GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: SEATTLE (73-61) at TORONTO (69-66)

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">AL AT TORONTO - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Morrow relieved E O'Flaherty.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 4
TORONTO 6 BOTTOM, 8TH

DUE UP FOR TORONTO: J McDonald (.253, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
SEATTLE 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 4 6 0
TORONTO 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 6 14 0 (TOP 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: SEA - BRANDON MORROW
TOR - BRIAN WOLFE

DUE UP FOR SEATTLE: B BROUSSARD (.289, 1-FOR-3)
K JOHJIMA (.291, 0-FOR-2, SF, RBI)
J LOPEZ (.262, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">SEATTLE (4) VS TORONTO (6) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

SEATTLE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
I Suzuki cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .350
J Vidro dh 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 .313
J Guillen rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .286
R Ibanez lf 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .282
A Beltre 3b 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 .281
B Broussard 1b 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 .289
K Johjima c 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 .291
J Lopez 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .262
Y Betancourt ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .285

Totals 29 4 6 4 1 7 5

BATTING: 2B - J Vidro (20, S Downs). SF - K Johjima. RBI - R Ibanez 2 (85), A
Beltre (83), K Johjima (55). 2-out RBI - R Ibanez. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - B Broussard 1, Y Betancourt 1. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - R Ibanez (F Thomas at Home). DP: 2 (Y
Betancourt-J Lopez-B Broussard, A Beltre-K Johjima-B Broussard).


TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
V Wells cf 3 0 0 0 2 0 2 .254
R Adams 3b 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .231
R Johnson lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .243
A Rios rf 5 1 2 0 0 0 5 .309
F Thomas dh 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .270
C Thigpen pr-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .227
M Stairs lf 3 2 2 2 0 1 1 .302
a-T Glaus ph-3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .258
L Overbay 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .251
A Hill 2b 4 1 3 2 0 0 2 .269
G Zaun c 4 1 3 2 0 0 3 .238
J McDonald ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .252

Totals 35 6 14 6 5 6 24

a-intentionally walked for M Stairs in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - M Stairs (24, J Weaver). HR - G Zaun (8, 2nd inning off J Weaver
1 on, 1 Out), M Stairs (18, 3rd inning off J Weaver 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - A Hill
2 (70), G Zaun 2 (38), M Stairs 2 (50). 2-out RBI - M Stairs 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - F Thomas 1, A Rios 2, C Thigpen 1. GIDP - A Rios, G
Zaun. Team LOB - 10.


----------------------------------------------------
SEATTLE - 000 200 11 -- 4
TORONTO - 032 000 10 -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

SEATTLE ip h r er bb so hr era
J Weaver 3 8 5 5 1 1 2 5.85
R Feierabend 3 3 0 0 1 3 0 7.78
R White 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 7.71
E O'Flaherty 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.52
B Morrow 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.11

TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
A Burnett 7 4 3 3 1 7 0 3.71
S Downs 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 2.49
B Wolfe 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.56

J Weaver pitched to 2 batters in the 4th.
R White pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

WP - E O'Flaherty. IBB - T Glaus (by E O'Flaherty). HBP - J Vidro (by A
Burnett). Pitches-strikes: J Weaver 61-40; R Feierabend 36-24; R White 9-3; E
O'Flaherty 13-7; B Morrow 17-9; A Burnett 115-77; S Downs 8-5; B Wolfe 9-5.
Ground balls-fly balls: J Weaver 5-3; R Feierabend 2-3; R White 0-0; E
O'Flaherty 2-0; B Morrow 1-1; A Burnett 11-3; S Downs 0-1; B Wolfe 1-1. Batters
faced: J Weaver 17; R Feierabend 12; R White 2; E O'Flaherty 4; B Morrow 5; A
Burnett 27; S Downs 2; B Wolfe 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Paul Schrieber. 2B--Fieldin Culbreth.
3B--Marty Foster.

Weather: 75 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, out to left.</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">AL AT TORONTO - PITCHING CHANGE
TOR: CASEY JANSSEN (2-2, 2.35) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 4, TORONTO 6

DUE UP FOR SEATTLE: B BROUSSARD (.289, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">AL AT TORONTO - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: C Janssen relieved B Wolfe.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: SEATTLE 4
TORONTO 6 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR SEATTLE: B Broussard (.289, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
SEATTLE 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 4 6 0
TORONTO 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 x 6 14 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: SEA - JEFF WEAVER, RYAN FEIERABEND (4TH), RICK WHITE (7TH), ERIC
O'FLAHERTY (7TH), BRANDON MORROW (8TH) AND KENJI JOHJIMA

TOR - A.J. BURNETT, SCOTT DOWNS (8TH), BRIAN WOLFE
(8TH), CASEY JANSSEN (9TH) AND GREGG ZAUN

HOME RUNS: SEA - NONE

TOR - GREGG ZAUN (8) OFF JEFF WEAVER IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
MATT STAIRS (18) OFF JEFF WEAVER IN THE 3RD, 1 ON</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
SEATTLE 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 4 6 0
TORONTO 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 x 6 14 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: SEA - JEFF WEAVER, RYAN FEIERABEND (4TH), RICK WHITE (7TH), ERIC
O'FLAHERTY (7TH), BRANDON MORROW (8TH) AND KENJI JOHJIMA

TOR - A.J. BURNETT, SCOTT DOWNS (8TH), BRIAN WOLFE
(8TH), CASEY JANSSEN (9TH) AND GREGG ZAUN


WP - A.J. BURNETT (8-7)
LP - JEFF WEAVER (6-11)
SAVE - CASEY JANSSEN (5)

HOME RUNS: SEA - NONE

TOR - GREGG ZAUN (8) OFF JEFF WEAVER IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
MATT STAIRS (18) OFF JEFF WEAVER IN THE 3RD, 1 ON


TIME: 2:41 ATT: 32,166

PROBABLES: TOR - JESSE LITSCH (5-6, 3.40)
BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (13-11, 3.88)

PROBABLES: SEA - FELIX HERNANDEZ (10-7, 4.08)
NYY - ROGER CLEMENS (6-5, 4.15)</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">SEATTLE (4) VS TORONTO (6) - FINAL

SEATTLE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
I Suzuki cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .350
J Vidro dh 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 .313
J Guillen rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .286
R Ibanez lf 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .282
A Beltre 3b 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 .281
B Broussard 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .287
K Johjima c 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 .290
J Lopez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .261
Y Betancourt ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .285

Totals 32 4 6 4 1 8 5

BATTING: 2B - J Vidro (20, S Downs). SF - K Johjima. RBI - R Ibanez 2 (85), A
Beltre (83), K Johjima (55). 2-out RBI - R Ibanez. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - B Broussard 1, Y Betancourt 1. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - R Ibanez (F Thomas at Home). DP: 2 (Y
Betancourt-J Lopez-B Broussard, A Beltre-K Johjima-B Broussard).


TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
V Wells cf 3 0 0 0 2 0 2 .254
R Adams 3b 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .231
R Johnson lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .243
A Rios rf 5 1 2 0 0 0 5 .309
F Thomas dh 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .270
C Thigpen pr-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .227
M Stairs lf 3 2 2 2 0 1 1 .302
a-T Glaus ph-3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .258
L Overbay 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .251
A Hill 2b 4 1 3 2 0 0 2 .269
G Zaun c 4 1 3 2 0 0 3 .238
J McDonald ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .252

Totals 35 6 14 6 5 6 24

a-intentionally walked for M Stairs in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - M Stairs (24, J Weaver). HR - G Zaun (8, 2nd inning off J Weaver
1 on, 1 Out), M Stairs (18, 3rd inning off J Weaver 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - A Hill
2 (70), G Zaun 2 (38), M Stairs 2 (50). 2-out RBI - M Stairs 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - F Thomas 1, A Rios 2, C Thigpen 1. GIDP - A Rios, G
Zaun. Team LOB - 10.


----------------------------------------------------
SEATTLE - 000 200 110 -- 4
TORONTO - 032 000 10x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

SEATTLE ip h r er bb so hr era
J Weaver (L, 6-11) 3 8 5 5 1 1 2 5.85
R Feierabend 3 3 0 0 1 3 0 7.78
R White 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 7.71
E O'Flaherty 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.52
B Morrow 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.11

TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
A Burnett (W, 8-7) 7 4 3 3 1 7 0 3.71
S Downs (H, 24) 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 2.49
B Wolfe (H, 6) 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.56
C Janssen (S, 5) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.32

J Weaver pitched to 2 batters in the 4th.
R White pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

WP - E O'Flaherty. IBB - T Glaus (by E O'Flaherty). HBP - J Vidro (by A
Burnett). Pitches-strikes: J Weaver 61-40; R Feierabend 36-24; R White 9-3; E
O'Flaherty 13-7; B Morrow 17-9; A Burnett 115-77; S Downs 8-5; B Wolfe 9-5; C
Janssen 13-10. Ground balls-fly balls: J Weaver 5-3; R Feierabend 2-3; R White
0-0; E O'Flaherty 2-0; B Morrow 1-1; A Burnett 11-3; S Downs 0-1; B Wolfe 1-1;
C Janssen 1-1. Batters faced: J Weaver 17; R Feierabend 12; R White 2; E
O'Flaherty 4; B Morrow 5; A Burnett 27; S Downs 2; B Wolfe 3; C Janssen 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Paul Schrieber. 2B--Fieldin Culbreth.
3B--Marty Foster.

T--2:41. Att--32,166.
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, out to left.</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
SEATTLE 4
TORONTO 6 FINAL</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEATTLE (4) AT TORONTO (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TORONTO 2ND: M Stairs doubled to deep right center. L Overbay fouled out
to third. A Hill singled to center, M Stairs scored. G Zaun homered to right,
A Hill scored. J McDonald grounded out to third. V Wells grounded out to
second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 3.

TORONTO 3RD: R Adams singled to shallow center. A Rios flied out to
center. F Thomas struck out swinging. M Stairs homered to right, R Adams
scored. L Overbay grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 5.

SEATTLE 4TH: I Suzuki lined out to left. J Vidro hit by pitch. J Guillen
singled to center, J Vidro to second. R Ibanez singled to left, J Vidro
scored, J Guillen to second. A Beltre grounded out to second, J Guillen
scored, R Ibanez to second. B Broussard struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) SEATTLE 2, TORONTO 5.

SEATTLE 7TH: R Ibanez grounded out to second. A Beltre walked.
B Broussard singled to right, A Beltre to third. K Johjima hit sacrifice fly
to right, A Beltre scored. J Lopez reached on infield single to shortstop,
B Broussard to second. Y Betancourt flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) SEATTLE 3, TORONTO 5.

TORONTO 7TH: R White relieved R Feierabend. A Rios singled to center.
F Thomas walked, A Rios to second. E O'Flaherty relieved R White. T Glaus
hit for M Stairs. A Rios to third, F Thomas to second on wild pitch by
E O'Flaherty. T Glaus intentionally walked. L Overbay struck out swinging.
A Hill singled to center, A Rios scored, F Thomas to third, T Glaus to second.
C Thigpen ran for F Thomas. G Zaun grounded into double play, third to catcher
to first, T Glaus out at third.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 3, TORONTO 6.

SEATTLE 8TH: R Johnson in left field. T Glaus at third base. S Downs
relieved A Burnett. I Suzuki lined out to third. J Vidro doubled to deep right
center. B Wolfe relieved S Downs. J Guillen grounded out to shortstop, J Vidro
to third. R Ibanez singled to center, J Vidro scored. A Beltre popped out to
third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 4, TORONTO 6.</div>

 

AL: SEATTLE at TORONTO

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEATTLE (4) AT TORONTO (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seattle Starting Lineups -- I Suzuki CF, J Vidro DH, J Guillen RF, R Ibanez LF,
A Beltre 3B, B Broussard 1B, K Johjima C, J Lopez 2B, Y Betancourt SS, J Weaver RHP.

Toronto Starting Lineups -- V Wells CF, R Adams 3B, A Rios RF, F Thomas DH,
M Stairs LF, L Overbay 1B, A Hill 2B, G Zaun C, J McDonald SS, A Burnett RHP.

Umpires -- Tim Mcclelland (HP), Paul Schrieber (1B), Fieldin Culbreth (2B),
Marty Foster (3B).

Gametime Weather: 75 degrees, Sunny, wind out to left at 7 mph.


SEATTLE 1ST: I Suzuki struck out swinging. J Vidro grounded out to second.
J Guillen struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 0.

TORONTO 1ST: V Wells walked. R Adams singled to center, V Wells to second.
A Rios grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, R Adams out at
second, V Wells to third. F Thomas flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 0.

SEATTLE 2ND: R Ibanez struck out swinging. A Beltre struck out swinging.
B Broussard struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 0,
TORONTO 0.

TORONTO 2ND: M Stairs doubled to deep right center. L Overbay fouled out
to third. A Hill singled to center, M Stairs scored. G Zaun homered to right,
A Hill scored. J McDonald grounded out to third. V Wells grounded out to
second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 3.

SEATTLE 3RD: K Johjima grounded out to shortstop. J Lopez grounded out
to first. Y Betancourt grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 3.

TORONTO 3RD: R Adams singled to shallow center. A Rios flied out to
center. F Thomas struck out swinging. M Stairs homered to right, R Adams
scored. L Overbay grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
SEATTLE 0, TORONTO 5.

SEATTLE 4TH: I Suzuki lined out to left. J Vidro hit by pitch. J Guillen
singled to center, J Vidro to second. R Ibanez singled to left, J Vidro
scored, J Guillen to second. A Beltre grounded out to second, J Guillen
scored, R Ibanez to second. B Broussard struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) SEATTLE 2, TORONTO 5.

TORONTO 4TH: A Hill singled to center. G Zaun singled to right, A Hill to
second. R Feierabend relieved J Weaver. J McDonald struck out swinging.
V Wells lined out to left. R Adams walked, A Hill to third, G Zaun to second.
A Rios grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 2, TORONTO 5.

SEATTLE 5TH: K Johjima grounded out to second. J Lopez grounded out to
shortstop. Y Betancourt grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
SEATTLE 2, TORONTO 5.

TORONTO 5TH: F Thomas singled to center. M Stairs struck out looking.
L Overbay singled to center, F Thomas to second. A Hill flied out to center.
G Zaun singled to left center, F Thomas thrown out at home. (0 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) SEATTLE 2, TORONTO 5.

SEATTLE 6TH: I Suzuki struck out swinging. J Vidro grounded out to second.
J Guillen grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 2,
TORONTO 5.

TORONTO 6TH: J McDonald struck out swinging. V Wells grounded out to
third. R Adams popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 2,
TORONTO 5.

SEATTLE 7TH: R Ibanez grounded out to second. A Beltre walked.
B Broussard singled to right, A Beltre to third. K Johjima hit sacrifice fly
to right, A Beltre scored. J Lopez reached on infield single to shortstop,
B Broussard to second. Y Betancourt flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) SEATTLE 3, TORONTO 5.

TORONTO 7TH: R White relieved R Feierabend. A Rios singled to center.
F Thomas walked, A Rios to second. E O'Flaherty relieved R White. T Glaus
hit for M Stairs. A Rios to third, F Thomas to second on wild pitch by
E O'Flaherty. T Glaus intentionally walked. L Overbay struck out swinging.
A Hill singled to center, A Rios scored, F Thomas to third, T Glaus to second.
C Thigpen ran for F Thomas. G Zaun grounded into double play, third to catcher
to first, T Glaus out at third.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 3, TORONTO 6.

SEATTLE 8TH: R Johnson in left field. T Glaus at third base. S Downs
relieved A Burnett. I Suzuki lined out to third. J Vidro doubled to deep right
center. B Wolfe relieved S Downs. J Guillen grounded out to shortstop, J Vidro
to third. R Ibanez singled to center, J Vidro scored. A Beltre popped out to
third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 4, TORONTO 6.

TORONTO 8TH: B Morrow relieved E O'Flaherty. J McDonald grounded out to
second. V Wells walked. R Johnson struck out swinging. A Rios singled to
right center, V Wells to second. C Thigpen popped out to second. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 4, TORONTO 6.

SEATTLE 9TH: C Janssen relieved B Wolfe. B Broussard grounded out to
second. K Johjima lined out to second. J Lopez struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) SEATTLE 4, TORONTO 6.</div>

 

Blue Jays extend Mariners' slide

<h3>TORONTO 6, SEATTLE 4</h3>TORONTO (Ticker) -- A.J. Burnett kept the Seattle Mariners in adeep slump.


Burnett allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings andMatt Stairs homered in his third straight game, leading the BlueJays to a 6-4 victory over the Mariners.


Toronto completed a three-game series sweep, handing Seattle itsninth straight loss. It is the longest losing streak for theMariners since an 11-game slide from August 10-20 of lastseason.


Seattle began the day two games behind the New York Yankees inthe wild card race. The Mariners open a three-game series atYankee Stadium on Monday.


Pitching as well as he has all season, Burnett (8-7) overpoweredthe Mariners early, retiring the first 10 batters. Five of thefirst six outs were on strikeouts. He walked one and struckout seven.


In his last five starts, Burnett has allowed only eight runs in34 2/3 innings, an ERA of 1.81.


Casey Janssen tossed a perfect ninth to record his fifth save.Closer Jeremy Accardo was rested after saving the first twogames of the series.


The Mariners asked Jeff Weaver (6-11) to stop the losing streak,but he was not up to the task, lasting only three-plus innings.The loss snapped Weaver's personal four-game winning streak.

Weaver gave up a three-run homer in the second inning to GreggZaun, who went 6-for-11 in the series, and a two-run shot toStairs in the third that staked the Blue Jays to a 5-0 lead.

Burnett experienced his first trouble in the fourth, when he hitJose Vidro with one out. Jose Guillen and Raul Ibanez followedwith singles to get the Mariners on the board.


Seattle closed to 5-2 on Adrian Beltre's RBI groundout, butBurnett struck out Ben Broussard to avoid further trouble.

Weaver left after giving up singles to Aaron Hill and Zaun tostart the bottom of the fourth, but reliever Ryan Feierabendworked out of trouble to keep the Mariners in the game.

Toronto missed a chance to add to its lead in the fifth, whenleft fielder Ibanez threw out Frank Thomas trying to score onZaun's single.


Each team scored a run in the seventh before Brian Wolfesurrendered an RBI single to Ibanez in the eighth.

 

Blue Jays extend Mariners' slide

<h3>TORONTO 6, SEATTLE 4</h3>TORONTO (Ticker) -- A.J. Burnett kept the Seattle Mariners ina deep slump.


Burnett allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings andMatt Stairs homered in his third straight game, leading the BlueJays to a 6-4 victory over the Mariners.


Toronto completed a three-game series sweep, handing Seattle itsninth straight loss. It is the longest losing streak for theMariners since an 11-game slide from August 10-20 of lastseason.


Seattle (73-62) stayed two games behind the New York Yankees(76-61) in the wild card race. The Mariners open a three-gameseries at Yankee Stadium on Monday.


The Blue Jays (70-66) moved a season-high four games over .500and closed within 5 1/2 games of the Yankees in the wild cardchase.


Pitching as well as he has all season, Burnett (8-7) overpoweredthe Mariners early, retiring the first 10 batters. Five of thefirst six outs were on strikeouts. He walked one and struckout seven.


"They were making me work early even though I had thestrikeouts," Burnett said. "We were making the plays on defense,so I just tried to take a little bit off and let them play alittle bit."


In his last five starts, Burnett has allowed only eight runs in34 2/3 innings, an ERA of 2.08.


Casey Janssen tossed a perfect ninth to record his fifth save.Closer Jeremy Accardo was rested after saving the first twogames of the series.


"Three outs is three outs," Janssen said. "Whether I pitch inthe eighth or ninth, I try not to make anything more than itis."


The Mariners asked Jeff Weaver (6-11) to stop the losing streak,but he was not up to the task, lasting only three-plus innings.The loss snapped Weaver's personal four-game winning streak.

"They jumped on me early," said Weaver, who suffered hisshortest outing since returning from the disabled list June 4."It seemed like every time I got in the stretch they got moreaggressive. I just left too many pitches on the plate and theymade me pay."


Weaver, who dropped to 5-11 lifetime against the Blue Jays, gaveup a three-run homer in the second inning to Gregg Zaun, whowent 6-for-11 in the series, and a two-run shot to Stairs in thethird that staked the Blue Jays to a 5-0 lead.


"It was just one of those lucky home runs," Zaun said. "It wasprobably a pitch that I shouldn't have swung at, but we had ahit and run going and I was just trying to stay on top of it. Ithit me right where my bat was going."


"You don't see a hit and run home run very often," Seattlemanager John McLaren added. "Weaver made a couple of badpitches. He was just getting too much of the plate."

Stairs' last eight hits have gone for extra bases. He has fivedoubles in addition to the three home runs this weekend.

"It's nice to sweep a team in front of you," Stairs said."Whenever you play a team that's struggling, that's a seriesyou're always afraid of. We've been playing pretty good latelyand hopefully we can continue to play well."


Burnett experienced his first trouble in the fourth, when he hitJose Vidro with one out. Jose Guillen and Raul Ibanez followedwith singles to get the Mariners on the board.


Seattle closed to 5-2 on Adrian Beltre's RBI groundout, butBurnett struck out Ben Broussard to avoid further trouble.

Weaver left after giving up singles to Aaron Hill and Zaun tostart the bottom of the fourth, but reliever Ryan Feierabendworked out of trouble to keep the Mariners in the game andtossed three scoreless frames.


Toronto missed a chance to add to its lead in the fifth, whenleft fielder Ibanez threw out Frank Thomas trying to score onZaun's single.


Earlier in the inning, Thomas singled to extend his hittingstreak to a season-high 12 games.


The Mariners tried to rally in the seventh as Burnett walkedBeltre and Broussard singled. Again, Burnett limited the damage,giving up only a sacrifice fly to Kenji Johjima.


Toronto got back the run in the bottom half on Hill's RBI singleoff Eric O'Flaherty.


In the eighth, Brian Wolfe surrendered an RBI single to Ibanez,pulling the Mariners within 6-4.


Alex Rios went 2-for-5 for the Blue Jays, his fifth multi-hitgame in the last six contests. He is batting .400 (10-for-25)during the stretch.


Zaun and Hill each had three hits for the Blue Jays, while RussAdams, Rios and Stairs contributed two hits apiece.

Ibanez had two hits and two RBI for the Mariners, who areaveraging just over three runs per game during the losingstreak.