Jose Lopez doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh and homered, Kenji Johjima and Richie Sexson also went deep, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the San Diego Padres 7-4 on Friday night.

Mike Piazza and Josh Bard homered for the Padres, who lost for only the fourth time in 18 games in May.

Facing Padres reliever Scott Cassidy (3-2), Yuniesky Betancourt singled, stole second and went to third on catcher Bard's throwing error. With the infield in, Ichiro Suzuki got aboard on shortstop Khalil Greene's fielding error.

Lopez then doubled in Betancourt for his second RBI to snap a 3-3 tie. Alan Embree came in and gave up an RBI single to Raul Ibanez to score Suzuki.

In the eighth, Jeremy Reed hit an RBI triple for Seattle, then scored on left fielder Eric Young's error.

Rafael Soriano (1-1) got his first victory since Aug. 29, 2003, giving up one run on one hit and one walk, in two innings of relief. J.J. Putz pitched the ninth for Seattle.

Returning to Seattle after suffering a three-game sweep in Oakland, the Mariners went ahead 1-0 in the second on Johjima's off Chris Young. They made it 3-0 in the third on solo homers by Lopez and Sexson against Young, who now has given up 10 homers this season.

Piazza homered off Jarrod Washburn, his fifth of the season, in the fourth, but Washburn escaped possible disaster in the fifth, giving up only one run.

Suzuki, the five-time Gold Glove right fielder, made a perfect throw to catcher Johjima on the fly to end the fifth by getting Josh Barfield at the plate. Barfield ran over Johjima, but the catcher held onto the ball.

The double play in the fifth came after Vinny Castilla singled, Barfield doubled him to third and Bard had a sacrifice fly for San Diego's second run.

The Padres tied the score at 3 in the seventh when Bard homered off Soriano, who replaced Washburn in the top of the inning.

Bard added an RBI double in the ninth to make it 7-4 and finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Washburn now hasn't won in four starts in May since his last victory on April 26, but the veteran left-hander pitched well enough to win. In six innings, he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks, with three strikeouts.

The 6-foot-10 Young also went six innings, allowing three runs on three hits, all homers, and two walks, with five strikeouts.

Notes: Piazza hit his 402nd career homer and his first at Safeco Field, the 37th major league ballpark he has homered in . ... Suzuki singled in the first to increase his season-high hitting streak to 13 games. ... Safeco's retractable roof was closed for the third time this season. ... Carl Everett of the Mariners stole his first base of 2006. ... The Mariners have hit three or more homers three times this season.

The Seattle Mariners' record this season is hardly impressive, but it still has them in the thick of the AL West race.

None of the teams in the division have jumped out to a quick start and Texas leads the West with a 19-17 record. Seattle (17-22) is currently third just 3 1/2 games back.

The Mariners won this weekend's series with the Angels, a divisional rival, by taking the final two tests in the three-game set in Anaheim.

Seattle won a close game Saturday, winning by a 5-4 count before posting a 9-4 victory in Sunday's finale. Jose Lopez went 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and three runs scored to lead the way on Sunday.

Raul Ibanez and Yuniesky Betancourt each knocked in a pair of runs for the Mariners, who have won two straight following back-to-back losses.

Gil Meche (3-2) conceded four runs on six hits with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win.

"It was a battle out there," said Meche. "I felt tired but I was able to pound the strike zone and make it through six innings."

Meche's remarks about his most recent performance can be applied to Seattle's season as a whole. The Mariners aren't the most talented team in the division this year and have had to scuffle to for every win.

It's uncertain how Seattle's season will play out the rest of the way. The team clearly lacks the talent to be dominant, but skipper Mike Hargrove has the M's playing hard and that can lead to big things.

BIG SEXY GETS BIG HIT

Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson has struggled mightily this season, so Seattle fans must have been glad to see him do something positive for the club this weekend.

Sexson's home run in the top of the 13th inning lifted the Mariners to a 5-4 win Saturday in Anaheim. The 6-foot-8 slugger has five seasons of 29 or more home runs, but has just four long balls and a .196 batting average this year.

"Richie has been swinging the bat well," Mike Hargrove said. "When he hit that it was awfully nice to see."

WHO'S HOT

Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak. The 2001 AL MVP is hitting .395 (15-for-38) with seven runs scored during that stretch.

Second baseman Jose Lopez hit .375 (6-for-16) with a home run, four runs scored and two RBI in this weekend's series with the Angels.

WHO'S NOT

Third baseman Adrian Beltre is just 2-for-16 (.125) over his last four games. He does have a home run and two RBI in that span.

Outfielder Raul Ibanez has just four hits in his last 17 at-bats (.148).

COMING UP

The Mariners begin a three-game series in Oakland on Tuesday before returning home for this weekend's interleague series against the San Diego Padres.

Washburn pitches Seattle to 5-1 win

Meeting with the media prior to Wednesday night's game, Seattle Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said his team just had to put Tuesday's thrashing at the hands of the Chicago White Sox behind it.

This team is close, Hargrove said, and it's only a matter of time before the early-season close losses turn into wins.

After watching Jarrod Washburn turn in a masterful effort and seeing the Mariners come through with some key early hits against a tough pitcher, Hargrove believes the time for consistent winning may be here.

Washburn turned in his third-straight solid start and this time got enough run support as Seattle defeated the White Sox 5-1 to take two of three games from the defending World Series champions.

At 2 hours, 12 minutes, it was the fastest game the Mariners have played this season and came in the wake of Tuesday's 13-3 trouncing by the White Sox.

"The old truism that you live and die with your pitching has been born out the last two nights, and really the whole series," Hargrove said. "We got two really well-pitched games which we won and (Tuesday) night was something I'd like to forget. We'll take it. If you take two out of three from the White Sox, that's pretty special."

Seattle had lost its last three series and was going against the team with the best record in the American League. The Mariners were 0-6 against left-handed starters this season and in Mark Buehrle, were facing a pitcher with the third-most wins among southpaw starters in baseball since 2001 (84), and who was 3-0 this season. Buehrle came into the game 6-3 with a 2.96 earned run average all-time against Seattle.

But there was some reason to hope. As good as Buehrle had been against the Mariners, he was also 1-2 with a 5.82 ERA in four starts at Safeco Field.

For his part, Washburn had allowed a total of four earned runs and eight hits in his previous two starts, but both came in one-run losses (3-2 and 2-1).

Against Chicago, Washburn (2-3) allowed only three base runners in his first six innings, including just two hits. He retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced in a lineup that had been hitting .325 in its last 12 games. The one run and five hits for Chicago were both season lows.

"You've got to give credit to a guy when he throws the ball well," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. " (Washburn) kept our whole team off-balance."

Washburn finally ran into trouble in the seventh inning. Leading 4-0 after Raul Ibanez's third home run led off the bottom of the sixth, Washburn allowed back-to-back singles to Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye to open the seventh.

But center fielder Willie Bloomquist ran to his left to make a diving catch on a sinking line drive by Joe Crede for the first out.

"You don't have time to think about things with something like that," Bloomquist said. "It's just instinct. I saw the ball and just ran to a spot where I thought I had a shot at it."

"He doesn't make that play and it changes the whole ball game," Washburn said. "I left a changeup up a little bit and Crede put a good swing on it. It hung up there long enough for Willie to run under it and make a great catch. ... That catch won the game for us."

Juan Uribe followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Konerko, ending Washburn's night.

Rafael Soriano retired Chris Widger on a popup to shortstop to end the inning. Soriano has now stranded all 10 runners he's inherited this season.

Washburn finished the night allowing four hits and a walk in 62/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 3.51 with his third quality start in a row.

"He's pitched well every outing," Hargrove said of Washburn. "The last two have been exceptionally well pitched. But he's been good every outing. It's good to be able to win one when he's pitched well."

Soriano worked a perfect 11/3 innings, striking out two of the four batters he faced, and J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless ninth, getting out of a two-on, no-out situation by inducing Jermaine Dye to hit into a double play.

The Mariners got to Buehrle early. Richie Sexson and Carl Everett singled back-to-back to open the second, and Kenji Johjima loaded the bases when he was hit for the fifth time this season. Sexson scored on a groundout by Adrian Beltre and Jose Lopez drove in Everett and Johjima with a double to right.

"I just want to put the ball in play," said Lopez, who is tied for the team lead with 15 RBI. "I just try to hit the ball where it is."

"Anytime you go against a guy like Buehrle, you know you have to be on top of your game," Washburn said. "You're not expecting to get a whole lot of runs going in. To be able to get three early was great."

Seattle got an insurance run in the eighth when Everett drove in Ibanez with a sacrifice fly to center. Everett had two hits, including a double, and Sexson also had a pair of hits.

Seattle now heads out on a seven-game road trip having built just a little momentum. Washburn pointed out that when he pitched for Anaheim's 2002 World Series champion, the Angels started the season 6-14.

"We played pretty good baseball this season," Washburn said. "We're capable of playing better. We're not far off. We're a good team. It's just a matter of putting everything together and being more consistent."

Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki finished his preseason in good form, going 1-for-3 with a triple against Triple-A Tacoma as the spring training schedules ended Saturday for all Japanese players with major league teams.
Suzuki tripled to deep center in his second at-bat for his only hit of the day, two days before the Mariners open their regular season with a three-game series at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

Suzuki hit .476 with two RBIs with the Mariners after returning from the World Baseball Classic.

"It's always hard to get every part of my game fully prepared for a new season," Suzuki said briefly when asked about his preparations for the coming season.

Seattle rookie catcher Kenji Jojima batted seventh in the lineup and went 0-for-1 with a walk, finishing the preseason with a .292 average with two homers and five RBIs.

In Arlington, Texas, right-hander Akinori Otsuka retired the two batters he faced to pick up his first save of the spring, helping the Texas Rangers to a 6-4 win over the Florida Marlins.

"I realized that it would be perilous to throw outside pitches against power hitters here. It was good that I got the feel of pitching at this stadium today," Otsuka, Japan's closer at the WBC, said after his first mound appearance at his new team's home field.

Elsewhere, New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui had three infield grounders in as many at-bats in a 3-3 tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .267 and three homers while driving in seven runs in the preseason.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi had a .236 average with four RBIs and no homers this spring after going hitless in three at-bats against the New York Mets on Saturday. The Mets won 2-1.

Chicago White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi was 0-for-2 in a 10-5 win over the Atlanta Braves. He slumped with a .185 spring average with five RBIs and no homers for the World Series champions.

By Kenny Williams' estimation, left-hander Matt Thornton has been on the White Sox general manager's radar screen for two years. On Monday, Williams zeroed in and got his man.
Sensing a need to fortify the bullpen, the White Sox acquired Thornton from the Mariners for Joe Borchard, who figures to have more opportunities for playing time with Seattle. Thornton was stretching with the Mariners on Monday morning in Peoria, Ariz., when the news came down. He promptly hopped into his car, made the short drive to Surprise and greeted his new teammates before the White Sox-Royals game.

Thornton's arrival gives the White Sox an option of going with three lefties in the bullpen. Thornton, 29, was 0-4 with a 5.21 ERA for the Mariners last year, but the White Sox see vast potential in the 6-foot-6 hurler.

"He's got good stuff and a good angle to the plate -- breaking ball, fastball," Williams said. "He's got an explosiveness through the strike zone."

Lack of command has been Thornton's primary problem, but Williams is banking on pitching coach Don Cooper to get Thornton past that hurdle.

"Matt and Coop will get together immediately on getting him in the strike zone more, similar to how Coop worked with Bobby Jenks and Damaso Marte before that," Williams said. "If not for my confidence in Don Cooper, then certainly you can't consider these kind of things."

Cooper welcomes the challenge of working with Thornton.

"What I know about him is that he has a good power arm," Cooper said. "Obviously, he has struggled with his command from time to time and been erratic from time to time."

Cooper has seen tape of Thornton and feels he needs more of a "back-leg ride" to finish his pitches.

Thornton will welcome whatever advice Cooper can offer. The opportunity to contribute to a reigning world championship team is one the former first-round draft pick fully embraces.

"I'm excited," Thornton said. "I grew up in Michigan, and my family always got to see me when we came to Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit. Now, they'll be around a lot more. It's a clean slate for me. I'm starting over.

"I had a rough year last year, but I learned a lot about myself."

Thornton throws a four-seam fastball, sinking fastball, slider and changeup. He's generally in the 93-98 mph range with a changeup at 88 mph.

Like Thornton, Borchard expressed enthusiasm over the deal.

"It's one of those things that makes sense for both sides," Borchard said. "Things just work out a certain way, and they happen for a reason. I'm excited about a new opportunity, that's for sure."

Borchard, who spent much of the 2005 season at Triple-A Charlotte, doesn't regret voicing his feelings during the offseason.

"Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself and say how you feel," Borchard said. "I spoke up a little more this offseason, but I wasn't looking to rub anyone the wrong way. When you feel your career is at a crossroads, you have to say something."

Williams said he had a private talk with Borchard before the White Sox boarded their bus following their World Series triumph.

"He has been frustrated here, and understandably so," Williams said. "There may have been more of an opportunity to get him in the lineup had we not been in win mode constantly since he has been here."

Williams' message to Borchard was that he would do everything to find Borchard a better fit if the opportunity to play extensively didn't pan out in Chicago.

"Fortunately, we got somebody we really wanted and didn't just have to give Joe away," Williams said.

The White Sox could break camp with lefties Neal Cotts, Boone Logan and Thornton in their bullpen.

"That's one scenario, and probably the leading scenario right now," Williams said. "With each day that goes by and each time I hear Dustin Hermanson talk about retirement and injury and getting through the season ... it just makes me think that we may need to start him on the disabled list at the very least to insure that mentally and physically he's ultimately ready to compete at the level in which we all saw him compete last year. This may require more discussion, but that's where we are right now."