SEATTLE -- When veteran outfielder Franklin Gutierrez showed up for spring training with the Seattle Mariners after sitting out the 2014 season due to health issues, he didn't know what to expect.
"I just wanted to know if I was able to play the game," he said late Sunday afternoon.
For the second time in a week, Gutierrez proved Sunday that not only can he play the game, but also that he has a flair for the dramatic. His walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Mariners a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
"I'm just glad I'm here and they gave me an opportunity to play again," said Gutierrez, whose eighth-inning grand slam July 20 helped beat the Detroit Tigers 11-9. "It's just been amazing for me."
Gutierrez's latest homer was the fifth one hit in a wild game that saw the Mariners and Blue Jays combine for 23 hits and a unique triple play.
Sluggers Nelson Cruz of the Mariners and Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays added mammoth home runs to their impressive season totals before Gutierrez hit the biggest shot of the day.
Donaldson drove in the first run of the game with a solo shot to left in the top of the first, his 24th homer of the season. Cruz hit his 25th, a two-run bomb that tied the score 5-5 in the seventh.
Both Donaldson and Cruz had chances to be the hero in the ninth inning but came up short before Gutierrez finished off the three-hour, five-minute game.
Gutierrez eventually took Toronto reliever Aaron Loup (2-5) deep for his third home run of the season, allowing Seattle (46-53) to win a three-game series for the first time since June 19-21. They captured a series longer than two games for the first time since May 19-21.
The Blue Jays (50-50) fell back to .500 after squandering leads of 4-1 and 5-3.
"We're not in a position to do this; time's not on our side," manager John Gibbons said. "We're chasing some pretty good teams (in the American League East). Frustrating."
Mariners reliever Joe Beimel (2-1) earned the win in a game that saw both starters recover from early struggles before a combined seven relievers took the mound.
A pair of early home runs -- by Donaldson and Seattle leadoff hitter Austin Jackson -- led to a 1-1 tie after one inning, and things got strange after that.
The oddest moment came on a triple play in the top of the fourth.
With runners on first and third, second baseman Ryan Goins grounded into an unassisted out at first, and baserunner Kevin Pillar got caught in a rundown between first and second. Seattle shortstop Brad Miller, seeing runner Ezequiel Carrera break from third for home, ran toward Carrera and then threw to catcher Mike Zunino. Carrera backpedaled toward third, but Pillar also ended up at third after crossing second as Zunino cornered Carrera. Zunino ended up tagging Pillar and Carrera, the latter of whom came off the bag when the umpire ruled Pillar out, and the triple play was complete.
"It just sort of happened," Zunino said. "It was a big momentum change."
Said Gibbons: "We had a chance to have a big inning right there. We had the right guys coming up. That's how you lose."
It marked the 11th time in franchise history, and the first since 2010, that the Mariners recorded a triple play.
Carrera made up for the baserunning gaffe with an inning-ending catch in the sixth, when he went over the wall in left field to steal a possible two-run homer from Zunino. He then led off with a home run on the first pitch of the seventh inning, giving Toronto a 5-3 lead.
Neither starting pitcher was very effective early on, with the first-inning homers setting the tone.
Toronto starter Mark Buehrle settled down to get through 5 2/3 innings, although he gave up 10 hits. Buehrle allowed three runs.
Seattle right-hander Taijuan Walker allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits over six innings.
Third base umpire Jim Joyce came out of the game in the 10th inning after being hit in the right calf by a foul ball off the bat of Cano. The game finished with just three umpires after Joyce limped into the visiting clubhouse for further evaluation.
NOTES: Seattle gave Robinson Cano a lighter load Sunday, when he served as designated hitter. Chris Taylor got the start at second base. Mariners 1B Logan Morrison got a day off, with Mark Trumbo starting at first. ... The Blue Jays homered in a ninth consecutive game. ... The Blue Jays will take Monday off before hosting the Philadelphia Phillies in a series that begins Tuesday. ... Seattle opens a three-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
