Major League Baseball

Mariners 9, Rays 6

Published Jun. 6, 2011 2:08 a.m. ET

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Miguel Olivo really enjoyed Tampa Bay's trip to Seattle.

Olivo hit a tiebreaking three-run homer off Joel Peralta in the eighth inning and the Mariners rallied for a 9-6 win over the Rays on Sunday.

Olivo also connected against Peralta on Saturday and has homered in three straight games overall. He is batting .378 (17 for 45) with four homers and 13 RBIs in his last 13 games.

The catcher has raised his batting average to .251 and hit five of his seven homers this season since he struggled through a rough April.

''He's putting up better at-bats. I think he's recognizing pitches better,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''He's a big-game player. He's had a lot of big hits in his career and he wants to be up there in those situation, that's half the battle, and he had another big hit for us today.''

Olivo said he's feeling more comfortable at the plate and relishing the opportunity to come through in big situations for his team.

''Everybody I think is hoping for that (opportunity),'' Olivo said. ''You want to be a hitter and hit the ball and help the team win.''

Ichiro Suzuki and Greg Halman each drove in two runs for Seattle, which has won six straight series and 14 of 18 games overall. Brandon League pitched a scoreless ninth for his 16th save, completing the Mariners' 15th come-from-behind victory this season.

Tampa Bay scored three times in the eighth take a 6-5 lead, but J.P. Howell (0-1) couldn't hold on. Justin Smoak walked with one out in the bottom half and Jack Cust and Adam Kennedy followed with base hits. Kennedy's tying single drove in pinch runner Jack Wilson.

Olivo then greeted Peralta with a drive into the Rays' bullpen in left field. Peralta fell behind in the count to Olivo and said he didn't want to load the bases in that situation.

''We played well and hit the ball well today,'' Rays manager Joe Maddon said. ''We did things we've been wanting to do. We just didn't get the pitching we are accustomed to.''

B.J. Upton singled in Ben Zobrist and scored on Felipe Lopez's double to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead in the third inning.

Seattle responded with three runs in the bottom half and two more in the seventh. Suzuki had a two-run triple in the third and Halman added a tiebreaking two-run triple of his own in the seventh.

Wade Davis allowed five hits, struck out four and walked one in seven innings for Tampa Bay.

Erik Bedard tossed seven solid innings for Seattle, yielding three runs and eight hits. He struck out seven and walked none.

''After the little rough start, it was nice to settle down and get some innings for the team,'' Bedard said. ''Early on I was just missing a little bit and the more innings I threw, the better it got.''

Once Bedard left, the Rays jumped all over Jamey Wright (2-2). Johnny Damon led off with a single to left field and Zobrist and Matt Joyce followed with doubles to tie it at 5. Pinch-hitter Evan Longoria delivered a two-out RBI single into right field to put the Rays back on top.

NOTES: Longoria did not start after leaving Saturday's game with tightness in his left side. ... Halman had three hits in his first game since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

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