M's Beltre belts Indians

4/30/2008
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND - Adrian Beltre hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in Seattle's five-run ninth inning, and the Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 last night.

Jose Lopez singled to start the ninth off Rafael Betancourt (1-1) and took second on a soft single by Raul Ibanez. Beltre then hit an 0-1 pitch the opposite way to right for his fifth homer and a 5-2 lead.

"It was a fastball away and it felt really good to hit it out," Beltre said. "I'm not quite there yet, the team isn't either, but we're not as bad as some people think. I don't see why we should panic. It's only been 25 games."

Yuniesky Betancourt added a two-out, two-run single off Craig Breslow.

"It wasn't a very good night," said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge, who expressed displeasure at his club's offense. The Indians have scored two or fewer runs in four of their last six games, including three straight losses.

"We didn't have a whole lot going on," Wedge said. "We can't be afraid, have to stick our nose in there with two outs, and we're not even close to doing that."

Mark Lowe (1-1) pitched 11/3 innings for the win. He came on to strike out Jhonny Peralta and end the eighth after Cleveland tied it 2-2 on an RBI groundout by Travis Hafner.

Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore had two doubles and scored twice in his return after missing two games with a sprained right ankle. Sizemore scored on a first-inning double by David Dellucci and drew a leadoff walk against Seattle starter Carlos Silva to start Cleveland's tying rally in the eighth.

Jose Vidro had a pair of RBI doubles off Indians starter Fausto Carmona. Vidro's looping double to left scored Ibanez in the third, tying it at 1. Ibanez had reached when his two-out grounder was misplayed by second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera for an error. Vidro's two-out double made it 2-1 in the fifth.

Carmona allowed one earned run and eight hits over 62/3 innings. The right-hander, who went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA a year ago, walked four, including Beltre three times.

Silva, trying to become the first Seattle starter to open 4-0 since Jamie Moyer in 2005, took a 2-1 lead into the eighth. The right-hander, signed to a four-year, $48 million contract in December, gave up two runs and seven hits over seven-plus innings.

Assistant trainer Rob Nodine went to the mound to check on Silva as he warmed up to start the eighth. The 29-year-old, who had left his previous start in Baltimore in the seventh inning with tightness in his right thigh, stayed in the game.

The first-pitch temperature was 47 degrees and a light drizzle fell for a few innings - almost balmy conditions compared to the Mariners' trip to town last April, when the four-game series was snowed out.

NOTES: Indians manager Eric Wedge benched 1B Ryan Garko, who is in an 0-for-23 slump. ... Hafner went 0-for-4 and is hitting .137 (7-for-51) over his last 14 games. ... Vidro has a team-leading seven multi-RBI games. ... Beltre's four previous homers this season were solo shots. ... Indians OF Franklin Gutierrez went 3-for-4.