SEATTLE - Rafael Palmeiro is poised to cement his place in baseball history, yet there he was Thursday right along with everyone else, marveling about the numbers he's put up.

The Baltimore slugger needs one hit to reach 3,000 after going 1-for-3 with a single and a walk Thursday night in a 5-3 victory over Seattle. With 566 home runs already in 20 major league seasons, he'll join Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

And Palmeiro still can't believe it.

"You're talking about some of the greatest guys of all time," he said in the visitors' dugout at Safeco Field. "I'm not sure my name should be mentioned with those guys."

But those numbers will carry the Cuban-born Palmeiro into the Hall of Fame - probably on the first ballot - after a career in which he rarely was considered the best player on his own team and never played, at least thus far, in the World Series.

"I've been lucky to play on some good teams," he said. "I haven't been lucky enough to play on a great team. Maybe this will turn out to be the one this year."

He had plenty of momentum at the plate going into the All-Star break. Palmeiro hit safely in 19 of 25 games, batting .308 with seven homers and 18 RBIs during that span. He homered in three straight games, too.

"Very impressive," Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said. "He's been consistent his entire career. He's stayed away from injuries."

Palmeiro came to the right place to make history. His 51 home runs against the Mariners are his most against any opponent, and his 224 hits off Seattle pitchers rank second to his 228 hits against the Angels.

"Just the way the game is," Palmeiro said. "Certain teams, you do well against. Certain teams, you don't."

The milestone is all but certain. Fifteen times, Palmeiro has played a four-game series against Seattle. Only once, from Sept. 18-21, 1989, has he failed to get at least two hits.

He's not about to dwell on it. Palmeiro always has been quiet, preferring to put in his work and let flashier teammates do the talking.

"I'm really more focused on the game, the first game of the second half," Palmeiro said. "We're two games back. I'll get those two hits eventually. I'm not nervous about that at all."