By Robert Fachet
Washington Post Staff Writer
July 20, 1991

BALTIMORE, JULY 19 — Before a pitch was thrown, this was a night to remember for Cal Ripken and Chito Martinez. They embellished the occasion with home runs off hanging breaking balls that carried the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Ripken, playing his 1,500th consecutive game for the Orioles, rapped his 20th homer with a man aboard in the third inning to become the eighth player in major league history to hit 20 in each of his first 10 seasons.

The drive into the left field seats off right-hander Rich DeLucia's first pitch inspired the second prolonged standing ovation of the night from the crowd of 39,384, which initially saluted Ripken when he received the MVP trophy from the All-Star Game in a pregame ceremony.

"Without a doubt, this was a special night,"Ripken said."I try to downplay it and not get caught up in it, but the way the fans received me, I hold this night deep."

Martinez, playing his first game at Memorial Stadium, drove a 2-0 offering from DeLucia over the right field fence in the seventh inning for his third homer since he was called up from Class AAA Rochester July 5.

"It feels good to hit one my first game here,"said Martinez, who was a sophomore at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans when Ripken's streak began on May 30, 1982."I didn't know how long it would take. I'm glad to get it over with right away."

The Orioles' fastest game of the year — 2 hours 17 minutes — began in less-than-auspicious circumstances for the home club, which brought a three-game losing streak back from Kansas City, Mo., at 4 a.m. and skipped batting practice to get as much rest as possible before battling the 93-degree heat.

Seattle, an afternoon winner in Milwaukee Thursday, was better prepared. But the Mariners managed no more than one base runner an inning against right-hander Roy Smith, who lasted until the eighth and sat in the bathroom while Mike Flanagan and Gregg Olson mopped up. Seattle's lone run came on a sixth-inning homer by Edgar Martinez.

"Roy was sick two days in Kansas City with the flu," said Manager John Oates. "We flew him in early, but his stomach wasn't settled. I thought he'd lose it while he was on the mound; he thought he'd lose it the time he had to cover first.

"When Roy goes to the mound, I have confidence he won't beat himself. But in all honesty, if he was an 18-year-old high school kid right now he probably wouldn't be signed right now. He mixes speeds well and he's throwing well."

The Orioles proved strong defensively too. On consecutive plays in the fifth inning, left fielder Joe Orsulak banged off the wall as he caught Scott Bradley's fly and third baseman Leo Gomez made a bare-handed scoop of Omar Vizquel's bunt to get an eye-opening out at first.

It was a most welcome team answer to Oates's pregame challenge: "I'm anxious to see how the ballclub responds after a trip that was both physically tiring and mentally tiring, the way we let late leads slip away. Three games in this heat should be a good character builder for the club."

The leading character, of course, was Ripken, who matched legendary Lou Gehrig's feat of hitting a homer in the 1,500th game of his record 2,130-game streak.

Asked if he knew Gehrig had done it, Ripken replied: "I like to think of myself as a pretty good baseball fan. However, because of dealing with this situation, I've tried not to learn anything about Gehrig.

"I don't want to become obsessed with this streak. I don't want to change anything, so when Gehrig's name is brought up, I try not to think about it.

"All I was thinking about tonight was how thankful I am that I'm a baseball player, that I'm able to go out and do what I enjoy."

Oates said: "You run out of words after a while. I've been trying to think up something new and I even considered going to the library to look up quotes. I guess the greatest tribute is the fact that his peers recently voted him the best player in the major leagues this year. As far as I'm concerned, he's not only the best on the field, but off the field."