SEATTLE — Jose Lopez became the 12th player in major league history to hit three sacrifice flies in a game, Yuniesky Betancourt drove in three runs and the Seattle Mariners set a season high for runs with an 11-6 victory over the previously stingy Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Lopez added an RBI single in joining Edgar Martinez as the only other Mariners player to have three sacrifice flies in a game. The Mariners had five sac flies overall to tie a team record set Aug. 7, 1988, at Oakland.
Kansas City entered with a major league-best ERA of 2.46 after consecutive complete games by Brian Bannister and Zack Grienke. It was the first time the Royals had pitched back-to-back complete games in eight years. A year ago, Kansas City had a 4.79 ERA through 13 games.
After his teammates gave him a 1-0 lead, John Bale (0-3) allowed seven hits and five earned runs in three-plus innings.
Hideo Nomo, in his second game of a comeback at the age of 39 after having elbow surgery in 2006, then allowed four runs while pitching the fourth and fifth.
Seattle’s Miguel Batista was far from sharp, but didn’t have to be dominant. Batista (1-2) labored through five innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. He walked two and struck out one.
Arthur Rhodes, who had ligament replacement surgery last May, got one out but allowed two singles in the ninth in his first game since Sept. 9, 2006, when he was with Philadelphia. The Mariners’ 38-year-old left-hander, who had his contract purchased from Double-A West Tennessee on Monday, was replaced by Mark Lowe. Lowe got Billy Butler to hit into a game-ending groundout.
Kansas City tied it at 4 in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Alex Gordon and RBI singles by Ross Gload and Tony Pena. Pena two had hits and two RBIs and is 4-for-7 since an 0-for-26 skid that ended on Monday.
But Betancourt’s RBI single off Nomo and Lopez’s second sacrifice fly put the Mariners up 6-4 in the fourth. Nomo then allowed a double by Adrian Beltre and walked Jose Vidro and Richie Sexson in the fifth before leaving.
Kenji Johjima greeted Ron Mahay with a double that scored Beltre and Vidro to make it 8-4. Then Betancourt joined Lopez’s parade of sacrifice flies, scoring Sexson. Lopez singled home Willie Bloomquist for the fourth run of the inning to give Seattle a 10-4 lead.
Lopez’s final sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Johjima and tied the major league record.
Notes: Seattle ace Erik Bedard went on the 15-day DL with
inflammation in his left hip. The move is retroactive to April 9, meaning Bedard could miss only his next scheduled start Friday at the Los Angeles Angels before returning April 24. RHP R.A. Dickey, who hasn’t started in the majors in 24 months, will likely take Bedard’s start Friday. … Butler’s 13-game hitting streak ended. … The Mariners’ five sacrifice flies tied a team record set August 7, 1988, at Oakland.
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