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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki is hit by a pitch by Detroit's Kenny Rogers in the eighth inning. Ichiro scored in the inning as Seattle defeated Detroit 4-1.   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • Seattle Mariners (External Link) • Schedule (External Link) • Stats (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, July 5, 2008 Bullpen delivers for Mariners Green and Morrow effective in relief after Bedard struggles through another short start By Kirby Arnold Herald Writer SEATTLE -- First, the Seattle Mariners got the obligatory events out of the way -- a patriotic opening ceremony on the Fourth of July, a Raul Ibanez go-ahead home run and another can't-pitch-past-five effort by starting pitcher Erik Bedard. Then they turned to the backbone of the team to get the last 12 outs and beat the Detroit Tigers on Friday. The bullpen protected Bedard's lead over the final four innings in a 4-1 Mariners victory at Safeco Field. Sean Green pitched 22/3 innings of his best relief this season and Brandon Morrow retired the final four hitters for his sixth save. "To be able to use Green today as long as we did was huge," manager Jim Riggleman said. "It took us right to Morrow. You can't draw it up any better than that." Green, a slider-sinker specialist who has been as durable as he's been effective, leads the league with 43 appearances this season. "Today was one of his guttier performances and his most effective," Riggleman said. It figured that the Mariners would need some extra work from the bullpen because Bedard, for the seventh time in his 15 starts, didn't pitch past five innings. He was done after 99 pitches, having allowed Miguel Cabrera's solo home run in the second inning but pitching out of trouble in every inning he worked but the third. Since he threw a season-high 110 pitches May 28 against the Red Sox, Bedard's pitch count hasn't reached 100 in the six starts since. Still, Riggleman said he was proud of the left-hander Friday. "He was throwing so many pitches that were very close," Riggleman said. "Most teams would have taken a cut at some of those pitches, which would have kept his pitch count down. "When you face Detroit, you're gong to have to work hard. With all the thump in that lineup from top to bottom, they can really make it tough on a left-hander. I'm proud of the way he was able to keep us in there." Nobody will know how Bedard felt about it. He dressed quickly and left the clubhouse, brushing off a team official who asked that he speak with reporters. It's the second straight time the Mariners' starting pitcher hasn't spoken, following Carlos Silva on Thursday. Green was the bigger story anyway after his longest outing this season. He expected he'd pitch some innings because Bedard's pitch count grew so quickly and the Mariners would need a right-hander to face the Tigers' righty dominated lineup. "His pitch count was up near 100 so I was getting ready," Green said. "Just the names up and down, it's a pretty tough lineup. You have to be on top of your game to keep them from scoring runs." With the Mariners leading 2-1 on Ibanez's fourth-inning homer, Green mowed through the Tigers in a 1-2-3 sixth. Then he pitched out of a jam in the seventh after Marcus Thames led off with a single, getting two ground-ball outs to snuff that opportunity. Cabrera led off the eighth with a single but Green followed that by getting Thames on a grounder to third that became one of the Mariners' best double plays of the season. Second baseman Jose Lopez took the feed from third baseman Adrian Beltre, then looked up to see pinch runner Michael Holliman barreling in on him near the bag. Lopez leaped high and unleashed a strong throw to get Thames at first. "I had to jump," Lopez said. "He would have killed me." Lopez delivered a huge hit in the bottom of the eighth to spread the Mariners' lead, driving home two runs with a double off Tigers starter Kenny Rogers. Morrow, who got the final out in the top of the eighth, used his fastball to slice through the Tigers in the ninth. He struck out Ivan Rodriguez with a 97 mph pitch, retired Clete Thomas on soft pop to shortstop, then fanned Carlos Guillen with a 98 mph fastball to end the game. "We're scoring runs and getting good pitching," Green said after the Mariners' sixth victory in their past eight games. "You're going to win ballgames when you do that." Read Kirby Arnold's blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com

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