Jose Lopez hits 2-run HR, decisive run scores on error as Mariners beat Padres 4-3

By Bernie Wilson, AP
Thursday, June 18, 2009

Jose Lopez hits 2-run HR, Mariners beat Padres 4-3

SAN DIEGO — Jose Lopez hit a two-run homer and the decisive run scored on an error as the Seattle Mariners beat San Diego 4-3 on Wednesday night, extending the Padres’ major league-record interleague losing streak to 13.

Garrett Olson and three relievers held San Diego to four hits. The Padres have lost 10 straight games to the Mariners in San Diego, and 16 of 20 overall against Seattle.

San Diego scored for the first time in 23 innings when Kevin Kouzmanoff homered leading off the second. The Padres loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth before Kouzmanoff’s grounder forced David Eckstein at third.

The Padres have lost five straight overall and 13 of 17.

After the Mariners scored three runs in the fourth on a double by Ken Griffey Jr. and Lopez’s homer, they used small ball and an error to go ahead 4-3 in the fifth.

Franklin Gutierrez drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second by Olson, went to third on Ichiro Suzuki’s single and scored on catcher Nick Hundley’s errant pickoff attempt. Kouzmanoff couldn’t handle the throw to third and the ball rolled into foul territory.

Kouzmanoff homered to left-center in the second, his fifth.

Seattle took a 3-1 lead when Griffey doubled in Russell Branyan with one out in the fourth, followed by Lopez’s homer into the first row of the second deck in left-center, his 10th.

San Diego tied it with two outs in the bottom half when Chase Headley hit a long two-run homer into the deck on the fourth floor of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner. It was his fifth, and Adrian Gonzalez was aboard on a one-out walk.

Olson (2-1) allowed three runs and two hits in six innings, struck out four and walked one. David Aardsma pitched the ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances.

San Diego starter Chad Gaudin (2-6) also went six innings, allowing three earned runs and six hits while striking out eight and walking one.

NOTES: Seattle’s Mike Carp made his big league debut in the seventh, drawing a walk while pinch hitting for Olson. Carp was recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Tacoma to take LHP Erik Bedard’s spot on the roster. Bedard went on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation, retroactive to June 8. … Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman attended his first Padres game since joining Jeff Moorad’s ownership group, which has acquired 35 percent of the team from John Moores. Aikman sat next to Moorad in the owner’s box. The former Dallas Cowboys star is a limited partner in the ownership group, which has up to five years to acquire the remainder of the team. … Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said he spoke with C Kenji Johjima about a possible rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma from Friday through Monday, during which he would catch and DH. Johjima would then be activated on Tuesday. He’s been on the disabled list since May 26 with a broken left big toe. … Padres OF Scott Hairston took batting practice for the first time since going on the DL with a strained left biceps on June 3, a day after hurting himself during an at-bat against Philadelphia. Hairston hit in the indoor batting cage on Tuesday.

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