M's find spark in sweep

SAN DIEGO — The Mariners fully believe their three wins in San Diego are the kind that will have a residual effect.

On a day when Miguel Batista got the win in relief, all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman lost in the ninth inning on an awkwardly struck slow roller by Jose Lopez, and M's closer J.J. Putz talked his way out of a much-needed day off to put the game on ice, it was hard to argue.

For the Mariners, it was a sweep filled with comebacks and contributors aplenty, capped by Sunday's 4-3 win over the Padres at Petco Park.

With the Los Angeles Angels' loss in St. Louis, the Mariners gained ground on the AL West leaders for the first time since May 31, pulling within 4 ½ games of the top. They have won 14 of their last 19 games, are seven games over .500 and on a 91-win pace.

The Padres came into the series with statistically the best bullpen in the National League, but their relievers were 0-3 as the M's scored the winning run in their final at-bat in each game.

"This is the team we are," said Mariners catcher Jamie Burke. "Finally, everything is starting to click for us. It's fun, and everyone is starting to believe in everyone else."

Burke had three hits to raise his average to .405, and made a dazzlingly elusive slide to somehow get around Padres catcher Josh Bard for the tying run in the seventh.

But Burke was just one in a long list of heroes for the Mariners on Sunday, as they racked up their third straight one-run victory against a team that came into the series with the best record in the NL.

There was Ichiro, again coming through with the bases loaded, this time with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh that pulled the Mariners into a 3-3 tie. He is hitting .625 (5 for 8) with 12 runs batted in with the bags full this season, and .464 (32 for 69) with 75 RBI in his career.

There was Batista, who had started on Friday and thrown 95 pitches in 6-2/3 innings, pressed into relief duty in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff double to Jose Cruz Jr. but worked out of the jam.

With the M's playing their 26th game in 27 days, the bullpen was on fumes. So manager Mike Hargrove asked Batista to work an inning on what would have been his day to throw on the side.

"We used Miguel just to give us an inning breather," said Hargrove. "We needed it today. We really needed it."

There was Willie Bloomquist, who started the winning rally in the ninth by reaching on third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff's throwing error and then, after a sacrifice, daringly stole third.

In a similar situation late in Friday's game, San Diego's Hiram Bocachica was gunned down at third by Burke. Bloomquist said he got a good jump, which gave him confidence he could be successful because of Hoffman's high leg kick.

"That's a situation where there's a lot of pressure," said Ichiro, who stayed on first on Bloomquist's steal. "You need courage to be able to do that. Not many players are able to do that."

That allowed Bloomquist to score the go-ahead run when Lopez, who also had the winning RBI in the ninth on Saturday, fought off a nasty 1-2 pitch from Hoffman to send a slow roller to second. The only play was at first.

"Terrible swing," Lopez laughed. "Good thing I hit it slow."

"That was a great at-bat," said Hargrove. "Lopey knew his biggest job was just put the ball in play, and he did that on a tough pitch. He hit it just right. Any harder, it would have been a double play; any softer, the pitcher would have had it."

Finally, there was Putz, nailing down his 18th save in 18 opportunities with a perfect ninth, including two strikeouts.

Before the game, Hargrove had told reporters that he wouldn't use Putz, who had earned saves in the first two games of the series, but Putz talked him out of that plan.

"I told him that his pitching coach told me he couldn't go. He beat up his pitching coach and said he could," joked Hargrove.

Asked when he knew he could pitch, Putz said, "When I woke up. [Hargrove] asked how I felt right before the game. I said I felt good throwing and everything feels good, so I'm ready."

Hargrove was particularly pleased to see his team play a smart, crisp game after being upset with its mental mistakes in Saturday's win.

"We have talked about mental toughness since day one," he said. "You are going to get beat physically, but there is no excuse for getting beat mentally. No matter the situation or what was going on, there was always a push there, from everybody."

To Putz, that has become the Mariners way.

"We're never out of it," he said. "We scratched and clawed today. Once again, it shows some character. We're not going to lay down. We're going to battle all way to the last out."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com