Lopez, Johjima deliver as Seattle wins
Mariners rally in 8th, beat A’s for third straight win
OAKLAND, Calif. – It didn’t take long for Jose Lopez to find himself in a pressure situation.
An inning after entering for injured teammate Wladimir Balentien, Lopez hit a two-run double off Oakland Athletics closer Brad Zeigler in a four-run eighth inning to help the Seattle Mariners rally from two deficits for an 8-5 victory Saturday.
“I just wanted to get one run in somehow,” Lopez said. “I had a great swing and got the ball around on an inside strike.”
Kenji Johjima also had a two-run hit in the inning.
“We’ve seen him enough last year to know about him,” Lopez said of Zeigler. “When you’re on the bench, you have to be ready for anything.”
Balentien left the game with a sprained left wrist. He was injured diving for a ball in the bottom of the first but stayed in the game until after hitting in the sixth.
“It was painful when I swung the bat,” he said. “I told the trainer because I didn’t want to get worse.”
Russell Branyan homered and Franklin Gutierrez drove in two runs for the Mariners, who won their third straight. Mike Sweeney added an RBI single in the ninth.
Seattle’s eighth-inning rally began when Bobby Crosby, making his debut at third base, mishandled Sweeney’s grounder leading off. Adrian Beltre singled and Casilla walked Branyan to load the bases.
Ziegler took over and gave up Lopez’s two-run double and Johjima’s two-run single.
Miguel Batista (1-0) pitched two innings in relief of Felix Hernandez. Brandon Morrow recorded three outs for his second save, striking out Nomar Garciaparra to end the game.
Jack Cust hit a two-run homer and Landon Powell got his first major league hit, a two-run double for the A’s, who lost their second straight.
Santiago Casilla (0-1) allowed three runs – two earned – in one-plus innings.
Hernandez had his worst start against the A’s and allowed more than one run for the first time in one of his first two starts of a season. He gave up seven hits and five runs in five innings, walking two and striking out eight. Hernandez has beaten the A’s in six of his previous eight starts.
“I think his ankle was bothering him a little bit,” Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said. “You could see him favor it a little bit on a couple pitches. I don’t think it was a huge issue but it was enough to throw his mechanics off.”
A’s starter Josh Outman lasted 4 1/3 innings, yielding three runs on six hits.
Branyan hit a towering shot into the right-field bleachers with one out in the fourth for his second home run and the Mariners added two more runs in the fifth on Gutierrez’s two-run single to tie it 3-all.
Endy Chavez singled in the ninth and became the first Mariners player to hit safely in the first six games since Ichiro Suzuki opened the 2005 season with a seven-game streak.
Mariners 8, Athletics 5
| Seattle | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| EnChavez lf-rf | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .370 |
| FGutierrez cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .217 |
| MSweeney dh | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .235 |
| Beltre 3b | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .273 |
| Branyan 1b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .333 |
| Balentien rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .400 |
| JoLopez 2b | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
| Johjima c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .167 |
| Cedeno 2b-lf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .182 |
| YBetancourt ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .364 |
| Totals | 36 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Oakland | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| RSweeney cf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .318 |
| OCabrera ss | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .368 |
| Giambi 1b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .368 |
| Crosby 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Holliday lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .214 |
| Garciaparra 3b-1b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .211 |
| Cust dh | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .467 |
| TBuck rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .091 |
| Ellis 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 |
| Powell c | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
| Totals | 35 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| Seattle | 000 | 120 | 041—8 | 12 | 1 |
| Oakland | 030 | 020 | 000—5 | 9 | 1 |
E—JoLopez (1), Crosby (1). LOB—Seattle 5, Oakland 9. 2B—JoLopez (1), OCabrera (2), Powell (1). HR—Cust (1), off Hernandez; Branyan (2), off Outman. RBIs—FGutierrez 2 (5), MSweeney (1), Branyan (3), JoLopez 2 (6), Johjima 2 (3), OCabrera (2), Cust 2 (4), Powell 2 (2). CS—FGutierrez (1). S—FGutierrez. SF—OCabrera. GIDP—Cedeno, Ellis. RLSP—Seattle 2 (Beltre 2); Oakland 5 (Holliday, Garciaparra 2, Ellis, Powell). RMU—EnChavez. DP—Seattle 1 (JoLopez, Betancourt and Branyan); Oakland 1 (Crosby, Ellis and Garciaparra).
| Seattle | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| FHernandez | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 4.15 |
| Batista W,1-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| MLowe H,1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Morrow S,2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10.13 |
| Oakland | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| Outman | 4 1/3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6.23 |
| Wuertz | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Springer H,1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| SCasilla L,0-1 H,2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Ziegler BS,1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Gallagher | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 |
IR-S—Wuertz 2-0, Ziegler 3-3. HBP—by FHernandez (Holliday). WP—FHernandez, Outman. T—2:57. A—19,560 (35,067).