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Monday, Sep. 18 7:15pm ET
Rolling Mariners win 6th straight | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Seattle Mariners turned a strange ground-rule double and a rare pinch-hit into their sixth straight win. Pinch-hitter Stan Javier hit a go-ahead double in the ninth inning as the AL West-leading Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4-3 Monday night. "Obviously, it's a big win for us," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. "They're all tough. There aren't any easy ones, but it was a big win. That's all I care about." With the score 3-all and one out in the ninth, Jay Buhner hit a one-out, ground-rule double -- which stuck on an overhanging catwalk 150-feet above the playing surface -- off Roberto Hernandez (3-6). "I don't think it would have been a home run," Tampa Bay left fielder Steve Cox said. "I was where I thought it was going to land (near the warning track), then I lost it and didn't know where it was. I ran in because I thought it was stuck up there, and it was just rolling around." Buhner agreed. "He gave me a good pitch to hit, and I got under it," he said. "We got a good break." It was just the second fair ball to remain on a catwalk. Jose Canseco also accomplished the feat on May 22, 1999. "It was a catwalk win. We got a break and we made the most of it," Piniella said. The Mariners entered with the lowest pinch-hitting average in the American League. Javier's pinch-hit was the 16th in 84 attempts (.190) and just fourth for extra bases. "I think it was a pretty good pitch, but I just got a little luck because I hit it down the line," Javier said. "Probably that pitch, nine out of 10 times, you foul it off." Pinch-runner Charles Gipson went to third on a wild pitch as Carlos Guillen walked and Javier doubled just inside the third-base line. "You expect a lot of weird things to go wrong and not to go your way, especially the way we've been playing the past 10 days or so," Hernandez said. "It's tough. You finally get in a game where you're not getting blown out and every little thing that can go wrong is going to go wrong right now." Jose Paniauga (3-0) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Greg Vaughn hit a solo homer for Tampa Bay, which has lost a season-high eight straight games -- the second-longest skid in franchise history behind 11 consecutive losses from June 30-July 13, 1998. After striking out five times and mustering just one hit through three innings against Bryan Rekar, the Mariners took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on Edgar Martinez's RBI single and Carlos Guillen's two-run double. Martinez has 135 RBI, the second-most ever by a player 37 or older. Babe Ruth drove in 137 runs at age 37 in 1932. Tampa Bay closed to 3-1 on Aubrey Huff's run-scoring single in the bottom of the fourth but left the bases loaded. The Devil Rays, outscored 65-15 in their last eight games, were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position through four innings. Vaughn's 28th homer came during a two-run sixth that tied the game at 3. The homer came one pitch after Vaughn hit the dirt on a high-and-inside pitch from Paul Abbott. Jose Guillen reached with two outs on a wild pitch after striking out, and scored on Mike DiFelice's RBI double. Rekar gave up three runs and eight hits in seven innings and tied a career-high with nine strikeouts. He departed after experiencing pectoral muscle tightness and pain from a blister on his right middle finger. Abbott allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Game notesSeattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki was not available because of back stiffness. ... Mariners LF Rickey Henderson, who went 0-for-5, struck out twice and hit into a double play in his first three at-bats. ... Tampa Bay RHP Esteban Yan struck out the side -- including Alex Rodriguez and Martinez -- in the eighth. ... Seattle is 33-17 against the AL East. ... Devil Rays 1B Fred McGriff has just seven extra-base hits in his past 49 games. ... Tampa Bay RHP Cory Lidle returned home to Las Vegas to be with his wife Melanie, who gave birth to the couple's first child -- Christopher Taylor -- Monday. RHP Travis Harper is to replace Lidle as Tuesday's starting pitcher. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Seattle Clubhouse Tampa Bay Clubhouse RECAPS Oakland 12 Baltimore 3
Seattle 4
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