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Ibanez comes up big in ninth to lift Mariners

Jun 11, 2008 - 9:55 PM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Raul Ibanez proved to be the man of the hour in the ninth inning for the Seattle Mariners.

Ibanez hit a go-ahead RBI single and made a game-saving catch in the ninth as the Mariners captured a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a three-game series Wednesday.

With the contest tied at 1-1 and runners on second and third with two outs, Ibanez singled into right field off Toronto closer B.J. Ryan (1-3). It was the second hit of the game for Ibanez, who had been hitless in 12 career at-bats against the lefthander.

Ryan was ejected following the play by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher for arguing balls and strikes, feeling he was squeezed earlier in the inning on a walk to Miguel Cairo.

The Mariners also had some trouble with their closer in the bottom half of the frame, as J.J. Putz was forced to leave the game with an apparent arm injury after issuing a leadoff walk to Joe Inglett. Putz was replaced by Brandon Morrow, who struck out the first two batters he faced before Lyle Overbay hit a drive to left-center field.

However, Ibanez was able to track the ball down at the wall to end the game and seal Seattle's six-game road trip at 3-3.

"A lot of stuff has been going on and it's been tough," Ibanez said. "We're able to scratch and claw, and leave .500."

It was the first career save for Morrow, the fifth overall pick in 2006.

Ibanez's big catch wrapped up a stellar effort by Mariners starter Felix Hernandez (5-5), who allowed one unearned run and four hits with a walk and eight strikeouts over eight innings.

It was the third straight winning start for the 22-year-old righthander, who has not allowed an earned run over his last 21 innings.

Hernandez yielded just a single and a walk over the first three frames before the Blue Jays took advantage of a leadoff double by Inglett and an error by right fielder Jeremy Reed to get the first run of the game. With Inglett on third after Reed's misplay, Hernandez struck out Vernon Wells but Matt Stairs hit a grounder to second base to open the scoring.

The young righthander had one more jam after that, working out of a situation with runners on second and third with one out in the sixth. Inglett doubled down the left field line to put Hernandez in a bind, but the Venezuelan fanned Wells again before getting Stairs to ground out on a check swing.

Hernandez could have made an attempt for his second complete game of the year if not for a sore leg muscle.

"I didn't finish the game because of my leg," Hernandez said. "The seventh inning was long and my leg was getting tight."

Seattle, which came into the contest losing three of its last four, tied the game up in the seventh inning against Toronto starter Shaun Marcum despite a major baserunning error.

After both Reed and Richie Sexson singled off Marcum to start the seventh, Kenji Johjima attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt. However, he popped it up, with Blue Jays catcher Curtis Thigpen racing from behind home plate to catch the ball before alertly firing it down to second base to throw out Reed for a double play.

Despite that, the Mariners were still able to tie up the score at 1-1 when Yuniesky Betancourt drove a 2-0 pitch to deep right field for a triple.

That one pitch spoiled a strong outing by Marcum, who allowed a run and seven hits in seven innings. He also walked two and tied a season high with nine strikeouts.

It was the third outing without a decision for the 26-year-old Marcum, who has allowed just four runs over his last 21 innings.

"It's alright," the righthander said. "I'm more concerned about the team winning, unfortunately things didn't work out today."

The outing for Ryan continued a shaky month of June, when the closer has blown two saves and given up six runs in four innings.

After Fletcher signaled Ryan's ejection, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons raced out of the dugout to give the umpire a piece of his mind, also getting tossed.

"I went there and reacted to it, questioned some borderline pitches, that's all," Gibbons said.