Ibanez rallies Mariners with 6 RBIs in 1 inning

[August 05, 2008]  SEATTLE (AP) -- Raul Ibanez had a grand slam and six RBIs -- all in a wild seventh inning -- and the Seattle Mariners staged their biggest comeback of a lost season to stun the Minnesota Twins 11-6 on Monday night.

Minnesota starter Glen Perkins cruised into the sixth with a 6-0 lead and was still comfortably up 6-1 with one out in the seventh. Seattle looked set to tie its season low of 28 games under .500, until Ibanez triggered a 10-run inning. Ibanez set Seattle's record for RBIs in one frame, one better than Ken Griffey Jr. had in the fifth inning on April 29, 1999, at the old Kingdome.

It was the most runs the Mariners scored in an inning in nearly five years, since Aug. 30, 2003, against Baltimore.

Roy Corcoran (2-0) pitched a scoreless top of the seventh for the victory.

The Twins, a major league-best 31-14 since June 13 entering Monday, fell percentage points behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, one day after they reached for the top for the first time in three months.

Perkins' trouble began with a single by Yuniesky Betancourt, a walk to Ichiro Suzuki and a single by Willie Bloomquist to load the bases with one out.

Ibanez, who thought he was going to be traded to Toronto or the New York Mets a week ago, then hit Perkins' inside fastball about six rows into the right-field bleachers. His seventh career grand slam cut the lead to 6-5 -- and awakened what had been another frustrated, booing crowd.

Perkins was stunned, staring with glazed eyes through catcher Joe Mauer as manager Ron Gardenhire replaced him with Brian Bass.

Adrian Beltre greeted Bass (3-4) with his third hit, a sharp double. Jose Lopez then blooped an RBI single to right to score Beltre with the tying run and end Bass' night as the home crowd roared.

Lopez took second with one out on a passed ball. With two outs rookie Jeff Clement, pinch-hitting for Kenji Johjima, single in Lopez with the go-ahead run. As Lopez slid into home, the home crowd was as loud as its been all dreary season and the Mariners dugout erupted and spilled partly onto the field as if they were 26 games over .500, instead of 26 under.

A throwing error by shortstop Brendan Harris gave Seattle two more runs.

Reliever Matt Guerrier then loaded the bases with two walks -- one intentional -- for Ibanez, who lined a single to put Seattle ahead 11-6.

Miguel Batista allowed six runs and seven hits, with four walks, in his three-plus innings, raising the right-hander's ERA to 7.49 in his 19 starts -- the worst among major leaguers with at least 15 starts.

Nick Punto hit his second home run in 167 plate appearances this season leading off the third for Minnesota.

Notes: When Francisco Liriano's first major league win since 2006 put the Twins in first place on Sunday, it was the first time since 1990 a team had gained sole possession of first place this late in a season on a pitcher's initial win of the season. ... The saga of LHP Erik Bedard's injured shoulder inched on with Mariners trainer Rick Griffin saying Bedard has an impingement in the joint. Bedard, who has six wins in 15 starts and none since July 4, will throw on flat ground every other day this week beginning Tuesday. He will then get re-evaluated.

[Associated Press; By GREGG BELL]

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