Carlos Silva was greeted by his ex-teammates Twins first baseman Justin Morneau and left fielder Denard Span by each hitting two-run home runs off him. Morneau homered to the upper deck in the first and Span followed in the second.
Jose Lopez homered to left in the fourth for his first of the season as the Mariners took the lead but Silva couldn't hold onto it in the fifth.
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Silva gave up back-to-back RBI doubles to Morneau and Micheal Cuddyer.
After the Lopez homer, Ronny Cedeno, playing left field and filling in for Wladimir Balentin, was 1-for-4 with a single. Short stop Yuneski Betancourt who was 3-for-4 with a double, hit Cedeno home on a two-out double. Betancourt would score on a wild pitch after Endy Chavez, whose hitting .385 in the first three games, singled then stole second.
The Mariners strung together three hits in second. Russell Branyan also hit his first homerun of the season to the deepest part of the Metrodome, 408 feet, after Adrian Beltre led off the second with a double to left.
Some more offense help is on the way.
Ichiro Suzuki has been cleared to begin playing in his comeback from a bleeding ulcer that caused severe fatigue manager Don Wakamatsu said.
Suzuki will be the designated hitter in an extended spring training game with minor leagues in Arizona tomorrow. Wakamatsu said before tonight's game that Suzuki will play three games before being re-evaluated.
He’ll either join the Mariners in Oakland this weekend or travel straight to Seattle.
Wakamatsu said Suzuki’s blood tests came back clear and his condition is improving.
The earliest Ichiro can play is April 15th. This is his first time he has been on the DL since arriving in the majors in 2001.
Reach Josh Stilts at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
