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SEATTLE (AP) -
Jose Lopez
ended a long afternoon with a short fly ball.
Lopez blooped an RBI single in the 15th inning and the
Seattle Mariners
, after pulling off a pair of late rallies, beat the
Oakland Athletics
8-7 Sunday in the longest game in the majors this season.
''That's a game we could have easily folded up and went home, but we didn't,'' Seattle manager
Don Wakamatsu
said. ''I said all along I wanted to use everyone, but not to that extent.''
Kenji Johjima
hit a tying home run in the ninth and
Ichiro Suzuki
's two-out single in the 13th capped a three-run comeback for the Mariners. A throwing error by
Dana Eveland
(1-2) set up the winning run.
The game lasted 5 hours, 2 minutes. It was the longest by innings and time in 2009, the Elias Sports Bureau said. The Mariners
used eight pitchers and the A's five. There were 526 pitches thrown.
''Even when we were down three, we kept fighting,'' Seattle's
Mike Sweeney
said. ''There was a stirring in the dugout, like, 'Hey boys, this is our game to win. We haven't played this long today to
let this one slip away. Keep fighting, keep having good at-bats.' And we did exactly that.''
Franklin Gutierrez
opened the 15th with a soft single against Eveland, who started Friday night and pitched 4 2-3 innings.
Yuniesky Betancourt
followed with a sacrifice bunt that Eveland threw wildly into center field, putting runners at second and third.
Suzuki was intentionally walked to set up Lopez with the bases loaded. He lifted a shallow fly, but center fielder
Rajai Davis
broke back on the ball and couldn't recover in time to catch it.
''There is not too much pressure in that - bases loaded, nobody out,'' Lopez said.
Lopez had a chance to win it in the 13th after Suzuki's tying single, but he fouled with runners at the corners.
Jason Vargas
(1-0), called up Saturday from Triple-A Tacoma, picked up the win. It was his first big league appearance since July 3, 2007,
with the Mets.
Johjima's solo homer with one out in the ninth made it 4-all. He connected off
Russ Springer
, seeking his first save since 2001 when he was with Arizona.
Springer was forced into the closer's role because
Brad Ziegler
has had the flu for the past four days. Springer also gave up the game-winning hit to Lopez in the Mariners' 8-7 victory Friday
night.
The A's scored three times in the 13th off
Miguel Batista
, the seventh of eight Seattle pitchers.
Landon Powell
, who had three hits, put Oakland ahead with a two-run double and scored on a single by
Orlando Cabrera
.
The Mariners made it 7-all in the bottom half against
Gio Gonzalez
, recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday. Gutierrez drew a bases-loaded walk, Betancourt had an RBI groundout and Suzuki
slapped a single up the middle.
''It shows the character of this club, down three runs and you can come back and have some just phenomenal at-bats, taking
some walks,'' Wakamatsu said. ''This was a game of attrition.''
Gonzalez threw 108 pitches in five innings of relief.
''We got the three-run lead and it was his only bad inning,'' Oakland manager
Bob Geren
said. ''A couple walks that inning led to the runs. Other than that he threw the ball pretty well.''
Sweeney hit a two-run homer for the Mariners in the fourth - the 200th home run of his career and first since April 26, 2008,
with Oakland against Seattle.
''It's a small milestone for a big league player. But for a guy like me, a late-round draft pick, a guy who takes pride in
my work ethic, it's quite an honor,'' said Sweeney, who nearly retired after the A's released him last season.
Jack Cust
also hit a two-run shot for the A's.
A's rookie starter
Josh Outman
had held the Mariners to four hits over the first six innings, leaving with a 4-2 lead.
Notes: Plate umpire Derryl Cousins worked his 4,000th major league game. ... The Mariners signed OF
Jerry Owens
to a minor league deal. He was designated for assignment by the
White Sox
on May 1 and elected to become a free agent. ... Mariners reliever
Denny Stark
entered in the seventh after more than four years away from the game. He last pitched for Colorado on July 19, 2004, then
underwent two elbow transplant operations. He came up with the Mariners in 1999 and last pitched for Seattle on Oct. 6, 2001.
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