TORONTO (AP) The Seattle Mariners' sixth straight loss left manager Bob Melvin nearly speechless.
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Mariners blow lead, lose sixth straight
”It's pretty amazing, really, that we wound up losing that game,” Melvin said Thursday night. ”It really is. I'm at a loss.”
The Mariners blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning in their 10-8 loss to Toronto. At 32-51, Seattle is 19 games below .500 for the first time since Aug. 6, 1994.
”We've played terrible in the first half, as bad as we can play,” Bret Boone said. ”The majority of the guys in this room have won 300 games the last three years. I don't know why it has gone this way. We just haven't done our job.”
Toronto's Carlos Delgado hit a three-run homer in the ninth to finish off the Mariners.
With the Blue Jays down 8-6 in the ninth, Dave Berg homered off Eddie Guardado (2-1) with one out. Chris Gomez followed with a single, and Orlando Hudson struck out for the second out. Reed Johnson then singled before Delgado hit a first-pitch fastball into the second deck in right field.
Some of the 16,188 fans booed Delgado after he popped out with the bases loaded in the first and second innings by swinging at the first pitch. He wasn't about to change his approach.
”In the same game you're terrible and you're a hero,” Delgado said. ”That's their opinion. They can do what they want. Hopefully, we'll have more people in here either cheering or booing. That's something. That would be nice.”
Delgado, eligible for free agency this fall, was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after missing 33 games because of a strained rib cage. He was second in AL MVP voting last year after hitting .302 with 42 homers and a major league-leading 145 RBIs.
”He just crushed it,” said Toronto reliever Vinnie Chulk, who was in line for the loss. ”I was like, 'Ah, just perfect.”'
Justin Speier (2-5) pitched the ninth for the victory.
Seattle's Edgar Martinez drove in two runs to become the career RBI leader among designated hitters. He has 979, one more than Harold Baines.
Seattle's Randy Winn hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth. Winn went 4-for-5 with four RBIs.
Toronto's Josh Phelps hit a three-run triple in the fifth, giving him 13 RBIs in three games. Phelps went 6-for-9 in the series, raising his average to .246.
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