Franklin, Ichiro key M’s victory

SEATTLE – Playing an impromptu game of word association with reporters Saturday, manager Mike Hargrove described the players most responsible for the Seattle Mariners’ 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Ryan Franklin: “Gamer,” Hargrove said.

Ichiro Suzuki: “Amazing.”

Franklin held the Indians to two runs in the third inning and scattered nine hits, and Suzuki hit two home runs, including one in the sixth inning that broke a 2-all tie.

Indians starter C.C. Sabathia out-pitched Franklin, limiting the Mariners to four hits in seven innings.

Three leadoff home runs in three consecutive innings won it for the Mariners – Suzuki’s in the fourth and sixth innings, giving him nine this season, and rookie Mike Morse’s in the fifth, his second of the year.

“You don’t see that very often and win, but we did today because we pitched well,” Hargrove said.

Franklin pitched with runners on base in every inning, but he was hurt just once, in the third. Jason Dubois singled, Grady Sizemore doubled and Ronnie Belliard doubled to left-center to score both runners.

“It was a mistake to try and throw a sinker to Belliard,” Franklin said. “I left it over the plate and he hit it like he was supposed to hit it.”

The Indians had plenty of other chances, putting runners in scoring position with less than two outs each of the next three innings without scoring.

In the fourth, Franklin escaped a second-and-third, one-out jam by striking out Dubois and getting Sizemore to ground out. In the fifth, Jhonny Peralta doubled with one out before Franklin got Victor Martinez on a ground ball and Jeff Liefer with a strikeout. Ben Broussard and Casey Blake hit back-to-back singles with one out, but left fielder Raul Ibanez threw out Broussard at third base and Franklin struck out Dubois.

Gamer.

It’s not the usual word you might associate with a pitcher who is 6-11, but Hargrove wasn’t bashful with the label.

“The thing with Ryan is that you know you will get the most of what he’s got,” Hargrove said.

Suzuki hit two home runs in a game for the third time in his five-year major league career.

The first home run gave him 1,058 hits since he came to the Mariners, breaking Paul Waner’s record for hits in a player’s first five seasons.