Story Published:
Sep 15, 2009 at 10:44 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Sep 15, 2009 at 10:44 PM PDT
Seattle Mariners' Jose Lopez, right, is tagged by Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski after Lopez struck out in the ninth inning to end the game Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, during a baseball game in Seattle. The White Sox won 6-3. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
SEATTLE (AP) - A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run, go-ahead single in the seventh inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Shawn Kelley (4-3) gave up a pair of singles to lead off the inning. The White Sox then scored three times for a 5-3 lead, taking advantage of a shaky Seattle bullpen. Pierzynski got his hit off Mark Lowe.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 626th home run - 15th this season - for the Mariners in the second, a drive to right-center that landed about 20 rows up in the stands. It came off former Seattle ace Freddy Garcia, the 404th pitcher to give up a homer to Griffey.
Kenji Johjima then doubled and Mike Carp followed with an RBI single. Jose Lopez added an run-scoring grounder for a 3-0 lead.
The White Sox responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Ian Snell, who was sharp early, gave up a leadoff single to Pierzynski and then walked Paul Konerko. Mark Kotsay laced a double to right for two runs. But Snell then got three straight outs to escape further damage.
Despite earning the win, Garcia (2-2) looked nothing like the power pitcher Mariners fans came to know during his 5½ years in Seattle. Now the two-time All Star is trying to rely more on his control, having lost much of his velocity to shoulder surgery in 2007. Against the Mariners, Garcia topped out at 90-mph and lasted six innings, giving up three runs.
Octavio Dotel got two outs and Matt Thornton pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings before Bobby Jenks, worked an inning for his 29th save, striking out Lopez to end the game.
Before the game, the Mariners honored Ichiro for getting his 2,000th hit and for reaching the feat of 200 hits for the ninth consecutive season - a feat he secured during the Mariners last road trip in Texas.