ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 14 (UPI) -- Mike Sweeney's homer in the eighth gave Seattle a three-run lead Friday and the Mariners held on to edge Tampa Bay 4-3.
All of Seattle's scores came on home runs -- a two-run blast by Franklin Gutierrez in the first and solo shots by Adam Moore in the fifth and the game-winner by Sweeney in the eighth.
Doug Fister (3-1) had the lead when he was taken out of the game after five innings and picked up the victory. He gave up four hits, walked three and the only run he surrendered scored on a balk.
Shawn Kelley gave up a two-run homer to Evan Longoria in the bottom of the eighth that brought the Rays within one, but David Aardsma struck out two in a perfect ninth for his ninth save.
The loss went to Wade Davis (3-3), who yielded three runs on five hits in six innings.
Tampa Bay still has the best record in the majors at 24-11 and leads the New York Yankees by a game in the American League East.
