D-Rays Drop Mariners Off Playoff Pace

Sunday, September 16th 2007, 6:53 pm

By: News On 6

SEATTLE (AP) _ Rookie Delmon Young drove in four runs and Andy Sonnanstine gave up one run in seven innings, helping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat Seattle 9-2 on Sunday and drop the slumping Mariners further off the playoff pace.

With 14 games left, Seattle is six games behind New York in the wild-card chase pending the outcome of the Yankees' game against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night. The Mariners split the four-game series with the Devil Rays after winning the first two.

The Mariners were one game out of first place in the AL West and three games ahead in the wild-card race on Aug. 24, but are just 5-16 since then.

Sonnanstine (6-9) worked out of jams in the fifth and sixth, scattering six hits and striking out eight with a pair of walks.

Carl Crawford hit a two-run double to left in the fifth to give the Devil Rays a 3-1 lead. Young belted a two-run double in a three-run seventh to make it 7-1 and added a two-run single in the eighth.

Seattle manager John McLaren removed starter Jarrod Washburn in the fifth after Crawford's double and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Reliever Jon Huber halted the rally on just his second pitch by inducing a double play.

Washburn (9-15) allowed three runs and six hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Prior to Sunday, Washburn had a 10-2 career record against Tampa Bay and had won five of his last six starts against the Devil Rays.

But Washburn, similar to the rest of the starting rotation, has struggled over his last several weeks. He came into the game with an 0-4 record and 7.29 ERA in his last four starts. He failed to record an out past the sixth inning for the fifth consecutive game.

The Mariners loaded the bases in the sixth before Sonnanstine struck out Jose Guillen swinging and got Ben Broussard to ground into a double play. In the fifth, the Mariners had runners on first and second before Sonnanstine fanned two and got a flyout.

Beltre hit a solo homer to left to tie the game at 1 just one pitch after Ichiro Suzuki got thrown out trying to steal second.

Carlos Pena hit his 40th home run, a solo shot to center, to give the Devil Rays a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Brendan Harris had three hits for Tampa Bay.

Wladimir Balentien hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth to make it 9-2.

Notes: Pena became the 110th player to hit at least 40 home runs in a season, and the 54th different AL player. ... Beltre hit his 25th homer to give him at least 25 homers for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in his career. ... The slumping Jose Lopez started at second base for the first time in five games for the Mariners. He went 0-for-3. ... In the four-game series, Tampa Bay starting pitchers were 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 27 innings. They struck out 30 with only three walks.