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Seattle Mariners

Ackley drives in winning run in 9th for M’s

Mariners’ Dustin Ackley drives in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning against Royals en route to a victory. (Associated Press)
Jayson Jenks Seattle Times
Mariners’ Dustin Ackley drives in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning against Royals en route to a victory. (Associated Press)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – At his introductory news conference seven months ago, newly hired Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon didn’t promise wins.

In fact, he singled out only one thing he demanded from his players: Respect their opponents but fear nobody. That was his motto, and he wanted his team to take on that part of his personality.

So consider the significance of the Mariners’ 2-1 win against the Royals on Saturday, a win that prompted McClendon to bring up those old words again.

“Listen, they respect their opponents, but they don’t fear anybody,” McClendon said. “And that’s all I wanted. I think we’ve accomplished that.”

The Mariners (39-36) beat the red-hot Royals (39-35) for the second straight game by once again conjuring ninth-inning magic. This time, it was Dustin Ackley who delivered the winner – a two-out single off Royals starter Jason Vargas that put Seattle ahead 2-1 in the ninth. The night before, Brad Miller’s solo home run broke a tie in the ninth and lifted the Mariners to a win.

“If you want to have a good, winning season, you have to win games like this,” Ackley said.

Kyle Seager started Saturday’s ninth inning rally with a two-out double off Vargas. That prompted a visit from Royals manager Ned Yost, who had two relievers ready in the bullpen. He opted to leave Vargas in.

And that’s when the Mariners caught a little break: Stefen Romero hit a sharp liner to Royals second baseman Pedro Ciriaco. Ciriaco misplayed the ball on a short hop, and it bounced away from him just enough to allow Romero to reach with a single.

Ackley, who entered the game as a pinch runner for Jesus Montero in the seventh inning, capitalized by driving in Seager with a single.

For the majority of the game, though, Mariners fans were probably experiencing a sense of deja vu. The Mariners twice wasted good pitching performances in San Diego earlier in the week because their offense went cold.

That trend played out again early in Kansas City, where Chris Young pitched seven high-quality innings. He retired the first 12 batters he faced. He retired the Royals in order in six of his seven innings.

His lone hiccup came in the fifth inning, when Alex Gordon broke up Young’s perfect game with a leadoff solo home run.

Young gave up two more hits in the inning, but neither base runner advanced to second. In fact, besides Gordon’s home-run trot, Young didn’t allow a Royal to reach second all game.

Young worked with an early lead when Cole Gillespie drove in Miller with a single of his own that gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead. Young gave it back on Gordon’s homer, and then the two sides bunkered down for a pitching standoff.