SEATTLE (Ticker) -- After failing to come through with the glove, Mark McLemore delivered with the bat.
McLemore's bloop single with two outs in the 10th inning plated Mike Cameron from second base as the Seattle Mariners edged the Oakland Athletics, 4-3.
Seattle took a 3-1 lead into the ninth but closer Kazuhiro Sasaki surrendered a leadoff homer to Eric Chavez. The A's went on to load the bases with one out but Sasaki struck out Mark Ellis. With a chance to escape the jam, Sasaki got a ground ball to third base but McLemore, filling in for injured starter Jeff Cirillo, booted the ball, allowing pinch runner Eric Byrnes to score.
"I was right there, I thought I had it and I was going to second with it, it just didn't want to go," said McLemore, who replaced Jeff Cirillo, who strained his back in the fifth inning. "It was right in my glove. Right in the middle of it, I just booted it."
In the 10th, A's reliever Jeremy Fikac (0-1) got the first two batters but Cameron walked and stole second. McLemore then atoned for his mistake by blooping a 3-1 pitch into left-center field, scoring Cameron easily.
"I needed to get a hit," McLemore said. "There is no making up for (the error). I just try to get a hit, if I get the ball anywhere in the outfield Cammy is going to score, so I just tried not to do too much in that situation. I just tried to hit the ball back up the middle, not pull it or kill it. Fortunately, I got enough of it off the end of the bat and Tejada couldn't get to it."
"I came up to him at the end of the ninth inning and said to him, 'Yyou are going to win this game. I still love you,'" Mariners manager Bob Melvin said. "It just happened (the error), but it is apropos that he is the guy who ended up getting the hit to win the game."
Jeff Nelson notched the win with a hitless top of the 10th inning. Oakland lost three of the four games in the series and has dropped seven of its last eight overall.
"We shouldn't have even been in it, anyway," Chavez said. "We were lucky to be in it with that error. Mac was able to come back in a good situation and redeem himself."
Seattle built a run in the first as Ichiro Suzuki walked, was bunted over, took third on a flyout and scored on Edgar Martinez's single up the middle.
Martinez opened the fourth with a walk and, one out later, Cameron doubled to left. After an intentional walk, Cirillo bounced into a forceout at the plate. But Dan Wilson made it 3-0 with a two-run single to left.
Oakland got on the board in the fifth as Erubiel Durazo beat out an infield hit and took third on a single by Ramon Hernandez. Chris Singleton followed with a sacrifice fly.
Mariners starter Gil Meche had his best start of the season, allowing an unearned run and four hits in six innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
"I just wanted to go out there and be as aggressive as I could," Meche said. "My last couple of games I was throwing my ball up in the zone and you don't have quite as much confidence. Today, I got behind every once in a while and just challenged them with my fastball."
Shigetoshi Hasegawa continued his outstanding season with 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Arthur Rhodes got the final two outs in the eighth. Sasaki started the ninth and ran into immediate trouble.
Chavez greeted Sasaki with a long home run to center field and Jermaine Dye followed with a single. Byrnes ran for Dye and Durazo walked. After a sacrifice, Singleton was walked intentionally.
Sasaki then appeared to escape the jam, only to see his defense betray him.
"You can't get mad right there and have it affect the next batter," Sasaki said through an interpreter. "I wanted to refocus and I was able to go out a just pitch my game after that."
It was Sasaki's second blown save in five opportunities.
"I gave up the home run and my next thought was that I have to hold them and be able to get the save, obviously," Sasaki said. "But when they scored again my next thought was that I am not going to let them take the lead. So, I was trying to be positive, and it worked out."
