BALTIMORE (AP) -- As usual, the Baltimore bullpen squandered a late lead. This time, the Orioles managed to win anyway.

Give Cal Ripken credit for the save.

	Cal Ripken is met by his teammates at home plate after hitting a two-run homer in the ninth to beat Seattle.

Ripken hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth after Mike Timlin gave away the lead in the top of the inning, and the Orioles ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the Seattle Mariners 4-2 Tuesday night.

Ripken's shot off Jose Mesa (2-3) enabled Baltimore to salvage only its third win in 18 games.

"A win is a win and we'll take it," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "We've lost too many like this in the past three weeks."

Albert Belle singled leading off the ninth, and Harold Baines hit a fly ball before Ripken lined a 2-0 pitch deep to left, his eighth homer of the season.

"Jose Mesa throws 96 mph. I faced him a lot in my career and he's always been a tough guy to face," Ripken said. "But I felt good seeing the ball all night and I was able to see a ball I could hit."

Brady Anderson and Harold Baines also homered for the Orioles, whose bullpen has blown a major league-high 13 save opportunities.

"To come back the way we did, I think it showed a lot of character," Hargrove said. "And of course, Cal being Cal."

It was the fourth time in his career, and the second time this season, that Ripken has won a game with a game-ending home run.

Jay Buhner's two-run homer off Timlin (1-1) set the stage for Ripken's heroics. Seattle's Rickey Henderson drew his 2,000th career walk in the ninth, joining Babe Ruth and Ted Williams as the only players in baseball history with that many.

Baltimore starter Pat Rapp allowed four hits and three walks in seven shutout innings and left with a 2-0 lead. But he was deprived of his first win since April 25 when the Orioles' bullpen once again failed.

"It's just something we've been going through all year. We're fortunate that Cal picked us up," Rapp said.

Thanks in part to an ineffective relief corps, Baltimore starters have only one win since April 29.

After Jason Johnson blanked Seattle in the eighth, Timlin promptly gave the lead away. Edgar Martinez singled and Buhner drove an 0-2 pitch into the left-field seats.

"I came back to the dugout and asked them to pick me up," Timlin said. "That's what they did."

It was the fifth blown save for the Mariners, the second by Mesa in three opportunities.

"I don't want to talk about our closer situation," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said.

Anderson led off Baltimore first by hitting the first pitch from Gil Meche over the wall in center. It was his 39th career homer leading off a game, second on the career list behind Henderson (77).

Baines hit his fourth homer leading off the second. Meche buckled down after that, allowing only one runner past second base before leaving after seven innings.

"Rapp threw well, and so did Meche," Piniella said. "What are you going to do?

Game notes
Anderson has six multihit games in his last seven starts. ... Despite the walk, Henderson went 0-for-4. ... The Orioles ended a six-game losing streak at home. ... Seattle is 15-32 lifetime at Camden Yards. ... Seattle's Alex Rodriguez singled in the eighth to stretch his hitting streak to 17 games.