M’s fall to D’rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Kevin Witt led minor leaguers with 36 homers at Triple-A Durham this season. The 30-year old journeyman proved Sunday he can go deep in the big leagues, too.
Witt hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning, leading the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
“Maybe it’s a sign of good things to come,” said Witt, who has two homers in 24 at-bats with the Devil Rays.
Witt signed as a minor league free agent during the offseason after playing in Japan last year. He last played in the majors with Detroit in 2003 before being called up from Durham on Aug, 24.
“He’s a pro,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s wonderful to have in this clubhouse. I felt good about him in that situation. That was a very big moment for us.”
Ty Wigginton and Greg Norton each hit two-run homers for the Devil Rays, who are 16-32 since the All-Star break.
Tampa Bay has 163 homers this season, one more than the old team record of 162 set in 2000.
Brian Meadows (3-5) threw two scoreless innings, and Seth McClung pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Willie Bloomquist walked with one out and stole second, but McClung got Ichiro Suzuki to fly out and struck out Chris Snelling to end it.
With the Devil Rays trailing 6-4, Delmon Young singled, moved to second on Carl Crawford’s groundout and took third one out later on a wild pitch by Felix Hernandez.
After Wigginton walked on a full count, Witt hit the first pitch from Hernandez (11-13) for an opposite-field homer.
“I just tried to make a pitch down and away, and he put a good swing on it,” Hernandez said through a translator. “I think it was up. As soon as he hit it, I didn’t feel like it was a home run. The ball kept carrying and carrying and carrying and went out of the ballpark.”
Ben Broussard and Yuniesky Betancourt homered during a four-run fifth for Seattle, which had snapped a 12-game road losing streak Saturday.
Broussard hit a two-run homer and Betancourt had a solo shot in a span of three pitches off reliever Chad Orvella, helping Seattle take a 6-2 lead. Orvella allowed four runs and three hits without recording an out.
Norton cut the Tampa Bay deficit to 6-4 in the sixth.
Hernandez gave up seven runs, 10 hits, one walk and had seven strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.
Roster expansion
The Mariners announced they will recall outfielder Adam Jones and infielder Greg Dobbs from Triple-A Tacoma, along with six others Friday – after the minor league season ends.
The Mariners also will call up right-hander Francisco Cruceta, left-hander Cesar Jimenez, outfielder T.J. Bohn, and infielder Oswaldo Navarro from Tacoma; and right-hander Travis Chick and lefty Ryan Feierabend from Double-A San Antonio.
Jones hit .208 (15-for-72) with one homer, six RBIs and three stolen bases in 25 games earlier this season. Dobbs hit .294 (5-for-17) with two RBIs in 13 games, while Bohn was 1 for 7 in five games in late-August.
Good news, bad news
Ichiro tied a team record – held by Julio Cruz – with his 32nd consecutive successful stolen-base attempt when he stole second in the seventh after reaching on a fielder’s choice. However, Ichiro went 0 for 6, dropping his average from .320 to .317, and went 3 for 15 in the series.
It was the fifth time in his career that he has gone hitless in a game with six or more at-bats.