SEATTLE -- Late-inning thunder has been rare for the sad-sack Mariners this season but they caught some lightning in a bottle last night against the Blue Jays.
Down by as many as four runs in the sixth inning, Seattle plundered the Toronto Blue Jay bullpen for home runs in the seventh and eighth innings, then walked off with a 7-6 victory in the ninth.
Willie Bloomquist's single on reliever Shawn Camp's first pitch in the ninth inning scored Raul Ibanez with the winning run. That ended Toronto's three-game win streak on a night when it had every reason to expect victory. Short one starting pitcher, the Mariners threw a half-dozen relievers at the Jays and the committee got the job done.
Jesse Litsch handed over a 6-3 lead to the Toronto bullpen but the Mariners played some late-innings long ball to erase the deficit. Adrian Beltre belted a two-run homer in the seventh off Jesse Carlson to make it a one-run game and then Richie Sexson slammed a solo shot off Scott Downs to tie it in the eighth.
The Sexson homer ended a major-league leading streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings of relief for Downs.
Sparked by Adam Lind's three-hit, three-RBI night, Toronto had built a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the sixth but whn Litsch faltered, the bullpen followed suit.
With young flamethrower Felix Hernandez on the disabled list with a sore ankle, the M's started reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith but he couldn't get out of the fourth inning when the Jays scored three runs. Roy Corcoran followed him to the mound and also gave up three runs. Cesar Jimenez, Arthur Rhodes, Sean Green and Brandon Morrow followed and were the heroes for the Mariners.
In addition to Lind, Vernon Wells also had three hits for the Jays, scoring once and driving in a run in the process.
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JAYS BUZZ
TURNING POINT
In less than two weeks, Scott Rolen has shown Cito Gaston enough to earn some very high praise.
"He might be the best third baseman I've ever seen," said Gaston. " (Kelly) Gruber was a good third baseman. And I played against a guy named Doug Radar who was a great third baseman. But it's nothing like I've seen since I've been here with Rolen out there. Play after play, and tough plays. He's the best one I've ever seen. Every throw is right on the money and he plays the ball on the short hop. You can see why he has seven Gold Gloves."
SOUTHPAW BLUES
For months, John Gibbons tried to figure out what was was ailing his team against left-handed pitching. Now it's Gaston's problem and he doesn't have any anwers either. Going into last night's game, the Jays were 33-28 against right-handed starters and 7-15 in games started by lefties.
"When I first came to this organization (in 1982) we always struggled," Gaston said. "I think the only time we ever really hit well against them was probably when we had those two World Series teams.
"Right-handed hitters should see lefthanders better but for some reason we just don't hit them well. I can't figure it out."
STAY WITH PLAN
Alex Rios has shown some signs that he might be coming out of his hitting funk. Prior to last night, Rios was hitting .362 in his past 11 games, with seven doubles and a home run. Gaston would like to see Rios become more consistent in producing power numbers.
"Sometimes I think maybe he doesn't stick with his plan, whatever that plan is," Gaston said. "I tell him: 'Whatever plan you have, if you make an out, so what? Come back the next time and try it again.' "
NEXT UP
Tonight: Jays Dustin McGowan (6-6) at Mariners Jered Weaver (7-8) 10:10 p.m., Sportsnet/Fan 590
