M's fight back with ninth-inning run to end losing streak

When Jose Lopez delivered the hit that helped ease the pain of a thus-far gruesome Seattle season, his elation was immediately followed by thoughts of self-preservation.

As Lopez rounded first with pumped fist, having lifted the Mariners to a 4-3 victory with his two-out, ninth-inning single off Boston reliever Mike Timlin at Safeco Field, he turned and saw the entire Mariners' team heading out to mob him.

"I wanted to run to center field," Lopez said with a smile. "I knew the team was coming to kill me."

Lopez survived the backslapping scrum that surrounded him, with Adrian Beltre, Yuniesky Betancourt (who had been visibly upset a few moments earlier when lifted for a pinch-hitter) and Felix Hernandez leading the pack that sprinted out to greet Lopez.

"It feels great to stop a seven-game losing streak, to win in the ninth inning, and see the team laughing again," Lopez said.

On paper, the odds seemed long for the Mariners to end their longest losing streak of the season. They were facing the league's most successful pitcher, unbeaten Daisuke Matsuzaka, and opposing him with struggling Miguel Batista.

But Matsuzaka had to leave the game after four innings with what was later called shoulder fatigue. Batista, who had a 10.69 earned-run average in his previous four starts, pitched seven strong innings, marred only by Manny Ramirez's three-run homer in the sixth, the 499th of his career.

With Brandon Morrow providing electric relief in the eighth to work out of a huge jam, the Mariners found themselves tied 3-all heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Facing the 42-year-old Timlin, who pitched for the Mariners in 1997-98, Balentien led off with a single off shortstop Alex Cora's glove. Miguel Cairo, starting at first base in place of Richie Sexson, advanced him to second with a sacrifice, while Jeremy Reed, the pinch-hitter for Betancourt, got Balentien to third with a ground out.

Ichiro, predictably, was walked intentionally. Lopez fell behind 1-2 before drilling the ball down the third-base line, past a diving Mike Lowell, to score Balentien easily.

"I wanted to take one pitch, one strike, so I would be more relaxed, see what he throws," Lopez said. "I could just feel my body relax."

The Mariners hope the desperately needed victory has the same effect on a pressing team.

"There were a lot of positives, and there's been a lot of positives," Mariners' manager John McLaren said, praising Seattle's defense, in particular. "There's always something special about a walkoff win. I just wanted to win this game for everybody. We really played the game right, and we played hard."

Morrow's heroic relief helped preserve the 3-3 tie. Inheriting a first-and-second, no-out situation, he fanned Ramirez on a 99-mph fastball, then whiffed Lowell on a 98-mph heater. Morrow got J.D. Drew to fly out to right on a changeup to end the threat.

"The biggest pitches, I thought, were first-pitch sliders for strikes to both of them [Ramirez and Lowell]," Morrow said. "If you fall behind, they know a fastball is coming, and that's when you get in trouble."

Batista was sailing along with a two-hit shutout and a 3-0 lead heading into the sixth. But the inning was typical of the Mariners' recent losing stretch -- a critical mistake immediately compounded by the opponent.

The mistake this time was a one-out error by shortstop Betancourt, who booted Dustin Pedroia's easy grounder. David Ortiz followed with a single, and Ramirez -- hitting .409 in his career off Batista -- launched an opposite-field, three-run homer to right on the first pitch he saw.

It was Manny's 38th homer against Seattle, second only to Rafael Palmeiro's 52 for a Mariners' opponent. Ramirez hadn't homered since May 12, a span of 45 at-bats, and he now takes aim at becoming the 24th player in history to reach 500 homers.

The bottom of the fifth had been an eventful one. Matsuzaka threw two warmup pitches before a trainer was summoned, and he was pulled from the game with shoulder issues. Matsuzaka, who entered the game with an 8-0 record and 2.40 earned-run-average, yielded four hits and three runs (two earned) in his four innings.

"It's too long a season to get someone hurt," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I think he wanted to get the ball, but it's just not worth it in the long run."

With David Aardsma -- the only man in baseball history ahead of Hank Aaron alphabetically -- replacing Matsuzaka, Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo became agitated when third-base umpire Angel Hernandez denied a checked-swing appeal on Raul Ibanez. In the ensuing argument, both Lugo and Francona were ejected.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists