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Carp all smiles after homer beats Angels

Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 13 years, 10 months AGO
| August 30, 2011 9:00 PM

SEATTLE (AP) - Mike Carp hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, lifting the Seattle Mariners to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

Dustin Ackley, who had three hits and a pair of RBIs, opened the eighth with a double. Carp then hit the first pitch from Hisanori Takahashi (3-3) 432 feet into a fan's lap in the second-deck restaurant in left field.

The drive gave Carp 22 RBIs in August. Danny Tartabull holds the club record with 25 RBIs in a month, in July 1986.

The loss dropped the Angels 3? games behind idle Texas in the AL West.

Tom Wilhelmsen (2-0) earned the victory with one inning of relief. Brandon League finished the ninth for his 32nd save in 37 opportunities.

Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo hit his team-leading 24th home run, a two-run shot in the fourth.

Ichiro Suzuki had two doubles and extended his hitting streak to a season-high 12 games.

Suzuki has had 40 career double-digit hitting streaks, tied with Pete Rose for the fifth most since 1918. The others in front of him are Ty Cobb (65), Hank Aaron (44), Al Simmons (42) and Stan Musial (41).

Suzuki hit Joel Pineiro's second pitch of the game for a double that bounced over the right-center wall. Franklin Gutierrez singled to left, moving Suzuki to third. Gutierrez later was caught in rundown.

Ackley, a home run shy of the cycle, sent Suzuki home with a sacrifice fly to left.

In the second, Miguel Olivo opened with a double down the left-field line and eventually would score, also on a sacrifice fly to left by Kyle Seager for a 2-0 lead.

Trumbo tied it with two outs in the fourth. Torii Hunter singled just before Trumbo launched his ball off the left-field upper-deck facade, on a 1-0 pitch from Blake Beavan. The Angels have had at least one home run in 19 of their last 20 games.

The Angels added another in the inning. Vernon Wells singled to center followed by Erick Aybar's RBI double into deep right-center.

The Mariners tied it in the fifth, also with two outs. Suzuki doubled into the gap in left. Ackley drove a run-scoring triple into the gap in right for a 3-3 score.

Ackley, who made his big-league debut June 16, has at least one hit in 46 of his 62 games. He's now hitting .291.

The Angels had something going in the seventh with speedy Aybar on first and one out. With Aybar breaking for second, Peter Bourjos hit a line shot to left. Casper Wells raced in, caught on the run and quickly fired to first to double up Aybar.

Trumbo doubled with two outs in the ninth but League induced Wells to ground out to short.

NOTES: The Angels are concerned about their bullpen depth down the stretch. "We're not immune to that," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. "The way our starters (Jered) Weaver, (Dan) Haren and (Ervin) Santana have pitched, they have absorbed a lot of that bullpen non-depth." He said Thursday when rosters can be expanded "we're going to add pitching depth and bench depth." ... Mariners 1B Justin Smoak, on the DL (broken nose) since Aug. 13, has been sent out on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Tacoma. He was expected to play first base Monday for six innings then DH Tuesday. Mariners manager Eric Wedge called a 15-minute team meeting before the game. "I just reinforced what we're playing for here," he said. "Every game means something, every game counts for something, every game is part of who you are and what you'll eventually be." Seager had his nine-game hitting streak ended. ... Rookie LH Anthony Vasquez (1-0, 8.44) will start Tuesday against the Angels. It will be just the second big league start for Vasquez, who was called up from Triple-A on Aug. 23. The Angels' starter, RH Jerome Williams (1-0, 4.82), is almost as raw. He was called up Aug. 17 and this will be his second start, his fourth appearance.