SEATTLE — Rookie Michael Pineda gave up just one hit and struck out a career-high 10, Dustin Ackley homered, doubled and scored twice, and the Seattle Mariners won for just the second time in 20 games, 3-2 over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Pineda didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning when Ben Zobrist's RBI single brought the Rays even at 2-all. Ackley and Mike Carp answered in the bottom of the inning and gave Pineda just his second win in his last seven starts.
Pineda (9-7) pitched 6 1-3 innings, reliever Jeff Gray and closer Brandon League combined on the one-hitter.
Carp gave Seattle the lead with an RBI single in the sixth inning after Ackley's double, helping Seattle win at home for the first time since July 3 — although the Mariners spent most of the month on the road.
Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb (3-1) also struck out a career-high nine, but suffered his first major league loss. Cobb had most of Seattle's lineup guessing with the lone exception being Ackley, currently the only batter in Seattle's lineup hitting over .300. Following Ichiro Suzuki's infield single to start the game, Ackley laced his fifth homer of the season on a line into the seats in right-center field.
Then Ackley helped give Seattle the lead for good in the sixth and make sure Pineda came away with the victory. On the 10th pitch of his at-bat against Cobb, Ackley lined a one-hop double off the wall in right-center, near where he homered earlier in the game.
Before Ackley could even get comfortable at second, he was headed home after Carp's go-ahead single into the right field corner. While the rest of the Mariners have struggled, Carp is hitting .359 since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on July 18.
Cobb also went 6 1-3 innings, allowing six hits and walked only one.
Pineda was dominant in the early innings, but his pitch count was at the point where he needed to be removed after giving up consecutive walks to Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce with one out in the seventh. Gray got out of the seventh and worked a perfect eighth before turning it over to League in the ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances.
It was the second time this season Tampa Bay has been limited to one hit.
Of the first nine outs recorded by Pineda, seven were by strikeout. He stunned Rays catcher Robinson Chirinos in the fifth by accidentally throwing an 0-2 pitch over his head and to the backstop, only to freeze Chirinos with a fastball down the middle on the next pitch for his ninth strikeout.
Pineda saw his no-hit bid end in the sixth on Zobrist's single just over the head of second baseman Jack Wilson that scored Sean Rodriguez. Pineda jumped in the air and slammed his hand into his glove as the ball sailed over Wilson's leaping attempt.
Tampa Bay got its first run off Pineda — unearned — in the fourth inning after Johnny Damon stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Josh Bard. He scored on Zobrist's groundout.
It was a hectic day of change for the Mariners, who traded starting pitcher Doug Fister and reliever David Pauley to Detroit early in the day in exchange for outfielder Casper Wells, pitcher Charlie Furbush, infielder Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later. Fister received the worst run support of any pitcher in the American League this season, the reason behind his 3-12 record despite a 3.33 ERA. But now he'll get to pitch in a pennant race with the Tigers leading the AL Central.
Notes: It was the 12th one-hitter in Mariners history. ... Zobrist extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his line drive single in the sixth. ... Seattle expects Wells and Furbush to be in uniform in time for Sunday's series finale. ... Saturday was League's first save since July 4 at Oakland, two days before Seattle's 17-game losing streak began
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.