Lopez slugs 3 homers in Mariners’ win over Toronto

TORONTO – In a difficult season for Seattle, Jose Lopez has struggled to match the career-high 25 home runs he hit last year. For one night at least, he was back to his old self.

Lopez hit three home runs, Michael Saunders added a two-run drive and the Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Wednesday night.

“Now I feel like the same guy as last year,” Lopez said.

Lopez hit a solo shot off starter Kyle Drabek in the third inning, led off the sixth with a drive against reliever Brian Tallet and connected off reliever Shawn Camp in the eighth. It was his first multihomer game of the season and fourth of his career.

“When I hit the third one, I touched first base and felt like ‘Yes!’ ” Lopez said, raising one fist in the air. “I felt really happy.”

Lopez, who has 10 home runs, hit all three homers to left field.

“I think (Lopez) showed me up a little bit,” Saunders joked. “He’s the hero tonight.

“It’s nice to see,” Saunders added. “Hopefully, this gets him rolling and he can finish the season strong, because he’s really not a 10-home run guy. He’s normally putting up more than that.”

Mariners ace Felix Hernandez had one quibble with Lopez’s power surge: It happened one day before his next start. Hernandez’s message to Lopez? Save some for tomorrow.

“I said no, if I get it tonight, I get it tonight,” Lopez replied.

It was the 11th three-homer performance in Mariners history. Mike Cameron had Seattle’s only four-homer game, doing it May 2, 2002, against the Chicago White Sox.

Saunders added a two-run shot in the second as the Mariners won for the third time in five games after a seven-game losing streak.

Vernon Wells had a solo shot, Toronto’s major league-best 233rd. The Blue Jays hit a club-record 244 homers in 2000.

Seattle’s starting lineup had combined for 38 home runs, fewer than the major league-high 49 of Toronto’s Jose Bautista, but it was the Mariners who came out on top in this one.