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Seattle Mariners

Rays unload on M’s Lowe

Rays’ Dioner Navarro tags out Michael Saunders at home.  (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – B.J. Upton had three RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth, to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases on a single and two walks with one out against Mark Lowe (2-7) in the eighth. Upton gave the Rays a 5-4 lead on his single to left.

Akinori Iwamura had two RBIs for the Rays, who are 6-3 since an 11-game losing skid. The defending A.L. champions, eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday, need to win four of their final 10 games to record a second season better than .500.

Ichiro Suzuki hit an RBI single and Franklin Gutierrez had a run-scoring grounder to put Seattle ahead 3-0 in the fifth. The Mariners lost for the second time in seven games.

Seattle went ahead 4-0 in the sixth when Adrian Beltre scored on center fielder Upton’s errant throw on Jack Hannahan’s single. Upton, trying to throw out Beltre at third, was charged with an error.

Russ Springer (1-4) got the final out in the eighth for the win. Randy Choate pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

The Rays pulled within 4-3 during the bottom of the sixth when Iwamura hit a two-run triple off reliever Garrett Olson and Upton drove in a run with single against Miguel Batista.

Seattle right-hander Brandon Morrow gave up two runs and three hits in five-plus innings.

Rays rookie Wade Davis allowed two earned runs and seven hits over 52/3 innings. He was coming off a 3-0 complete-game win over Baltimore in his third career start.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in the second but failed to score when Dioner Navarro flew out to left and Reid Brignac struck out.

Seattle took a 1-0 lead during the third when Michael Saunders scored from third on Navarro’s passed ball. Saunders had three hits, including a triple.

Notes

Ichiro went 2 for 4 and tied George Burns for 247th place on all-time list with 2,018 hits. … Seattle first baseman Russell Branyan (back) took 35 swings off a tee. He might return to the lineup next week. … Davis held Seattle designated hitter Ken Griffey Jr. hitless in three at-bats, including two strikeouts.