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BAL@CWS: Rookie Britton improves to 5-1 for the Birds

Seattle left-hander Jason Vargas is coming off his best start of the year. Rookie southpaw Zach Britton has been consistently solid all season for Baltimore.

When the Mariners venture to Camden Yards for Thursday's finale of the three-game set against the Orioles, both lefties will try to keep the good vibes going.

Vargas gained momentum with a sterling effort against the defending American League champion Texas Rangers in his last start, pitching 7 2/3 innings, giving up one run on six hits, and earning his second victory of the year after losing nine in a row over a 13-game period dating back to last year.

"You see Vargas topping out at 88 [mph], but executing each pitch," Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan said. "He's so money, dotting his pitches. That cutter he was throwing in on righties, you could see how uncomfortable they were. And they couldn't sit on one pitch because he was throwing all of them on both sides of the plate.

"That's as good a game as you can throw, I think, against that lineup."

Britton, meanwhile, has been brilliant and has put himself squarely in the AL Rookie of the Year discussion. He'll be making his first start against Seattle, and he said right now his focus is on continuing to build the stamina to go deep into games, and deep into the season.

"Just maintain my health and go out there for the team every time I'm scheduled to pitch," Britton said. "Log as many innings as they're going to allow me to log this season. My goal is 200 innings, if not more, and I feel like I can do that."

And how will he accomplish that?

"It's the stuff you do in between your start days," Britton said. "Making sure that you're doing the right conditioning and making sure your mechanics are we they need to be so when you are in the game you're locked in and ready to go."

Mariners: Ichiro an Oriole-buster
Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-5 on Wednesday night and has the highest career batting average vs. Baltimore in history with a minimum of 150 plate appearances. Ichiro is batting .367 (148-for-403) with 72 runs scored, 18 doubles, five triples, eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 95 career games vs. the Orioles. Ichiro also has recorded a hit in 38 of his last 40 games against Baltimore and is a career .387 (77-for-199) hitter at Camden Yards, including a current 14-game hitting streak.

• Outfielder Ryan Langerhans has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Tacoma. Langerhans was designated for assignment on Monday to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Mike Wilson. Langerhans hit .173 (9-for-52) with three home runs and six RBIs for the Mariners this year.

• Vargas is making his fifth career start vs. the Orioles. The lefty is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in four outings against Baltimore.

Orioles: Big bats slumping
Second baseman Brian Roberts is hitless in his last 26 at-bats dating back to last Wednesday at Kansas City. Roberts has just one hit in his last 34 at-bats (.029) since May 1. Third baseman Mark Reynolds has nine hits in his last 71 at-bats (.127), and five RBIs in his last 23 games. First baseman Derrek Lee has three hits in his last 27 at bats (.111).

• Outfielder Nick Markakis, who missed Wednesday's game with a flu-like virus, has recorded a base hit in 151 consecutive series, the longest such streak in the Majors. Markakis has had a hit in each series since being held hitless in a three-game series (he played in two of the games) by Tampa Bay from May 23-25, 2008.

• Outfielder Luke Scott is batting .316 (18-for-57) with three doubles, four homers, nine runs scored and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games. Scott has an extra-base hit in six of his last 13 contests and has homered in four of those games.

Worth noting
• The Mariners are 15-10 when the starting pitcher lasts at least six innings, but they are 1-11 when the starter does not complete six innings. The Mariners also are 13-8 when the starter records a quality start.

• Orioles infielder Robert Andino has reached base safely in 17 of his last 19 games. After starting the year 0-for-11 with one walk, Andino has 18 hits and nine walks in his last 67 trips to the plate.

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