BALTIMORE — It took some cross-country hustling and some sleepless nights, but Mike Carp's whirlwind journey to California to see his newborn daughter and then return to the East Coast on Monday was worth every ounce of energy it required.

"We were hoping she'd hold out for Anaheim or some stretch when I was on the West Coast," Carp said after Seattle's 3-1 defeat against the Orioles. "But she wanted to come and there was no stopping her. I got in about 10 o'clock (Saturday night) and there was no greater feeling in the world. There she was. She's mine."

This adventure started when his girlfriend in Long Beach, Calif., went into the hospital in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The baby — which they named Calais — was delivered a few minutes before the Mariners began their game at New York, a 1-0 victory in which Carp drove in the only run.

"It was a good day," he said. "Definitely a memorable one I'll never forget. I found out right before we took the field."

Carp hustled out of the ballpark after the game and caught a cab to the airport for a 6 p.m. flight. Carp got in Saturday night and stayed with the baby until Monday morning, when he caught a flight to Baltimore. Carp arrived about 5:15 and was in the lineup at first base, getting the Mariners' first hit in the fifth inning.

"She was good last night," he said. "I got about four hours of sleep and a couple hours on the plane today. It was enough. I rolled in about 5:15 or 5:20, ate some pregame and strapped it on, let's go.

"It's baseball. It's part of what we do. It's not like I've never done that in Triple A. I just treated it like one of those Colorado Springs days where you get in, go right into BP and it's game time."

Fortuitously, Carp won't have to wait long to again see his daughter, who was 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and 18 ¾ inches long at birth. The team heads to Anaheim after the game Wednesday for a weekend series with the Angels.

"Yeah, I'm excited," he said. "It was tough to leave this morning. I didn't want to let her go, especially when I was talking to her and she was trying to open her eyes. I was telling her goodbye and I'll see you in a couple days."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @StoneLarry.