Sexson and M's avoid a setback

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's easy to imagine each new strike thrown to Richie Sexson in the fifth inning carving out a final epitaph for these Mariners.

Seattle had loaded the bases with two out, down two runs Tuesday night, but Sexson was staring at a full count in an at-bat that began with three straight balls. With the Mariners poised to fall even further out of the division lead, Sexson and his crew could ill afford to see him go hitless in a 16th straight at-bat with runners in scoring position.

That's why the single Sexson grounded through the hole into left field, scoring a pair of tying runs off Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir, brought gasps of relief. Not just from the Mariners' cleanup hitter, but an entire Seattle team that went on to win 5-2 and avoided another demoralizing setback that could have seriously hampered any playoff hopes before June arrives.

"We needed a lift," Sexson said after Seattle managed just its second win in seven games, in front of 9,254 fans at Tropicana Field. "We've been struggling a little bit the last week or so with runners in scoring position. So, we needed to get on the board right there. It was a big hit."

With the Los Angeles Angels winning big in Detroit and Seattle already 5 ½ games behind the American League West leaders, losing any more ground this week could prove irreversible. The key to beating the Devil Rays is to get to their gas-lighting middle-relief corps with the game still close. That's what Seattle did, forcing Kazmir to throw 96 pitches through the first five innings to knock him from the game early.

In came reliever Chad Orvella in the sixth, and it took just two batters for Seattle to gain its first lead as Yuniesky Betancourt tagged a 1-0 pitch deep beyond the left-field fence for a solo home run. Seattle added another run off Orvella on a Jose Vidro double in the seventh that scored Ichiro from first base despite a fan-interference ruling.

Kenji Johjima added a solo homer in the eighth off Gary Glover to close out the scoring.

Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn allowed one earned run over 6-1/3 innings to improve to a 10-2 lifetime against the Devil Rays. Brandon Morrow logged five key outs in the seventh and eighth, and J.J. Putz tossed a perfect ninth despite the game ending on what should have been a long home run to right field by pinch-hitter Greg Norton.

The ball instead hit a cable from a catwalk perched high above the field and landed in the glove of right fielder Jason Ellison. Tampa Bay protested for several minutes, but to no avail. Putz picked up his 11th save in as many tries.

The Mariners are just 9 for 55 (.164) with runners in scoring position over their last seven games. Manager Mike Hargrove held several pregame meetings with hitters to try to impress upon them not to overdo things in trying to deliver clutch hits.

"I think it changes everything," Hargrove said of Sexson's single. "It takes the monkey off of everyone's back. That's all we've heard the last two or three days, especially our inability in this seven-day stretch to hit with anybody in scoring position."

Hargrove said a Jose Guillen strikeout just ahead of Sexson's at-bat "made things even worse" on his team's pressure-bound hitters. That made it all the more imperative for Sexson to deliver.

"That's his job," Hargrove said. "This time last year, Richie was pretty much in the same boat as he is now. A boat just about three-quarters full of water."

Sexson is hitting just .175 and admitted he'd been pressing before being benched a couple of weekend games.

"I think any time you don't have success, you're trying to do too much," he said. "That's just kind of the way it goes. We're well aware. Every day, whether it's me or somebody else who's answering a question about it. It's hard not to have it in your mind. It's just kind of there."

Seattle was just one strike away from heading to the sixth inning down 2-0 before Sexson came through. The Mariners had been 2-10 when trailing after the first inning this year, and the team sensed the at-bat by Sexson was huge.

"He's one of our big dogs in the lineup, and we all know what he can do," Washburn said. "To be struggling the way he has, you don't wish that on anybody. He's been through some ups and down in this game and he's a battler."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners