Mariners 7, Jays 6
In a roller coaster of a game, Willie Bloomquist hit a first pitch gapper to score Raul Ibanez for the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as the Mariners beat the Jays 7-6 at Safeco.
With the starting staff banged up, Seattle had to use 6 pitchers to get the job done. Ryan Rowland-Smith, pitched three fabulous innings until Toronto got to him in the 4th with three runs. The M’s got two back in the bottom of the inning on a throwing error by starter Jesse Litsch scoring Adrian Beltre. Yuniesky Betancourt singled home Richie Sexson to score the second run to make it 3-2.
Roy Corcoran, and Litsch both pitched a scoreless 5th until the Jays got on Corcaran for three runs in the 6th. Greg Zaun singled in the inning scoring Vernon Wells, and Adam Lind had a 2 RBI double to make it 6-2. Luckily recent call up Cesar Jimenez came in and shut the door to end the inning.
It was at this point in the ballgame, the team showed what they are made of. The M’s chipped away at the lead with timely hitting and got some stellar bullpen work. Betancourt hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th to make it 6-3. Jimenez then worked through the 7th unscathed. In the bottom of the inning Beltre hit a two run homerun his 16th, scoring Jose Vidro to cut the lead to 6-5.
In the 8th, Arthur Rhodes got two outs, but gave up two hits. Sean Green replaced him and almost got burned moving runners to second and third with a wild pitch. But Green got Marco Scutaroto to strikeout looking to get out of the jam. With Mariners needing a run, Sexson hit his 10th homerun of the season, a solo shot to tie the game 6-6.
In a smart move, manager Jim Riggleman went right to Brandon Morrow in the top of the 9th. Morrow might be the most dominant reliever in the majors over the past month. Bombtrack continued his mastery striking out Alex Rios, and Wells. He then walked Lyle Overbay before he struck out Scott Rolen to end the inning. His stuff was just plain nasty.
Ibanez led off the bottom half with a big walk. Then Vidro moved him to second on a sacrifice. The Jays thought they were making a smart move by intentionally walking Beltre, to not only set up the double play possibility, but also to make a below average hitting Bloomquist beat them. The Jays went with Shawn Camp out of the pen for the right handed matchup. But, Willie Ballgame jumped right on the first pitch and nailed it to deep right center to clinch the win. Willie wanted to keep running because he still doesn’t have an extra base hit on the season, but i think he is happy with the single as he was mobbed by his teammates. Morrow (1-1) picked up his first win of the season.
What a huge “team” win in what has been a really tough season. From the bullpen being called on to step up, from the team coming from behind, Riggleman really has them playing some good team ball as of late. Tomorrow night will see Jarrod Washburn (3-7) against Dustin McGowan (6-6) at 7:10 PT
