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  Saturday, Jul. 29 4:05pm ET
Seattle wins longest game at Safeco
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

SEATTLE (AP) -- Seattle Mariners catcher Joe Oliver waddled around the clubhouse, his knees wrapped in ice packs to ease the pain of a long day at work Saturday. For the 35-year-old Oliver and the rest of the Mariners, the pain was worth it.

Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez, left, and Edgar Martinez celebrate after Martinez hit a 13th-inning, game-winning single to score Ricky Henderson and give the Mariners the victory Saturday.

Edgar Martinez singled home the winning run in the 13th inning, giving the Mariners a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the longest game in Safeco Field's 1-year history.

"That must be a very deflating loss for (Toronto), because it's exhausting just to play that long," All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez said after going 2-for-4 for Seattle.

Rickey Henderson reached first on an infield single to lead off the 13th against Roy Halladay (4-7), Toronto's seventh pitcher.

David Bell then bunted, and Henderson beat catcher Alberto Castillo's throw to second. Rodriguez singled but Henderson, who paused between second and third, didn't try to score.

Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi felt the failure to get either runner out when Castillo threw to second to try to get Henderson cost Toronto the win.

"He thought the guy on first was 42 years old, or 43," Fregosi said about the speedy veteran Henderson. "If we get an out there, it might be different. You have to get an out there."

Said Castillo: "That was the game. I was trying to be aggressive, trying to get the lead runner like I always do. I saw Rickey walking, kind of, and I thought I had a shot. That was the big play of the day that wasn't made."

Martinez then delivered the game-winning hit by singling up the middle under the glove of shortstop Alex Gonzalez, ending the longest of Safeco's 94 games after 5 hours, 4 minutes. It was Seattle's first victory in five extra-inning games this season.

"It was just a great win and a long game for us," Martinez said. "And it was a great day for Joe (Oliver) and all the relievers."

Reliever Brett Tomko (5-3) gave up two hits over the final three innings. Oliver, a 10-year veteran, went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a home run. He caught all 13 innings for five different pitchers. The four relievers who followed starter Jaime Moyer combined to limit a powerful Toronto lineup to no runs and two hits to go with 12 strikeouts in seven innings of work.

"They're a deadly team and all you can do is try to keep them off-balance," said Tomko, mentioned in trade rumors as Monday's trading deadline approaches. "You're going to give up hits and runs against them."

Seattle loaded the bases with one out in the 10th, but Henderson struck out against Lance Painter, and Bell flied out.

The Mariners tied the score at 5 in the sixth when Oliver hit an RBI double and scored on Stan Javier's single. The teams nearly brawled when John Frascatore hit Rodriguez in the left thigh.

The two players exchanged words and had to be restrained, but no punches were thrown as both benches and bullpens came on the field. Toronto pitchers have hit opposing batters a league-leading 47 times, including four in this series.

Moyer, Seattle's ace, didn't get a decision for the first time in 18 games since last Sept. 8 against Toronto. Moyer (11-3) allowed five runs and seven hits in six innings.

Toronto starter Frank Castillo gave up five runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings, striking out seven.

Oliver, starting in place of Dan Wilson, homered in the third for a 1-0 lead, and Seattle got two more runs when left fielder Shannon Stewart lost John Olerud's fly ball in the sun, and it hit him in the left eye for a two-run double.

Stewart has a bruise above the eye and probably will be able to play Sunday.

Tony Batista hit an RBI grounder in the fourth, and Toronto took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Rob Ducey, acquired by Toronto on Wednesday from Philadelphia, and Craig Grebeck's two-run single.

Todd Greene's second homer of the season made it 5-3 in the sixth.

Game notes
Both teams are 1-4 in extra innings. ... Olerud's third-inning single stopped an 0-for-13 slide. ... Toronto's Carlos Delgado doubled for the seventh consecutive game. He is 12-for-25 with 10 doubles during that stretch. ... Grebeck, making his 37th start in 105 games, had his fifth straight two-hit game. ... Seattle is 7-17 in one-run games, worst in the American League, and it had lost its last seven one-run decisions. ... The Mariners were the last team in the majors to win an extra-inning game this season.
 


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