M’s show pop

SEATTLE – Jose Lopez hit two home runs – one in each of Seattle’s two five-run innings – and Rob Johnson added his first career home run as the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 10-8 Friday night.

Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki also added another milestone to his impressive resume as the Mariners won for just the second time in the last 16 games.

Lopez hit a three-run shot in the third, capping Seattle’s first five-run inning. His shot into the Oakland bullpen just eluded the glove of leaping Oakland left fielder Travis Buck, who twice in the inning came up short diving for sinking flies.

After Oakland took a 6-5 lead in the top of the fifth, Lopez opened the bottom of the inning with a solo shot that also landed in the A’s bullpen. It was Lopez’s second career multihomer game. He was intentionally walked in the sixth.

Johnson capped Seattle’s second five-run inning with a two-run shot off Oakland reliever Jerry Blevins. Luis Valbuena also had three hits and an RBI for Seattle.

Ichiro matched Lou Gehrig’s major league record with his eighth season of at least 200 hits and 100 runs. Ichiro scored for the 100th time in the third inning on Raul Ibanez’s RBI single. He has 210 hits. Gehrig reached those benchmarks in 1927-28, 1930-32, 1934 and 1936-37.

The offensive outburst made a winner of Brandon Morrow, who was all over the strike zone in his final appearance of the season. Making just his fifth start, Morrow threw a career-high 114 pitches and matched his highs with five walks and eight strikeouts.

Morrow (3-4) also allowed a solo homer to Jack Cust in the second and a three-run shot to Buck with two out in the fourth. Buck added an RBI single in the eighth as well.

But the hard-throwing Morrow, who made the transition to being a starter in early August, came up with key strikeouts with runners in scoring position in the second and fifth innings. He allowed six runs in five innings.

Roy Corcoran pitched the ninth for his third save in six chances.

GMs being interviewed

Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said his team is vetting a wide range of general manager candidates, pointedly leaving open the possibility of hiring the first female GM in major league history.

Highly regarded is Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng, 39, who has had her job for seven seasons and was a top adviser to the Yankees before that.

Bedard surgery goes well

The Mariners got some good news when surgery on the left shoulder of pitcher Erik Bedard revealed no tears in the labrum or rotator cuff.

Dr. Lewis Yocum removed a cyst from Bedard’s pitching shoulder and performed minor cutting away of tissue on the labrum.

Normal recovery time is about six months. Bedard has been on the disabled list since July 10.