SEATTLE -- J.J. Putz had just thrown his fastball at 98 mph and an untouchable splitter that not only broke down, but away to strike out Dioner Navarro.
Then he sat down and marveled at the force that has carried the Seattle Mariners most of the week.
Raul Ibanez's leadoff home run in the ninth inning Thursday night pulled the Mariners to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, continuing his torrid stretch of hitting.
Ibanez tied a team record with 15 runs batted in during a four-game stretch through Tuesday, then followed it with a pedestrian -- for him, anyway -- 2-for-4 game Wednesday.
Then Thursday, with another chance to deliver a game-changing blow, he did.
Ibanez lined a two-strike pitch from Rays right-hander Dan Wheeler deep to right field, and the only uncertainty was whether the ball would stay fair. It did, landing just inside the foul pole for the fourth walkoff home run of his career and his 18th homer this season.
"This is about as locked-in as I've seen anybody right now, the way Raul's swinging," Putz said. "The big situations are finding Raul and he's delivering."
Putz, finally, can say the same about himself.
His season torn by two stints on the disabled list, he finally seems back to his old form with his high-90 mph fastball and sharp-breaking split.
He pitched the ninth with the score tied 1-1 and got a quick first out when Carl Crawford flied to left.
Putz then found himself in one of those big situations when he had no choice but deliver if he hoped to keep the score tied. He'd hit Evan Longoria and gave up a single to Carlos Pena, putting runners on first and third with one out.
Putz then struck out Cliff Floyd with a 98 mph fastball and overwhelmed Navarro with an 88 mph split.
"My last couple of outings have been good," Putz said. "The biggest thing is building the arm strength back. Once you get your arm strength back, the secondary pitches are going to be better."
Credit starter Felix Hernandez with giving Putz and Ibanez their ninth-inning opportunities.
He held the Rays to four hits in eight innings, hurt only with a wild pitch when a curveball got under catcher Jeff Clement's mitt, allowing Crawford to score in the fourth inning.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine was just as nasty to the Mariners' hitters, who had runners on third base in each of the first two innings but couldn't score.
In the eighth, they finally did, and the newly called-up young players were in the middle of that rally.
Wladimir Balentien drove a double off that came within a foot of clearing the center field wall. Bryan LaHair followed with a single, putting runners on first and third.
Yuniesky Betancourt then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Balentien to tie the score 1-1.
Putz did his part in the top of the ninth, and Ibanez followed with his game-winning homer.
It gave the Mariners a 13-22 record in one-run games, but they've won three times this week with late rallies. That's got to be good for the young players, Putz says.
"I'm sure it's great for Balentien and LaHair and Clement to see now nice it is when a guy like Raul, a veteran guy, gets locked in," Putz said. "At some point, they can be that guy."
With nothing for the Mariners to play for but pride and experience, that's what this time of the season is all about.
