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A's avoid three-game sweep with the Mariners

Apr 4, 2011 - 1:54 AM Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Gio Gonzalez threw seven innings of one-run ball and Mark Ellis finished with three RBI, as the Oakland Athletics avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Gonzalez (1-0) scattered six hits and four walks while striking out four for Oakland, which last opened the season 0-3 in 1996.

Coco Crisp went 3-for-5, scored a run and knocked in another, while Hideki Matsui had two hits to reach 2,501 in his professional career.

The Mariners were trying to open the year 3-0 for the first time in 16 years, but Doug Fister (0-1) was touched for three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Ryan Langerhans provided Seattle's offense with a home run.

"Any time you win a series you need to feel good about it," said Mariners manager Eric Wedge.

The Mariners threatened the cut into a 3-1 deficit by putting their first two hitters on base in the seventh. But after a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Gonzalez got Ichiro Suzuki to bounce back to the mound and struck out Chone Figgins to end the threat.

The hosts tacked on four in the bottom half to seize control. It started when Langerhans lost Crisp's fly ball in center, resulting in a leadoff double. Josh Lueke walked the next two hitters to load the bases, and Matsui's pop up fell between Suzuki and Jack Wilson in short right to score Crisp.

David Pauley came out of the bullpen and forced in two runs by hitting Kurt Suzuki and walking Ellis. Kevin Kouzmanoff added a sacrifice fly to end the scoring.

"We're excited," Gonzalez said of the win. "We just needed to wake up a little bit."

The A's countered Langerhans' second-inning homer in the third, tying the game when Crisp lined a triple into the right-field gap to score Kouzmanoff.

Josh Willingham and Ellis helped the A's go in front. In the fourth, Willingham reached first on Brendan Ryan's error and came around to score on an Ellis groundout. Willingham doubled leading off the sixth and raced around on Ellis' two-out single between third and short.

Game Notes

The Mariners stay on the road and open a three-game series against the Rangers on Monday, while Oakland has a day off before heading to Toronto for a three- game set with the Blue Jays...Gonzalez needed 116 pitches to get through his start...Jerry Blevins tossed two hitless innings in relief for Oakland... Matsui spent 10 years playing in Japan and recorded 1,390 hits there. He has 1,111 in nine MLB seasons...The Mariners went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.