Ichiro Suzuki reached base on an in-field single in the bottom of the eighth and advanced to second on a throwing error. Chone Figgins drove him in with a line drive single, putting Seattle up 3-1. That run proved essential. Alex Gordon blasted a solo home run in the top of the ninth, but Dave Aardsma survived and Seattle held on to win 3-2.
The Mariners are now 15-21 in one run games. The 2009 Mariners were 35-20. Aardsma bears much of the blame for the reversal. His home runs per nine innings has more than doubled. That has contributed to a net loss of 3.33 games of win probability added.
Seattle hosts a three game series with the Oakland Athletics, starting tomorrow.