SEATTLE, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Rookie Kit Pellow slapped an RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to snap a tie Saturday night and lift the Kansas City Royals to a 4-2 victory over the struggling Seattle Mariners.
Seattle fell six games behind Oakland in the American League West, and trail Anaheim by 3 1/2 in the wild-card race.
After Carlos Guillen homered in the bottom of the eighth to knot the score at two, Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki relieved Arthur Rhodes with two on and two out in the ninth. Pellow, who entered the game an inning earlier as a defensive replacement, smacked a 1-1 offering into left to plate Neifi Perez with the go-ahead run.
Rhodes (7-3) allowed two runs and a hit in 1 1/3 innings for the Mariners, who have gone five straight games without scoring more than two runs. The loss dropped the Mariners to 13-15 in
August, its first losing month since August 2000.
Jeremy Affeldt (3-4) notched the win despite serving up Guillen's homer. Roberto Hernandez pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save of the season and the 319th of his career, moving him past Rick Aguilera into ninth place on the all-time list.
