Seattle, WA - Andy Sonnanstine threw seven strong innings and Delmon Young drove in four runs, guiding the Tampa Bay Devil Rays past the fading Seattle Mariners, 9-2, in the finale of a four-game series at Safeco Field.
Carl Crawford added two RBI for Tampa Bay, which has won two in a row since a four-run slide. Crawford, though, sustained a strained left groin during the game. He will be re-evaluated Monday and is day-to-day.
Sonnanstine (6-9) allowed one run on six hits with eight strikeouts.
'I feed off these guys,' Sonnanstine said. '(If) they have a good start, it makes me want to go out and have an even better start. Coming out (of) here with a split is a big feat for us, especially after dropping the first two.'
Jarrod Washburn (9-15) yielded three runs over 4 1/3 frames for the Mariners, who have dropped two in a row and now sit 6 1/2 games back of the New York Yankees in the wild card chase.
'We just couldn't get anything going offensively,' said Seattle manager John McLaren. 'It seemed like their guy was painting the black. We had opportunities. We just couldn't capitalize.'
Carlos Pena led off the fourth with his 40th home run of the year, but Adrian Beltre countered with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the inning to knot the game at 1-1.
Tampa Bay, though, put up two more runs in the fifth to reclaim the edge. Following a Dioner Navarro double and a Jorge Velandia walk, Crawford hit a double to left that cleared the bases and gave the Rays a 3-1 lead.
Velandia upped the advantage to three runs in the sixth with an RBI double, and Tampa turned it into a rout with three runs in the seventh.
With runners on first and third and one out, Young sent a double to left that cleared the bases. Brendan Harris tacked on a run-scoring single for a 7-1 lead.
Young's two-run base hit in the eighth increased the advantage to 9-1.
Charlton Jimerson's leadoff homer in the ninth -- his first long ball of the year -- capped the scoring.
Game Notes
Washburn has lost his last five and eight of his last nine starts...Pena is the 20th player to hit 40 home runs in his first season with a team, and the first player to hit 40 HRs after being released the previous year...This was Sonnanstine's first outing versus the Mariners.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes
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