Logan Morrison helps M’s hang in playoff race

TORONTO – Not dead yet.

The Mariners ended an 11-game road trip and a five-game losing streak Thursday with a 7-5 victory over Toronto at the Rogers Centre that kept alive their flickering postseason hopes.

The victory pulled the Mariners to within two games of Oakland for the American League’s final wild card when the A’s suffered a 2-1 loss at Texas on Adrian Beltre’s walk-off homer. Both teams have three games remaining. 

The Mariners open a three-game series tonight against the Los Angeles Angels at Safeco Field, while the A’s continue a four-game series at Texas.

“We’re not going to give up,” said third baseman Kyle Seager, who contributed a pair of RBI singles to a 10-hit attack. “We know the situation we’re in, but there’s no reason not to go out there and fight.”

Logan Morrison ignited a stagnant offense with a pair of homers that, each time, put the Mariners in front. Each of Morrison’s last six homers have either tied a game or put the Mariners on top.

His first homer was a three-run bomb against Todd Redmond that capped a four-run fourth. His second one was a liner against Aaron Loup that just cleared the right-field wall to open the sixth and break a 4-4 tie.

“The first one,” Morrison said, “I was looking for something up and over the middle of the plate. I was able to put the barrel on it, and it got out.

“The second one … I don’t have any idea how I hit that guy (Loup). He’s filthy. I blacked out. I don’t know what happened.”

What happened on the second one is the Mariners had a lead they never relinquished. Mike Zunino added a homer later in the sixth by ambushing a 3-0 fastball from Dustin McGowan for a 6-4 lead.

“I was lucky enough to get the green light,” Zunino said, “and I knew I had to get the head (of the bat) out not to be disappointed. It was one of those things: Looking for a fastball and getting one.”

The Mariners got their final run in the seventh after Kendrys Morales blooped a one-out double to left. Pinch-runner James Jones scored on Seager’s single to right.

That production supported a nine-man bullpen parade as manager Lloyd McClendon opted to start long reliever Tom Wilhelmsen in place of struggling Chris Young.

“They attacked guys,” Zunino said. “The whole bullpen knew they were going to be in the game at some point. They were ready to go. They were ready to fill in for any need.”

Yoervis Medina (5-3) got the victory when Fernando Rodney, after yielding a leadoff homer to Kevin Pillar in the ninth inning, closed out the victory for his major-league-leading 47th save.

“We’re still in the ring and still fighting,” McClendon said. “As dire as it may look, there are teams that wish they were in the Seattle Mariners’ shoes right now. … We’re going to play hard and see what happens.”

Toronto also started a reliever, Daniel Norris, because of a suspension to Marcus Stroman. The Blue Jays used six pitchers. Loup (4-4) got the loss after surrendering Morrison’s second homer.

The Mariners’ can still dream of postseason – even after a 4-7 trip through Anaheim, Houston and Toronto that included five straight losses by a combined score of 43-10.