Major League Baseball

Ackley, Beavan lead Seattle past Oakland 8-4

Published Aug. 2, 2011 7:20 a.m. ET

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In one inning Monday night, the Seattle Mariners topped their run output from the previous three games.

A bases-loaded triple by Dustin Ackley certainly helped.

Ackley continued his hitting tear with a pair of extra-base hits, rookie righty Blake Beavan escaped early trouble to pitch well into the seventh and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 8-4 on Monday night.

Ackley now has 19 extra-base hits in his first 37 games. It's the second-highest total for any Mariners rookie in their first 50 games. Ackley passed Ken Griffey Jr.'s total of 18 with his triple in the second and a double in the fourth. Alvin Davis had 26 extra-base hits in his first 50 games during the 1984 season when he was the AL rookie of the year.

His triple was the capper to a five-run second inning that topped the four runs Seattle scored over the weekend in dropping two of three to Tampa Bay.

''That's always fun, it makes you relax more,'' Ackley said of the early outburst. ''You don't put as much pressure on yourself, especially doing it early like that is pretty nice.''

Ackley led a barrage of 16 hits - one off Seattle's season high - that knocked Oakland starter Trevor Cahill (9-10) out after just four innings, his second shortest outing of the season.

Oakland's Cliff Pennington saw his 15-game hitting streak end after going 0 for 2 and being replaced by Eric Sogard in the sixth inning. Pennington revealed after the game he's been diagnosed with Bell's palsy and left because he was bothered by the condition that can cause paralysis or weakness of the facial muscles.

''I felt a little last night after we landed here and it got a little worse today,'' Pennington said.

Ackley wasn't alone in making Cahill's night miserable. Brendan Ryan had three hits before the sixth inning, newcomer Casper Wells had a pair of singles and Franklin Gutierrez had an RBI double as part of Seattle's big second inning.

But the key hit came from Ackley, the Mariners top prospect that has done nothing to dispel that belief since being called up in late June.

With one out in the second and two runs already in, Ackley hit a sinking liner to right field. Oakland's Ryan Sweeney charged the line drive but his sliding attempt was well short and he failed to knock the ball down, watching it bounce all the way to the wall. Ackley raced around to third with his fourth triple, clearing the bases to give Seattle a 5-0 lead.

Miguel Olivo added an RBI single in the fourth and Justin Smoak scored on a wild pitch in the fifth as Seattle won for just the third time in 22 games.

''It's each man to an individual going out there and just having to commit to it and be all in with it with their approach and their game plan and having the discipline to stick with it,'' Seattle manager Eric Wedge said.

Beavan (2-2) escaped a bases-loaded, none out jam in the first inning without giving up a run and then held the A's to just one hit over the next five innings. Because of the way Beavan has pitched since being called up from Triple-A, the Mariners were able to unload starters Doug Fister and Erik Bedard before the trade deadline. Beavan didn't have the results to show for it, losing his last two decisions - both times pitching into the seventh and giving up just three earned runs.

It was an uncertain few days for Beavan, when it looked as if Seattle might have a six-man rotation or he could be the odd-man out before the Mariners traded Bedard and Fister.

''I didn't really know what was going on. I don't think they did either,'' Beavan said. ''It was just hanging tight and letting everything play out.''

Beavan won for the first time since his debut July 3 against San Diego. Beavan allowed three straight singles to start the game, but then struck out Josh Willingham and Sweeney looking before getting Conor Jackson to fly out to left to end the threat.

After the first, Beavan allowed just one hit - a double by Willingham in the third - until the seventh inning when the A's got another run off the young righty. Beavan left with two outs in the seventh after throwing 113 pitches. He was charged with three earned runs, struck out three and walked two.

While Beavan impressed, Cahill continued to regress as Oakland started a brutal nine-game road trip to Seattle, Tampa Bay and Toronto. He lost for the fifth time in his last six decisions and in those five losses, his ERA is 9.24. He was rocked for 12 hits by the Mariners.

NOTES: Mariners 3B Chone Figgins left the game in the bottom of the third inning with a right hip flexor injury. He is day to day and was replaced by Smoak. ... Hideki Matsui recorded the 60,000th hit in A's history on an infield single in the first inning that loaded the bases. ... OF David DeJesus (sore thumb) hit off a tee on Monday and manager Bob Melvin thought DeJesus could be ready to play by Wednesday's series finale.

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