BALTIMORE -- What do you do when your lead evaporates? You build another one. The Orioles reacted in the best possible way to a Seattle comeback on Friday night, responding immediately to reassume control of the game. Baltimore loaded the bases in the sixth inning and scored two key runs -- one on a sacrifice fly and one on a passed ball -- to earn a 5-2 win.

"That's a sign of a team playing hard," said Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo. "These guys haven't quit all year long. I don't know how many games we've won when we've been down and came back, but to do it that quick is pretty good."

Despite the comeback win, the Orioles got some sobering news. Miguel Tejada injured himself in the fifth inning and left in the eighth, right after he'd homered to provide Baltimore's final run. The shortstop has played in 942 consecutive games -- the seventh-longest streak of all-time -- but may not be in the starting lineup Saturday.

"He came in in the eighth and we decided we might err on the side of caution -- get him out of there and get some ice on it," Perlozzo said. "He's got a little hyperextension right [in his left knee]. We'll check it out in the morning and see where we go."

"I'm going to play," said Tejada, who set a franchise record for the most hits (41) in April on Friday night. "I don't have anything broken back there. I'm going to be in the lineup. I hope the manager isn't worried tomorrow, because I'm hoping I'm going to be able to play at 100 percent. I'm going to try."

The Orioles (13-11) led from the first inning until the sixth, when Seattle's Jose Lopez broke up a shutout with a two-run homer. That was the only mistake for Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera, who gave up four hits and walked just one batter. Cabrera (2-2) entered the game as the Major League's leader in walks, but he kept Seattle (9-15) under control.

In fact, the pitcher who walked seven batters in one game and six in another seemed to be someone else entirely. Cabrera was pitching to the best of his abilities Friday night, and he faced just two batters over the minimum in the first five innings. The towering right-hander wouldn't say if it was his best start of the season, but it was certainly good enough to win.

"I think it's just a confidence factor for Daniel. We talked about that early on," Perlozzo said. "Mentally, when you don't have your control and you throw one ball -- and it might not be close -- you start to panic. If he gets out of the gate early and throws the ball over the plate, I think that's what gets him over the hump. I still feel those were aberrations, the major walks.

"He's going to walk some people. Power pitchers do anyway. He's a work in progress."

Cabrera doesn't buy into his manager's theory. The 24-year-old said that in terms of his psyche, he's the same every time he takes the mound.

"Why are you always asking about confidence?" he asked. "I have my confidence all the time. I try to go out there and do the best I can. Sometimes, I'll be good. Sometimes, I'll be bad."

At any rate, Cabrera struck out two batters in the first inning and seemed to have his best stuff early, and the Orioles helped him out by scoring two runs in the first two innings. The first run scored on an outfield error, and Corey Patterson accounted for the second run with a solo homer high off the left-field foul pole.

Baltimore's center fielder has six hits in his last two games, raising his season average more than 100 points (from .156 to .275). He also has two bunt singles in that span, using his speed to augment his batting stroke.

"I think it's helped me out tremendously," said Patterson, talking about the bunts. "And even if I don't quite get on base, at least I know I'm seeing the ball off the bat. This season, so far, the ones I've put in play, I've been successful getting on base, which is great. I'll just keep working at it, and if you can get the infield to play in, maybe ... I can get the ball up the middle."

"When I talked to him, I told him, 'Just have some good at-bats.' We worked on some bunting and he ends up with another base hit bunt," Perlozzo said. "Those are good for your psyche when you're trying to get your average back up. It doesn't matter whether you break a bat or bloop one over there -- it's still a hit.

"That's what he's doing. He's making some progress for us."

Seattle starter Gil Meche (1-2) came back for the sixth, right after his team had tied the game, but didn't last long. The O's loaded the bases on a hit batsman and two consecutive singles. Situational southpaw George Sherrill came in and got a strikeout and gave up a sacrifice fly, then Julio Mateo threw an errant pitch to score another run.

That was the key rally, and Tejada sealed things with his solo homer in the eighth. Baltimore reliever LaTroy Hawkins pitched the eighth and handed the ball to Chris Ray, who locked things down for his seventh save in seven opportunities. That was a return to form for Ray, who gave up three runs in a non-save situation on Thursday night.

"He was a little rusty last night. There's no question," said Perlozzo. "He came back, settled down [and] pitched the ball well just like we expected him to. He's going to be OK."