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Ichiro in fine form early, late as Mariners down Orioles

Jun 5, 2007 - 7:48 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Don't give the Seattle Mariners a chance late. They have shown they will make their opponent pay if they do.

Ichiro Suzuki homered and had three hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, as the Mariners posted a 7-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

Ichiro led off the game with a home run, his fourth leadoff blast of the season and 25th all-time. Tied 4-4 in the eighth, he contributed to a four-run frame for the Mariners as he lined a single to left off reliever Chad Bradford (1-1), scoring Willie Bloomquist and giving Seattle their first lead of the game.

"The way our team has been playing lately, even with two outs in that situation made me think there was a possibility (we could rally)," Ichiro said.

Bradford, who retired the first two batters in the eighth, yielded a single to Yuniesky Betancourt, who has a 16-game hitting streak. Bloomquist followed with another single to right, sending Betancourt to third.

When the Mariners sent lefthander Ben Broussard out to pinch hit, the Orioles countered with lefthanded reliever John Parrish. Mariners manager Mike Hargrove then replaced Broussard with Jose Vidro, who had been sidelined with an injured finger on his left hand and he singled to center to tie the game.

"I was supposed to play tomorrow, not today," Vidro said. "Hargrove asked me and I said I was ready to go. But it was not a different situation for me since I am the designated hitter. I got a three-one count and got a good pitch and hit it in a good spot. Ichiro got a big base hit and Lopez got the biggest hit of the night."

In all, Bradford and Parrish allowed six consecutive baserunners to reach base in the frame, all with two out.

The comeback victory was the 13th of the season for Seattle, which moved to four games over .500 (29-25) for the first time this season. Jose Lopez added two hits and two RBI for the Mariners, who won their third consecutive contest.

George Sherill (2-0) retired both batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth to pick up the win. Closer J.J. Putz came on to pitch a perfect ninth for his 14th save in as many chances.

Seattle's 21-year-old righthander Felix Hernandez had another rough outing, giving up 11 hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings. He is 1-2 with a 6.31 ERA in his six starts since coming off the disabled list.

"Felix had nothing tonight, but he really battled to keep us close and we happened to get the hits at the right time at the end." Hargrove said. "Since he's (Hernandez) been back he's been struggling with his rhythm and his command and he just has to find himself, that's all."

The comeback spoiled another fine performance from Orioles Erik Bedard, who retired the last nine batters he faced after allowing all three runs and eight hits in his first three frames. The major league leader in strikeouts struck out seven, marking the eighth time in 13 outings he has struck out at least that many.

"He fought real hard," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said of his luckless starter, who is 1-1 with six no-decisions in his last eight starts. "That was a tough six innings for him.

"All we needed to get was one out and we couldn't do it, Perlozzo said. "Johnny (Parrish) made a good pitch and he (Vidro) hit a 15-hopper up the middle and Ichiro came through with another hit and that pretty much sealed it."

Brian Roberts notched his second straight three-hit game for the Orioles, who have dropped four straight following a six-game winning streak.