Mariners rally twice, win 8-7 in 15 innings

Sunday afternoon turned into Sunday evening, and it seemed this deadlocked series never wanted to end.

More than five hours after the first pitch, the Mariners' Jose Lopez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the 15th inning, one swing from a victory that never seemed likely.

To get there, a one-time 10th-round draft pick had to reach a home-run milestone he never thought certain. A bullpen, low on rest and hammered by injuries, needed near perfection for almost eight innings. When it finally did crack, for three runs in the 13th inning, an offense had three outs to get those runs back.

Yet that all happened, on a day with so many subplots and in a series so dramatic, it might get renewed on TNT. And in the grand finale, Lopez brought the series full circle on one soft swing in the 15th inning. Just as he did Friday night, he hit the winning RBI single in an 8-7 Mariners victory against the Oakland Athletics.

"That's a game we could easily have folded up and went home, and we didn't," manager Don Wakamatsu said.

The Athletics had led from a three-run first inning against starter Chris Jakubauskas — "I did it again at home: I put us in a hole early," he said — until the ninth inning, when M's catcher Kenji Johjima hit a solo home run to tie the score at 4.

When Miguel Batista took the field in the 13th for his third inning of relief, it had been almost three hours since Jakubauskas had left with one out in the fifth. In that time, six Mariners relievers combined for 7-2/3 shutout innings, allowing just four hits.

"Our bullpen was lights out," said designated hitter Mike Sweeney.

But in the 13th, Batista allowed a two-run double to Landon Powell with two outs, and then a Lopez error led to a third run. With the home team down 7-4, many of the 29,963 fans at Safeco Field headed for the exits.

The home dugout didn't share their pessimism.

"I just started screaming, 'Don't give up,' and 'Let's put together some at-bats,' and 'This game's not over yet,' " Sweeney said.

Adrian Beltre led off the bottom of the 13th with a single, followed by a one-out hit by Wladimir Balentien. A Johjima walk loaded the bases. Franklin Gutierrez brought in a run with a walk, another run came in on a ground out, and then Ichiro's second two-out RBI single of the day tied it at 7.

The Mariners left the lead to left-handed reliever Jason Vargas, who was in Class AAA three days earlier and had not pitched in the major leagues since July 3, 2007.

"I don't think I could be any more ready," Vargas said. "It's been awhile, and it's a great feeling when you step between the lines of a major-league field."

With his fastball scraping 90 mph and a biting slider, Vargas pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings to set up the Mariners' winning 15th inning.

Gutierrez led off with a single, Yuniesky Betancourt reached on an error, and Ichiro was intentionally walked. Lopez then hit a 1-2 fastball high for a bloop single to center — "I didn't hit it that hard," he said — and the dugout emptied to congratulate him.

"It was a wonderful game," Sweeney said.

It was an emotional one for Sweeney, too. The 13-year veteran, drafted in the 10th round in 1990, was cut by the Athletics last fall sitting on 199 career home runs. With no guarantee of making the Mariners' roster this spring, he worried he might stay there.

But in the fourth inning, Sweeney pulled the first pitch he saw from Josh Outman into left field for his first homer of the season and No. 200 overall.

"For a guy like me, a late-round draft pick, a guy who takes pride in his work ethic, it's quite an honor," Sweeney said. "Being stuck at 199 for the rest of my life wouldn't be that fun."

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com