Jul 10, 2008 4:30 pm US/Pacific
Emil Brown's Homer In 11th Lifts A's Over Mariners
OAKLAND (AP) ―
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Emil Brown of the Oakland A's.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Emil Brown rounded the bases, then grabbed A's hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo and nearly smothered him in a hug—a good student acknowledging his teacher.
Brown hit a solo homer in the 11th inning, after Jack Cust and Kurt Suzuki hit solo shots in the ninth inning to tie the game, and Oakland rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursdsay.
Brown's first career game-winning home run also gave Caesar Jimenez (0-1) his first career decision, after Huston Street (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the Athletics.
"I swung the bat, but Ty got me better prepared for that at-bat than any before," Brown said. "He told me exactly what the guy would do and I kept that in the back of my mind like a game plan. He did exactly what Ty told me he would."
Cust led off the ninth with his 17th home run, and second in as many games, off Brandon Morrow. The Mariners' new closer came back to strike out Brown and Carlos Gonzalez, but Suzuki hit his first career pinch-hit homer on a 1-0 delivery to send the game to extra innings.
"I got myself loose just in case I would pinch hit," Suzuki said. "It's not easy to pinch hit against a guy who throws 100 miles an hour. You wait for the fastball and if you get one for a strike, you better not miss it."
It was Morrow's first career blown save and spoiled a stellar performance by R.A. Dickey, who gave up four hits over seven scoreless innings.
"It took me a moment to adjust," Dickey said of working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. "The bullpen mound is in the opposite direction of the gamse attempt in the bottom of the third.
He's already missed time with a left toe injury and a sprained left ankle, but was batting .351 with six multi-hit games over his last 10 since returning to the lineup.
He was replaced by Rajai Davis in the outfield.
Notes:@ The Mariners placed 1B Richie Sexson on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release. ... Mariners' LHP Erik Bedard went on the disabled list with stiffness in his left shoulder retroactive to July 5. ... The Mariners recalled RHP Jared Wells and selected IF Tug Hulett from Tacoma of the PCL. ... Smith matched Kenny Rogers for the most pickoffs in a season (10) by an Oakland pitcher since 1987 after catching Miguel Cairo in the fifth. ... RHP Sean Gallagher makes his A's debut against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, becoming the 10th rookie (fifth rookie pitcher) to play for the A's. ... Morrow has allowed four runs this year, all on solo homers. ... Suzuki's pinch hit home run was the first for the A's since Adam Melhuse delivered against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 28, 2006. That had been the longest drought in the majors.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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