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OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Even when Ichiro Suzuki does not start, he is making an impact on the Seattle Mariners. Suzuki started a three-run eighth inning with a pinch single and ended a potential rally in the bottom of the inning with a strong throw as the Mariners posted a 3-0 triumph over the struggling Oakland Athletics. Suzuki, who reportedly was the target of fans throwing coins on Tuesday, did not start but got Seattle going in the eighth inning Wednesday. After Oakland starter Mark Mulder tossed seven scoreless innings, Suzuki greeted reliever Jim Mecir (0-2) with a soft single to left field. Mark McLemore slapped a single to left to put runners at the corners and Mike Cameron plated the game's first run with a groundout to shortstop. Edgar Martinez bounced out and John Olerud was intentionally walked. The strategy backfired when center fielder Terrence Long failed to run down Bret Boone's two-run double. Oakland appeared poised to rally in the bottom of the inning as Long led off with a single. One out later, Sal Fasano poked a base hit to right. Long tried to advance to third on the play but was cut down by a perfect throw from Suzuki in right field. "The ball came to me and the runner was going to third and I threw him out," Suzuki said through an interpreter. "The ball was hit hard enough so I could show off a strong throw." "It was a big play for us," Long said. "I got the light and I went. I know now that I had to slide. But it was a perfect throw that got me. I would have made it (if it wasn't). I've never seen him throw but somehow, it doesn't surprise me that he can. It's a sign of a good player." Suzuki, a seven-time batting champion in the Pacific League, is the first Japanese-born position player to play in the major leagues. He has been a key contributor to Seattle's quick start, hitting .371 thus far. "For me to play baseball in front of people, it is a great pleasure," Suzuki said. The Mariners have won five of six and are 6-2 to start the season. Four of the wins have come in five games against Oakland, a team that beat Seattle nine times in 13 games last season. "I think it's April," Boone said. "It's too early to come out and shoot your mouth off. They're a good team." Seattle starter Aaron Sele (2-0) was dominant over eight innings, allowing only four hits and a walk. He struck out two and improved to 11-5 in 22 starts against Oakland. "He pitched exceedingly well," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said of Sele. "Eight innings of baseball. You know Mulder matched him. It was a heck of a pitchers' duel out there tonight." "I don't know what it is about them and I don't know how I beat them because they beat me around pretty good," Sele said. "I was just pitching well tonight, I guess." Kazuhiro Sasaki breezed through the ninth to notch his major league-leading fifth save. Mulder allowed only two hits and three walks in seven innings but Oakland once again struggled at the plate and fell to 2-6. "He did all he could," A's manager Art Howe said. "It was a shame to waste it. They matched up pretty well and they just got lucky. It's the best I've ever seen him. I couldn't ask for anything more. He made great pitches all night long. I'm very pleased." Johnny Damon, who has just four hits in 29 at-bats this season, led off the game with a single but the next three batters flied out. Both teams wasted one-out doubles in the second and neither team threatened until the eighth. "We just have to keep swinging at the ball," Howe said. "We're getting good swings we're just not centering the bat to the ball. We keep getting underneath the ball tonight."
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