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Mariners win third straight

Ryan Franklin has put together back-to-back impressive starts for Seattle. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
Ryan Franklin has put together back-to-back impressive starts for Seattle. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Richie Sexson’s two-run double capped a five-run fifth inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 Saturday night for their third straight victory over the A.L. West leaders.

Raul Ibanez had three hits and drove in a run for the last-place Mariners, who beat the Angels 10-2 and 10-4 in the first two games of the four-game series.

Ryan Franklin (5-10) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking three. The right-hander, coming off a six-hit shutout at Kansas City last Monday, has won consecutive starts for the first time this season.

John Lackey (6-5) was roughed up for the third consecutive time, allowing five runs and nine hits in seven innings and striking out seven. He has surrendered 16 earned runs and 25 hits in 17 1/3 innings over his last three starts, after going 5-1 with a 2.56 ERA in his previous 12 outings.

Lackey struck out six consecutive batters during one stretch, 33 years to the day that Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan set the Angels’ franchise record with eight consecutive strikeouts against Boston. Lackey is averaging 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings, second-best in the A.L. behind Minnesota’s Johan Santana (10.4).

The Mariners grabbed a 5-1 lead with RBI singles by Mike Morse, Randy Winn and Ibanez, followed by Sexson’s double to right-center. Winn’s RBI was his seventh in three games, including a two-run homer Thursday night and a grand slam Friday.

The Angels opened the scoring in the third on Darin Erstad’s RBI groundout. Jose Molina led off the inning with an infield single and Chone Figgins hit a one-out double down the left-field line – after going hitless in his first 18 career at-bats against Franklin. Figgins singled against Franklin his next time up.

Adam Kennedy greeted reliever Ron Villone with an RBI single in the seventh, trimming Seattle’s lead to 5-2. Ichiro Suzuki got the run back in the ninth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly against Esteban Yan.

Juan Rivera led off the ninth against J.J. Putz with his seventh home run.

Notes

Last Sept. 15 at Seattle, Franklin beat Lackey 1-0 with a two-hitter after going 0-11 in his previous 17 starts. … Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly made his first appearance since serving an eight-game suspension for having pine tar on his glove in a game against Washington on June 14. He struck out three consecutive batters in the eighth after giving up a leadoff double to Ibanez. … Franklin, who received the worst run support in the majors last season, has left seven of his starts this year before his teammates could score a run. The Mariners were shut out in three of those games, including a 5-0 loss to the Angels at Safeco Field. … The Angels designated INF David Matranga for assignment to make room for INF Zach Sorensen on the 40-man roster.