M’s Fister silences A’s
Sweeney’s hit propels Seattle
SEATTLE – Mike Sweeney followed a two-out error with a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 Thursday night.
Doug Fister (3-4) went seven innings, allowing five hits and a run for his first win since Sept. 1.
David Aardsma gave up a solo home run to Jack Cust in the ninth, his 25th, but finished for his 37th save in 41 opportunities. He tied Kazuhiro Sasaki for third on the club’s single-season saves list.
Adrian Beltre hit his eighth home run, on Brett Anderson’s first pitch of the second. It carried 428 feet into the center-field seats. In each of his past seven seasons, Beltre did not hit fewer than 19 home runs, but he missed 51 games this season with injuries.
Anderson (11-11) had not lost since Aug. 30. He was 4-0 in September with a 2.28 ERA and was 8-3 with a 3.02 ERA over his previous 16 starts.
The Mariners scored three runs in the fifth after third baseman Adam Kennedy’s error.
With the score tied at 1, Adam Moore opened with a single and stole second, his first big-league steal. Franklin Gutierrez walked with two outs, then Jose Lopez hit a high hopper that Kennedy took off his chest. He scrambled to retrieve it but not before Moore slid safely into third.
Sweeney then stroked a two-run single to right-center. Beltre added another run with a single to left, scoring Lopez from second but Sweeney was thrown out trying to take third.
Notes
Kenji Johjima, hit on the left elbow in the first inning Wednesday, has a bruise and will miss at least two games. Manager Don Wakamatsu hopes to get him back in a game Saturday. … Fister is Wakamatsu’s choice as the surprise of the season. “Fister came out of nowhere, really,” he said. “He wasn’t on the chart and he pitched two huge games for us.”
M’s 4, Athletics 2
| Oakland | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| A.Kennedy 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .289 |
| R.Davis cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .305 |
| K.Suzuki c | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .272 |
| Cust dh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .242 |
| D.Barton 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .267 |
| M.Ellis 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .268 |
| E.Patterson lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .286 |
| T.Buck rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .219 |
| Pennington ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .276 |
| Totals | 33 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Seattle | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| I.Suzuki rf | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .352 |
| F.Gutierrez cf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .282 |
| Jo.Lopez 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .271 |
| M.Sweeney dh | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .282 |
| Beltre 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .265 |
| Hall lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .205 |
| M.Saunders lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .237 |
| Tuiasosopo 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .227 |
| Moore c | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .263 |
| Jo.Wilson ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .220 |
| Totals | 31 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Oakland | 000 | 100 | 001—2 | 7 | 1 |
| Seattle | 010 | 030 | 00x—4 | 8 | 0 |
E—A.Kennedy (20). LOB—Oakland 5, Seattle 4. 2B—D.Barton (12), F.Gutierrez (22). 3B—K.Suzuki (1). HR—Cust (25), off Aardsma; Beltre (8), off Bre.Anderson. RBIs—Cust (70), D.Barton (23), M.Sweeney 2 (34), Beltre 2 (43). SB—Moore (1). RLSP—Oakland 3 (T.Buck, E.Patterson, K.Suzuki); Seattle 1 (M.Sweeney). RMU—M.Ellis. GIDP—R.Davis, F.Gutierrez. DP—Oakland 1 (Bre.Anderson, Pennington, D.Barton); Seattle 1 (Jo.Lopez, Jo.Wilson, Fister).
| Oakland | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| Anderson L,11-11 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4.06 |
| Ziegler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.15 |
| Breslow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.34 |
| Wuertz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Seattle | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| Fister W,3-4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4.13 |
| M.Lowe H,26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.18 |
| Aardsma S,37-41 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.20 |
PB—Moore. T—2:20. A—16,607 (47,878).