One day after a colossal collapse against the Orioles in the ninth inning, closer David Aardsma was back to his usual self, bringing the Mariners to victory, this time putting the cap on a 3-1 victory against the Rangers today.
In fact, this time it was the Mariners coming back late in the game. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Ichiro Suzuki led off the inning with a double.
After the next two batters got out and Ken Griffey Jr. walked, the hottest hitting Mariner this month walked to the plate--Franklin Gutierrez.
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Already secure with a hit in his 11th straight game, he sent a shot into deep left center for a go-ahead three-run homer.
But perhaps the real star of the game was starting pitcher Felix Hernandez, whose one-run, eight-innings game kept Seattle in it the whole way despite the usual round of spotty hitting.
The M's struggled to hit all day off Rangers starter Tommy Hunter but still faced the usually reliable reliever C.J. Wilson in the eighth. Wilson entered the game with a 2.45 ERA.
The win moves Seattle back to within 3.5 games of the Rangers and the AL West lead.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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