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Mariners edge Tigers

Jun 11, 2011 - 4:04 AM Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Carlos Peguero's solo shot in the seventh inning proved to be the winning run as the Seattle Mariners edged the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, in the second test of a four-game set.

Peguero also had a triple while Adam Kennedy had a pair of doubles and Justin Smoak registered his 11th homer for the Mariners, who have taken two of their last three contests.

Seattle starter Erik Bedard surrendered two runs on three hits with six strikeouts over five innings, but did not factor into the decision to remain unbeaten in his last eight starts.

Victor Martinez had a two-run home run for the Tigers, who were handed just their third loss in the last 12 games. Brad Penny (5-5) absorbed the defeat, allowing three runs on eight hits in seven innings.

Peguero lifted a low offspeed pitch from Penny over the fence in the right corner to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

From there, the Seattle bullpen did it's job to keep the lead. Chris Ray (3-1) had a 1-2-3 seventh and David Pauley stranded Don Kelly on third in the eighth.

Brandon League came into the ninth and gave up a two-out hit to Jhonny Peralta. Ramon Santiago then pulled a fly ball that just missed the right foul pole by several feet -- which would have been the winning home run -- and followed up with a grounder to end the game. It was League's 18th save this season

"The bullpen came in and did their job," Ray said. "It's a good win for the team."

Smoak opened the scoring in the first inning with a blast over the fence in left.

During the fourth, though, Martinez responded with a line drive that whistled into the front row seats in right. Brennan Boesch was on first during the homer to give the Tiger's a 2-1 lead

Seattle squared it away in the next inning when Peguero ripped a shot just past the diving glove of right fielder Casper Wells and legged out a triple. Two batters later, Chris Gimenez hit a sharp grounder through short that pushed Peguero across home.

"The killer was that they scored the next inning after we got the lead," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "That next inning is very important after you score. If you give up a run like we did, it sometimes spells disaster for you."

Game Notes

Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was given a rest day that snapped 255 consecutive games played -- third longest in club history. It also was the second longest active streak in majors (Dodgers Matt Kemp, 268)...Detroit had just five hits and was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.