SEATTLE -- Logan Forsythe said what makes a difference in a close game can be just one pitch. Or one swing.Forsythe found the pitch he wanted and put a mighty swing on it in the ninth inning, stroking a home run off struggling Seattle Mariners closer Fernando Rodney to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 1-0 victory Friday.Rodney (2-3) threw an inside fastball on a 2-1 count to Forsythe, who lifted it over the left-field wall for his seventh home run.Rodney has allowed a run in nine of 13 appearances since May 1."Those games sometimes come down to one swing," Forsythe said. "I was able to get the barrel to it. It worked out." 
The Mariners have lost seven straight, all during this homestand, and have been outscored 28-13, leaving 62 runners on base. They are hitting just .159 (10 of 63) with runners in scoring position.Seattle's ineffective offense was no more apparent than in the bottom of the ninth after Austin Jackson led off with a triple to right off Kevin Jepsen. Right-fielder Steven Souza Jr. made a desperate dive for it, but it rolled to the wall."I was pretty close. Just a little more out of my reach," Souza said. "We back each other up, but that ball took a weird hop afterward."Jepsen then struck out Brad Miller."You're definitely going for the strikeout there," Jepsen said. "You just have to leave it out there, everything. In that situation everything has to go right not to let that run score.In a nine-pitch at-bat, Jepsen got Mike Zunino to pop foul to right. Dustin Ackley then flied out to left, to the accompaniment of a loud cascade of boos."I'm still scratching my head. This is tough," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We put ourselves in position time and time again to score runs. We just didn't get it done."Andrew Bellatti (2-0), who worked three innings, earned the victory. Jepsen secured his third save in five opportunities."I can't say enough about what Bellatti did," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Comes in, provides us those three innings against a very good hitting team. He was pretty impressive."Unfortunately for Bellatti, the club intends to option him to Triple-A Durham and recall let-hander Enny Romero.Seattle's Logan Morrison had a third-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. His career best is 13 straight last season.Rays starter Jake Odorizzi had to leave with one out in the fifth with a left side tightness. He allowed just four hits, walked one and struck out four."Just that last pitch. It just tightened up, grabbed me. That was it," Odorizzi said. "You never felt something like that before. It's kind of startling. But it let go."Odorizzi said no MRI is scheduled: "We (will) see how I'm feeling 24 hours from now."J.A. Happ started and went seven innings for the Mariners. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out six. He has had three wins and six no-decisions over his past nine starts.
The Mariners have lost seven straight, all during this homestand, and have been outscored 28-13, leaving 62 runners on base. They are hitting just .159 (10 of 63) with runners in scoring position.Seattle's ineffective offense was no more apparent than in the bottom of the ninth after Austin Jackson led off with a triple to right off Kevin Jepsen. Right-fielder Steven Souza Jr. made a desperate dive for it, but it rolled to the wall."I was pretty close. Just a little more out of my reach," Souza said. "We back each other up, but that ball took a weird hop afterward."Jepsen then struck out Brad Miller."You're definitely going for the strikeout there," Jepsen said. "You just have to leave it out there, everything. In that situation everything has to go right not to let that run score.In a nine-pitch at-bat, Jepsen got Mike Zunino to pop foul to right. Dustin Ackley then flied out to left, to the accompaniment of a loud cascade of boos."I'm still scratching my head. This is tough," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We put ourselves in position time and time again to score runs. We just didn't get it done."Andrew Bellatti (2-0), who worked three innings, earned the victory. Jepsen secured his third save in five opportunities."I can't say enough about what Bellatti did," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Comes in, provides us those three innings against a very good hitting team. He was pretty impressive."Unfortunately for Bellatti, the club intends to option him to Triple-A Durham and recall let-hander Enny Romero.Seattle's Logan Morrison had a third-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. His career best is 13 straight last season.Rays starter Jake Odorizzi had to leave with one out in the fifth with a left side tightness. He allowed just four hits, walked one and struck out four."Just that last pitch. It just tightened up, grabbed me. That was it," Odorizzi said. "You never felt something like that before. It's kind of startling. But it let go."Odorizzi said no MRI is scheduled: "We (will) see how I'm feeling 24 hours from now."J.A. Happ started and went seven innings for the Mariners. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out six. He has had three wins and six no-decisions over his past nine starts.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
