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Lind homers twice as Blue Jays beat Mariners 5-4

Sep 26, 2009 - 9:58 PM TORONTO(AP) -- Adam Lind had self-preservation on his mind as he rounded the bases after his game-ending solo drive in the 10th inning Saturday.

Lind's second homer of the game gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-4 victory over the Mariners that included Seattle star Ichiro Suzuki's first career ejection.

It was the second multihomer game of the season for Lind, who threw his helmet high in the air as he approached a crowd of teammates ready to greet him at home plate.

"I just threw my helmet so they wouldn't hit me in the head," Lind said. "I hit one earlier this year, a walk-off hit, and I left my helmet on and I had a headache the rest of the day so I decided I'd take the helmet off. Now I've got a broken rib."

Jose Bautista also went deep for the Blue Jays, who have homered in seven straight games and have 33 longballs in September, tops in the majors.

Suzuki was thrown out by plate umpire Brian Runge for arguing a called third strike in the fifth, the first ejection of the season for the Mariners and the first of the All-Star outfielder's career, including his years in Japan.

Suzuki used his bat to draw a line on the outer edge of the plate, indicating he thought David Purcey's strike three pitch was outside. That led to the ejection.

"I wish I'd had more time," Suzuki told a Japanese reporter before leaving the clubhouse, suggesting Runge ejected him too quickly.

Crew chief Jerry Layne said there wasn't much to debate.

"He was ejected for drawing a line," Layne said. "Even his manager said 'I can't take up for him when they draw a line like that.' It's kind of a cut and dried thing."

"You can't argue balls and strikes," Layne added. "When you do, you're on the thin ice, so to speak."

Lind hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth, and won it with a leadoff drive in the 10th off Shawn Kelley (5-4), his 32nd. Both homers were opposite-field shots to left.

"One was a line drive and one I just got up in the jet stream of the dome," Lind said.

Jason Frasor (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.

Mike Sweeney put the Mariners in front with an RBI single in the fourth, and Seattle got two more in the fifth. Adam Moore hit an RBI double, went to third on a sacrifice and scored on Purcey's wild pitch.

Held hitless by Ian Snell through the first four innings, Toronto got its first run in the bottom of the fifth. Lyle Overbay doubled to left and took third when Snell lost shortstop Matt Tuiasosopo's soft toss back to the mound in the lights, with the ball rolling into foul territory beyond the first-base line.

"I was like 'You're going to get hit in the face and bust your nose or get a black eye or move out of the way,"' Snell said. "The first thing I did was move."

Travis Snider followed with an RBI grounder, and Bautista led off the sixth with his eighth homer to get the Blue Jays within one.

Seattle loaded the bases in the sixth, seventh and eighth but scored just once, with Bill Hall hitting a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Josh Wilson ended the sixth by grounding into a double play, and Franklin Gutierrez did the same in the eighth.

"I thought we swung the bats good but you've got to be able to bring them in and you've got to be able to capitalize and put teams away," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "We didn't do that today."

Those missed opportunities proved costly when Toronto tied it in the bottom of the eighth. Aaron Hill led off with a double and Lind followed with a drive off Mark Lowe.

Snell allowed two runs, one earned, and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, his longest outing since joining Seattle in a July 29 trade with Pittsburgh. He matched a season high with seven strikeouts and walked two.

"It's a shame to squander an outing like that," Wakamatsu said. "I thought that was the best game I've seen him pitch."

Suzuki went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .353. He is second to Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer in the AL batting race.

Purcey allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Bautista got a standing ovation for his running, over-the-shoulder catch of Jack Hannahan's deep fly to right in the second. Bautista crashed into the scoreboard after making the catch with his back turned toward home plate.

Gutierrez turned the tables on Bautista with a leaping catch at the wall in center in the ninth.

NOTES: Mariners 3B Adrian Beltre, who fouled a ball of his left foot Friday, did not play. Hannahan started at third for Seattle. ... Sweeney, who was hit in the left foot by a pitch on Thursday, returned to the lineup after a day off. ... Gutierrez and Jose Lopez each matched a season high with three hits. ... Purcey bounced a 1-1 pitch to Seattle SS Josh Wilson more than 20 feet in front of home plate in the third. ... RHP Chad Jenkins, Toronto's first-round pick in the June draft, threw a side session for Blue Jays coaches before the game.