 lead with his 21st homer of the season in the first inning off Baltimore starter Tyler Wilson (4-6) and Zunino extended it to 5-0 in the second on a two-run shot in his first at-bat of the season after being called up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier this week.Zunino, a former first-round pick by the Mariners, was rushed to the majors early in his career and his hitting suffered, bottoming out last year when he hit .174 in 112 games. Seattle spent the offseason retooling Zuninos approach at the plate, but the goal was to keep him at Triple-A for most of the season.When backup catcher Steve Clevenger suffered a broken bone in his hand earlier this week, a move needed to be made and Zunino was the obvious choice. He lined a 1-2 curveball from Wilson out in the second inning then drove the first pitch from reliever Mychal Givens in the sixth.Perhaps most impressive of his three times on base, Zunino walked in the eighth laying off borderline pitches he went after in the past.Its not easy to go back to the minor leagues and work on things and have a good attitude about it, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. Happy for him and a big night no doubt. Wasnt expecting two home runs but well take it.Cruzs homer was estimated at 459 feet and landed above the bullpens in deep left-center and the five home runs helped Seattle move into second in the majors with 122, trailing only Baltimore.Smith ended Wilsons night with a three-run shot in the fourth, getting the green light on a 3-0 pitch for his ninth homer of the season. It was Smiths third straight game with a home run and he finished with four RBI.I dont swing 3-0 very often but sometimes you want to take a chance and see what happens, Smith said.Wilson failed to record an out in the fourth before getting pulled. It was his shortest outing of the season as a starter.Hes not as quite as crisp as he was . Hes just not carrying the same crispness he had earlier in the season, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.The offensive outburst gave leeway for Seattle starter James Paxton when he struggled in the later innings. Paxton (2-3) was dominant for four innings, but couldnt make it out of the sixth after allowing five base runners in the inning. Tom Wilhelmsen got a pop out from Adam Jones with the bases loaded to escape the sixth.Chris Davis had three RBI, including a two-run homer in the seventh off reliever Nathan Karns.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: Showalter sounded pessimistic that RHP Darren ODay (hamstring) would be able to throw a bullpen session when the Orioles are in Los Angeles early next week. ODays been on the disabled list since June 3.Mariners: LHP Charlie Furbush threw a simulated game as he continues his recovery from shoulder problems. Furbush will likely be sent out on a rehab assignment soon.UP NEXTOrioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) goes for his third straight victory. Jimenez gave up one run in five innings in his last start against San Diego.Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6) starts the finale of the four-game series. Iwakuma threw 6 2/3 innings in his last start to get the win. Cheap Air Max Tn China .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Discount Air Max . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. http://www.airmaxwholesaleforsale.com/air-max-720-wholesale.html . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Cheap Nike Tn Shoes Wholesale . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Air Max 97 Sale . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. HOUSTON -- Astros right-hander Mike Fiers delivered a performance Friday night emblematic of the inconsistencies plagued Houston starters of late.Undone by three wild pitches -- two of which led directly to runs, Fiers blew a 3-0 lead and did not factor in the decision in the Astros 5-4 victory over the Rays.Fiers hasnt recorded wins in consecutive starts since mid-June, but with Collin McHugh and Doug Fister and rookie Joe Musgrove alternating strong starts with poor ones, Fiers isnt alone riding the roller coaster of varying results for the Astros (67-61).I think its just about making pitches in this league, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of the variance in the performances of his starters. Its a tough league, its a smaller margin for error. I think its just rigors of the schedule and rigors of the season and the difficulty of putting five starters out there every day. Weve had some inconsistencies.Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (8-12, 4.64 ERA) makes his seventh career start against the Rays on Saturday. He is 0-4 with a 5.11 ERA against Tampa Bay.Keuchel allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over five innings in a 5-0 loss to the Rays on June 12 at Tropicana Field. In his last start, Keuchel tossed eight innings and allowed two runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in a 5-3 victory over Baltimore on Sunday.The entire second half of the season has represented a turnarround for the Rays (54-73).ddddddddddddAfter posting a minus-74 run differential prior to the All-Star break -- the worst mark in the American League, the Rays entered the series with Houston with the second-best run differential in the majors since the break and it stands at plus-56 after Fridays game.Were very happy with the performance from our pitching staff (and) the way weve gone out and defended, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. We had stretches last year where we were a really good club but we fell short. This year it went the other way where we struggled early but we seem to be playing better baseball now. Somehow Ive got to find a way where we play that type of style of baseball throughout the course of a full season.Left-hander Blake Snell (4-6, 3.17 ERA) makes his first career appearance against the Astros on Saturday. Snell has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts, the longest such streak by a rookie in franchise history. Snell is 3-3 during that stretch, lowering his season ERA by 0.69.Snell issued a career-high five walks in his last start against the Red Sox on Monday, failing to work five innings for the second time in three appearances. While Snell was lifted after 3 2/3 innings, he also failed to get any run support for the fifth time in 13 career starts. ' ' '