Originally published October 1, 2009 at 9:51 PM | Page modified October 1, 2009 at 11:26 PM

Mariners finish sweep of Athletics

A two-run single to center by Mike Sweeney broke a fifth-inning tie on Thursday night and propelled Seattle to a 4-2 victory.

By Geoff Baker

Seattle Times staff reporter

Gallery | M's sweep A's

Mike Sweeney won't be the designated hitter Mariners fans remember from this season-ending weekend.

Not with Ken Griffey Jr. making what could be the final appearances of his career. But Sweeney provided some memories of his own Thursday night, snapping a fifth-inning tie with a two-run single in his team's 4-2 win over Oakland.

"I'm just soaking up every minute of these last four days," said Sweeney, who wants to play one more year as a right-handed-hitting DH and is waiting to hear whether Seattle wants him back.

A crowd of 16,607 at Safeco Field saw Sweeney continue the red-hot tear he's been on since the All-Star break. Sweeney entered Thursday with a .316 batting average and .892 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS) since the break, after hitting just .250 with a .678 OPS before.

His fifth-inning hit, followed by an RBI single from Adrian Beltre, allowed Doug Fister to win for the first time in a month. Fister tossed seven innings of one-run ball, and even did the splits impressively at first base to stretch for a throw and cap off a 3-6-1 double play.

Beltre hit a home run in the second inning off A's starter Brett Anderson, who saw the wheels come off for three unearned runs in the fifth after an error by third baseman Adam Kennedy.

Sweeney credits an improved core conditioning program with alleviating the back spasms that hampered him early this season. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu, whose team equaled its best season mark ever against Oakland at 14-5, said Sweeney is also using less of his body and more of his hands in his swing.

"When players age a little bit, they tend to want to use their body and try to make up for a loss of power," Wakamatsu said. "I think the biggest thing is he's been able to calm that down, use his hands and allow the bat to work."

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