A couple of weeks ago, most fans were on a wave of excitement as the Orioles were hot, Luke Scott was hitting homers like there was no tomorrow, and the kids from Norfolk were going to be all right. However, after starting play on the West Coast and coming home, the Orioles have struggled to score runs, and the affliction caught up with them again as former Oriole Garrett Olson and resurgent bat of Russell Branyan led Seattle over Baltimore, 6-3.

Koji Uehara -- who just came off the disabled list and started the game for Baltimore -- was solid for the first two innings; however, after a rain delay of a little less than half an hour, everything changed. He would give up three runs in the third inning, and another in the fifth to take the loss on the night.

Meanwhile, Olson, the young southpaw who was dealt in the offseason, looked like the pitcher who got exiled from Baltimore early as he gave up two runs -- off a Luke Scott two-run homer (his 14th) -- to put them up 2-0. It looked for sure that Olson was going to struggle, but after the delay -- unlike Uehara -- he was effective and looked in control as he gave up two runs in his five innings of work for the win.

The Seattle Mariners took advantage of their opportunities to score, while Baltimore struggled again with men in scoring position -- they were 0 for 7. Russell Branyan, who with regular playing time has become an out of this world slugger, was the hero of the game for the Mariners as he had two hits -- including a solo home run in the seventh off Brian Bass -- and drove in three runs.

With the loss, the Orioles are now 10 games under .500, and the summer is getting off to a poor start. One has to wonder -- despite his salary -- is Koji Uehara better suited for the bullpen in a relief role, since it looks like he hits a wall in his second/third time around the order. I don't know if Uehara needs more rest, conditioning, or has some ill effects from his hamstring injury, but he seems to do well in spurts at the start off a game, and then levels off.

Matt Wieters didn't play last night, and while he's batting .229, it now looks like he's starting to hit the ball with a little mroe authority and learning the nuances of major league pitching; therefore, folks, he'll be fine and hit. Speaking on the topic of Matt, I guess after the road trip and Wieters hype, things returned back to a sad state of normal at Camden Yards.

The weather was terrible, and I was considering making it up the Yard for a game, but it was awful; however, one would think attendance should have been better than it was for the Seattle series?

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