Twins blow chance to move into 1st-place tie

[August 26, 2008]  SEATTLE (AP) -- Adrian Beltre homered in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Seattle Mariners kept Minnesota out of first place in the AL Central with a 4-2 win over the Twins on Monday night.

With one out in the 11th, Jesse Crain (5-4) walked Raul Ibanez on a full count. Then Beltre drilled a low, first-pitch fastball over the left-field fence to give Seattle the win. After he rounded the bases, Beltre was swarmed by teammates at home plate.

It was Seattle's second game-ending home run of the month and season, and the sixth walkoff homer of Beltre's career.

Joe Nathan blew his fourth save in 38 chances in the ninth, when Beltre scored after a leadoff double. Two of those blown saves have come against woeful Seattle, the AL's worst team.

The Twins fell a game behind the White Sox, who split two games at Baltimore on Monday.

Minnesota dropped to 2-3 on its current 14-game road trip -- its longest since 1969. The Republican National Convention takes place next week in Minneapolis. The Twins have set a goal of at least seven wins on a trip that started in Anaheim, Calif., and will continue to Oakland and Toronto after two more games here.

R.A. Dickey (4-8) pitched a perfect top of the 11th for Seattle, which won for just the third time in 11 games.

Delmon Young hit an RBI single in the eighth off Sean Green to give the Twins a 2-1 lead. Then Eddie Guardado, acquired in a trade from Texas hours earlier, gave the Twins the dependable, eighth-inning setup work they've been seeking for months.

The 37-year-old retired Ichiro Suzuki on a ground ball, then Yuniesky Betancourt and Raul Ibanez on meager infield popups in a quick, perfect debut. The entire roster gave Guardado fist pumps in the dugout and pitching coach Rick Anderson put his arm around Guardado after his first appearance for Minnesota since the 2003 AL division series, against the Yankees.

But Nathan allowed a leadoff double to Beltre in the ninth, then shortstop Nick Punto dropped a three-hop grounder from Jose Lopez for an error. Rookie pinch-hitter Jeff Clement hit into a double play that scored Beltre and sent the game to extra innings.

Miguel Batista, who replaced Dickey in the rotation, lowered his ERA to 6.26 with one of the best starts of his dreadful season. Batista allowed one run and five hits in six innings in his first start since Aug. 4 for the Mariners.

Francisco Liriano allowed five hits and one run in six innings, but did not win for the first time in his five starts since Minnesota recalled him from Triple A. He is 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA in those five starts.

Alexi Casilla hit an RBI single in the third to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. Suzuki kept Minnesota from expanding its lead by cutting down Young at the plate in the fourth. Young was trying to score from second on a single by Brian Buscher.

The Mariners tied the game in the fifth on Miguel Cairo's RBI double, and they were lucky to score at all. Prior to the double, Cairo whiffed on a hit-and-run, and Jamie Burke was caught between first and second. But second baseman Casilla threw the ball away, allowing Burke to advance to third.

Notes: Joe Mauer's career-high 16-game hitting streak was snapped. ... Seattle optioned RHP Mark Lowe to Triple-A Tacoma two days after he was in the left foot by a ball off the bat of Oakland's Frank Thomas. RHP Randy Messenger was promoted from Tacoma. Messenger pitched a scoreless top of the ninth. Riggleman said the team expects to have Lowe, who is unavailable for the next few days, back when rosters expand for September next week.

[Associated Press; By GREGG BELL]

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