SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners had waited nearly three games for the big hit that would make the difference between losing and winning.
What Adam Moore delivered in the seventh inning Sunday was more like the shot heard ‘round the infield, but it worked in the Mariners’ 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Moore came to the plate with the score tied, runners on first and third and one out in the seventh, and getting that much-needed big hit clearly was on his mind.
“I was looking to drive the ball somewhere in the gap,” he said.
He accomplished the same thing with a soft grounder to shortstop that scored the go-ahead run to complete a two-run Mariners rally. It appeared at first to be a potential inning-ending double play, but he beat second baseman Orlando Hudson’s relay throw to first, keeping the inning alive and allowing Casey Kotchman to score.
“I’ve got no speed,” Moore said. “But whenever I hit it I knew I had to beat it down the line.”
The Mariners’ two-run outburst ended a stretch of 15 straight scoreless innings and, for the first time in the three-game series, bailed out their hard-luck pitching.
Left-hander Luke French held the Twins to three hits and only Michael Cuddyer’s second-deck solo home run in the top of the seventh. Brandon League pitched around a hit to keep the Twins scoreless in the eighth and closer David Aardsma did the same in the ninth for his 25th save.
The victory also allowed Mariners manager Daren Brown to avoid being swept in a series for the first time since he took over after Don Wakamatsu was fired Aug. 9.
In their 130th game, the Mariners won for the 51st time.
“Going forward, you’re looking for positives,” Brown said. “You string something together, get a couple of runs, and it was enough today. It’s a good feeling for the guys in the clubhouse.”
Except for his five-run, five-inning start last weekend at New York, French has pitched reasonably well recently.
Sunday was the fifth time in six starts this month that he’d pitched at least six innings, and the three-hitter matched his outing two starts ago at Baltimore, where he held the Orioles to three hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings.
He located his fastball and kept the Twins off balance with his changeup.
“Really, just execution of pitches,” French said. “Keeping the ball down was big. In situations I needed an out, I was able to make a pitch to do that.”
Moore also made a huge play in the fourth inning when he threw out speedy Denard Span trying to steal third base with one out. Moore made that throw from his knees.
“He got a pretty good jump and it was a changeup that kind of cut in,” Moore said. “I had only one play and that was off my knees.”
French allowed only one baserunner among the next 10 hitters he faced, taking him one out into the seventh inning.
Then he fell behind Cuddyer 3-0 and tried to throw a fastball for a strike. Cuddyer hit into the second deck beyond the left-field fence for a 1-0 Twins lead.
“It was probably at his chin and he freaking put a lick on it,” Moore said. “Tip your hat right there. It’s 3-0, seventh inning and you don’t want to put the guy on. We went at him and got a deep fly.”
Solo homers generally don’t beat a pitcher, although given the Mariners’ offensive problems French’s chances didn’t look good.
Twins starter Carl Pavano had held the Mariners to two hits through six innings, and he got Russell Branyan on a grounder for the first out in the bottom of the seventh.
Jose Lopez followed that with a single up the middle and Casey Kotchman grounded a single to right field.
Still needing a big hit to score, the Mariners got something just as effective but quite different.
Pavano threw a wild pitch that allowed Lopez and Kotchman to reach second and third base, but Franklin Gutierrez followed it with a soft fly to shallow left field. The fly didn’t appear to have run-scoring depth with Lopez on third, but Twins left-fielder Delmon Young played it into an RBI.
Young broke back on the ball and recovered in time only catch it on a short hop. Lopez scored to tie the score and Kotchman, reading the play well, reached third.
Moore then delivered the hit heard ‘round the infield, a fielder’s choice grounder that made winners of the Mariners one day after they couldn’t manage even that in a 1-0 loss.
“Every hit is important when you’re in a 1-0 game,” Brown said. “It was the same way yesterday. We just never were able to string anything together.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
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