Lee leads M’s past Reds
Makes 1 run work with shutout
SEATTLE – Cliff Lee struck out seven in a six-hitter and the Seattle Mariners beat Cincinnati 1-0 on Friday night to knock the Reds out of first place in the N.L. Central.
Lee (5-3) earned his fifth career shutout and first since Sept. 15 for Philadelphia against Washington. It came against the only team with four regulars batting above .300 entering the day.
The left-hander, who won the 2008 A.L. Cy Young Award with Cleveland, also lowered his ERA to 2.55 with his 16th career complete game.
Josh Wilson hit an RBI single in the sixth for Seattle, which won for just the fourth time in 14 games.
Johnny Cueto (6-2) allowed four hits in 5
The Reds fell a half-game back of St. Louis, which beat Oakland 6-4, and dropped to 13-33 on the West Coast over the last four years.
Cueto got into trouble after he hit Jose Lopez with a two-strike pitch in the sixth. Lopez advanced on Franklin Gutierrez’s hit before scoring on a close play when Wilson lined a single up the middle.
Center fielder Chris Heisey’s throw was on a line but slightly up the third-base line. That allowed Lopez to twist around and clear Corky Miller’s tag attempt as he slid across the plate.
Daniel Ray Herrera then came in and struck out pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney, just back from the disabled list, to end the inning.
Lee retired 12 consecutive batters before Orlando Cabrera singled with two out in the eighth. Cabrera advanced when Lee skipped a curveball for a wild pitch, but Brandon Phillips grounded out to end the inning.
Lee’s contract ends after this season and Seattle, 15 games under .500, could decide to trade the ace to a contender to add some prospects to its farm system.
Lee has pitched at least seven innings in 10 of his 11 starts this season.
The Reds are visiting Seattle for the first time since 2007. Ken Griffey Jr., who played for Cincinnati in between stints with the Mariners, retired last month, robbing this series of its main attraction.
A dual bobblehead giveaway featuring Junior and Ichiro Suzuki did attract 43,362 fans to Safeco Field, Seattle’s largest crowd outside of opening day.
Mariners 1, Reds 0
| Cincinnati | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| O.Cabrera ss | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .255 |
| B.Phillips 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .310 |
| Votto 1b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .310 |
| Rolen 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .302 |
| Gomes lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .299 |
| Stubbs pr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .239 |
| Heisey cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .308 |
| Bruce rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .269 |
| Cairo dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .263 |
| C.Miller c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .150 |
| Totals | 33 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Seattle | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| I.Suzuki rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .338 |
| Figgins 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .226 |
| Bradley dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .224 |
| Jo.Lopez 3b | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .238 |
| F.Gutierrez cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .275 |
| Jo.Wilson ss | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .287 |
| Carp 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 |
| M.Sweeney ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .256 |
| Kotchman 1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .184 |
| Ro.Johnson c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .207 |
| M.Saunders lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .221 |
| Totals | 29 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Cincinnati | 000 | 000 | 000—0 | 6 | 0 |
| Seattle | 000 | 001 | 00x—1 | 5 | 0 |
LOB—Cincinnati 6, Seattle 7. 2B—B.Phillips (20), Rolen (17), Jo.Lopez 2 (11), Jo.Wilson (7). RBIs—Jo.Wilson (14). RLISP—Cincinnati 4 (Gomes 2, Votto, B.Phillips); Seattle 6 (M.Saunders 2, Carp, M.Sweeney 2, F.Gutierrez).
| Cincinnati | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Cueto L, 6-2 | 52/3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 115 | 4.30 |
| D.Herrera | 11/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 3.98 |
| Rhodes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 0.30 |
| Seattle | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Cl.Lee W, 5-3 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 110 | 2.55 |
IR-S—D.Herrera 2-0. HBP—by Cueto (Jo.Lopez). WP—Cl.Lee. T—2:16. A—43,362 (47,878).