John Halama stepped into the breach and bailed out Baltimore's rotation Tuesday night, when he pitched five innings and allowed two runs in a 14-4 win over Seattle. The Orioles scored nine runs in the ninth inning -- their highest-scoring inning of the season -- to salt away the game, but Halama's outing was more than an afterthought.

"I have no idea what I'm doing after this," Halama said. "I'm hoping I can get another start or finish off the season in the rotation. I don't know what's going to happen."

"All I can say is it was a good win for us. A lot of guys had big nights at the plate," added Corey Patterson, who reached base six times and scored twice. "John Halama started the game off well on short notice -- he's going to be a starter after coming out of the 'pen the whole year. I think it really all started with him tonight, shutting them down early, from the get-go."

It may have started with Halama, but it ended with a flourish. The O's went into the ninth clinging to a one-run lead, but they quickly built a bulge against Seattle relievers J.J. Putz and Jake Woods. Baltimore batted around and notched two extra-base hits. Ramon Hernandez hit a grand slam -- his second homer of the game -- and finished with seven RBIs.

"We needed to put a bunch of runs on the board and get ourselves a little confidence," said Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo. "We haven't been putting the game away like that, and there's been enough opportunities. Not to score nine runs, but to add two or three and get us into the bullpen [against] some guys we might be able to stretch it out on.

"It's good for the guys to get some hits and hopefully get us going a little bit more."

Halama hadn't started all season and hadn't pitched in a week, but he became Baltimore's best option on Monday, when scheduled starter Hayden Penn came down with appendicitis. Still, the Orioles stewed on things before choosing the veteran swingman, and he found out about his assignment less than 24 hours before he took the ball.

"Last night, before he left here, he was still in the clubhouse and I told him he had it," Perlozzo said. "He said, 'I'll give you everything I've got for as long as I've got it.' I said, 'That's good enough for me.'"

"I guess that's the thing of being in my situation," said Halama, who has 119 starts and 259 big-league games on his resume. "I can do so many different things, and I've done it over here. I've been put into situations with bases loaded and no outs -- which is a role I'd rather not be a part of -- but anytime I get the ball, I know what I'm trying to do.

"I'm just trying to get contact and get guys to put the ball in play on the ground."

Baltimore (21-25) staked its starter to a four-run lead in the first inning -- with a three-run homer from Hernandez standing as the key shot -- and Halama kept the Mariners (21-26) at bay. His biggest test came in the third, when Willie Bloomquist reached on a bang-bang play at first to lead off the inning. Two Seattle singles followed, loading the bases.

Halama seemed to be rattled, and he walked in a run on four pitches. Another run scored on a ground ball, but the Orioles escaped without further damage. Halama (3-1) needed just seven pitches to retire the side in the fourth inning, and he rallied after walking the leadoff batter in the fifth. He left after that -- with a three-run lead -- having allowed four hits.

"I'm pleased. I didn't get into any deep counts," Halama said. "I didn't get into pitch-count problems, so that was the biggest thing. I didn't want to jeopardize the bullpen."

Despite his success, the Orioles are undecided who will start the next time his rotation slot comes around. Perlozzo likely will choose between Halama and Adam Loewen, a highly touted rookie who made his big-league debut Tuesday night. Loewen got one out and faced four batters, and if he's still with the team Sunday, he'll likely get the nod.

Patterson hit a home run, two doubles and walked twice, but the game briefly turned on his glove. With no outs and a man on first in the eighth, the center fielder made a long run on a fly ball and was unable catch it. Adrian Beltre wound up at third base, but LaTroy Hawkins got two popups, and Chris Ray got four outs for his 11th save.

"I got lucky right there. But baseball's a complete circle," said Hawkins. "Corey ran a mile to get that ball and said, 'I don't know what happened,' but I said, 'That's all right, bro, you ran a long way to get that ball.' I just beared down and ended up getting two popups, and that helped."

So did the late-inning ambush, which turned Ray's outing into a 10-run save. Patterson reached base twice in the ninth and scored once, but Hernandez stole the headlines with his second homer. The four-run shot was the fourth grand slam of his career, and his RBI total tied a career high. It also was his fourth multi-homer game.

"Ramon's been outstanding all year long. He really has been, on both sides of the field," Perlozzo said. "He's been throwing people out and hitting very consistently. Tonight, he had a big night. [And] Corey's been coming on for a little while and is turning into a pretty darned good player."