Sexson's career day leads M's past Padres

SAN DIEGO – Richie Sexson went a career-best 5-for-5 with two homers, including the go-ahead shot in the eighth, to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 9-4 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Sexson drove in three runs and scored three times, and Ichiro Suzuki also had three RBIs. The Mariners took two of three and finished the season series 5-1 against the Padres. Overall, Seattle has won seven of nine.

Mike Cameron homered for the third straight game, and the Padres also got homers from Khalil Greene and Ben Johnson. San Diego, which entered the game tied for first in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers, hit eight homers in the series, all solo shots. All three on Sunday came off Joel Pineiro.

Sexson came into the game 2-for-20 against the Padres this season. Including his RBI single in the ninth inning of Saturday night's win, he had hits in six straight at-bats.

Sexson broke a 4-4 tie when he homered to right-center with one out in the eighth off Alan Embree (2-1). With two outs, the Mariners added three more runs off Jon Adkins. Suzuki hit a bases-loaded blooper to shallow left to bring in two runs, and Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single.

Sexson has 14 homers this season. It was his 23rd career multihomer game. He doubled and scored in the ninth. George Sherrill (2-1) pitched a perfect seventh for the win.

Greene and Johnson homered to left on consecutive pitches from Pineiro with none out in the fifth to tie the score at 4. Greene connected on a 2-2 pitch leading off the inning, his 10th, and Johnson followed with his second.

The Mariners had taken a 4-1 lead in the fourth by scoring three runs, only one earned.

Sexson hit a leadoff homer against Mike Thompson into the second deck in left to break a 1-1 tie. Rene Rivera hit a one-out liner down the left-field line that a ball girl fielded in foul territory and started to give to a fan before realizing it was live. Rivera stopped at second with a ground-rule double, and Willie Bloomquist walked.

Thompson fielded Pineiro's bunt and tried to force Rivera at third, but threw wide for an error, allowing Rivera to score and Bloomquist to go to third. Bloomquist scored on Suzuki's groundout to first.

The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the first and got just one run, when Sexson singled in Beltre.

Cameron homered against Pineiro leading off the third, his eighth.

Pineiro allowed four runs and six hits in six innings, struck out five and walked one. Thompson went seven innings, allowing four runs, two earned, and seven hits. He walked four and struck out three.