Game recap: Mariners 13, Athletics 3

Takeaway

1B Adam Lind, another low-profile, off-season pickup, was the hero Wednesday night at Safeco Field in a 13-3 win over the A’s, giving the Mariners the ninth series win over their past 11. Lind hit two home runs and drove in six runs as Seattle, at 28-18 with the fourth-best record in MLB, maintained its 1½-game lead over the Rangers atop the AL West.

Essential moment

Having already tied the score 1-1 with a solo homer in the second inning, Lind added his second, a three-run shot, in Seattle’s six-run third inning for a 7-1 lead.

Pitchers

Starter Hisashi Iwakuma didn’t have to be great. With the way the offense produced, he was plenty good. Iwakuma allowed three runs and eight hits over seven innings. The best thing he did was eat innings so that the bullpen will be well-rested coming out of Thursday’s off day.

Hitters

Lind was 4-for-4, but just about everyone contributed as the Mariners established season highs in hits (17) and runs (13). C Chris Iannetta was the only starting player who didn’t get a hit. DH Nelson Cruz went 3-for-4 and hit a two-run homer in the seventh, while 3B Kyle Seager, SS Luis Sardinas and LF Norichika Aoki each had two hits. Lind had an RBI single in the fifth and drove in another run with an eighth-inning double.

Words

“We’ve been playing well, but we haven’t really had a game like that all season. To do it early, to get out to a lead like that . . . We’ve played a lot of close games, so it was nice.” – Lind, on matching the most one-sided win of the season

Noteworthy

CF Leonys Martin came out of the game in the third inning. He strained his hamstring and is listed as day-to-day . . . SS Chris Taylor was sent back to Triple-A before Wednesday’s game, ending his latest stint after just three games. Taylor’s only significant action came Monday, when he had two throwing errors that led to four unearned runs in the eighth inning of a 5-0 loss to Oakland  . . . INF Luis Sardinas returned from Triple-A and went 2-for-4 Wednesday night . . . Tuesday’s 6-5 win over the A’s on a walk-off two-run homer from Martin was the Mariners’ 12^th come-from-behind win of the season. Only Baltimore (14) and San Francisco (13) had more comeback wins heading into Wednesday.

Next

A Thursday of rest allows the Mariners to recharge before another struggling team comes to Safeco Field. The Twins (12-34) are up next, with LHP Pat Dean (0-1, 3.86 ERA) scheduled to start Friday’s series opener. RHP Felix Hernandez (4-3, 2.21 ERA) and the King’s Court hope to add to Minnesota’s misery.