BOX SCORE

David Aardsma's raises his hands after Ichiro makes a great leaping catch at the wall on Victor Martinez's deep shot to right so secure the Mariners win.

Did you honestly think he wouldn't catch it?

Well Don Wakamatsu couldn't watch to find out.

“I didn’t look,” he admitted. “You look at the reaction of the hitter, and I think he thought he got it. I actually didn't see the catch.”

Though Wakamatsu didn’t watch it, he never lost hope that Ichiro would catch it.

“You always feel comfortable with him in right field that he's going to make a great catch or climb the wall,” Wakamatsu said. “It was awfully nice he came up with.”

Aardsma watched carefully and raised his hands (above) in celebration as Ichiro came down with the ball. He then bear-hugged Ichiro as the team shook hands post game.

“(Martinez) is a decent hitter and right off the bat I thought it was out, but you never know with Ichiro back there,” Aardsma said. “Obviously, he can cover a lot of ground and (Martinez) just didn’t get enough of it, and Ichiro made a great play on it. He made an awesome play.”

Ichiro was typically sardonic on the catch. When he was first asked to go through the play, he joked through his interpreter Ken Baron: “There was a runner on first, there was a fly ball and I caught it.”

But later he conceded that he was going to do everything he could to make the catch.

“The only thing that was in my mind as soon the ball made contact with the bat was to catch it,” he said. “Just like a dog chasing after a Frisbee.”

So the Mariners take 3 of 4 against an awful Indians team. They are now 49-43 --- how exactly I have no idea.

They gained no ground on the Angels as the squeeked out a win in Oakland to stay four games up on the M's.

Greetings on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, the Mariners will be looking to take three of four from the Indians today facing the likes of Aaron Laffey.

No familiar with the lefty Laffey. Well, he was a 16th round pick in the 2003 draft out of Allegany, MD. He's made 12 appearances this season, including six starts, and has been better than some of the other pitchers the Indians have rolled out this season.

First inning
Laffey is looking like Taffy (well you know give me a break it's early). Anyway, Branyan lobbied Wakamatsu to be in the line-up today and he just crushed a two-run homer to right that traveled 426 feet. Chris Shelton making his first start for the M's this season ripped a double down the line and then Franklin Gutierrez continued to torment his old team with a stinging line-drive RBI single.

The Mariners lead 3-0, but probably could have had more.

Second inning
The M's had a chance to go up 3-0, but Ronny Cedeno was tossed out at home following Jose Lopez's double to left to end the inning.

About the time that we noticed that Erik Bedard's fastball was right around 87 and no higher, he threw a few over 90 including one at 93. But it was an 88 mph fastball that Ben Francisco deposited into the left-field stands for a two-run homer. It Francisco's seventh of the season and traveled an estimated 398 feet. Bedard also gave up a single to Valbuena, but got Kelly Shoppach to hit one of the highest foul pops Ive ever seen for the third out.

Third inning
Chris Woodward makes a nice play on a ground ball to get an out, but the inning drags on and Bedard's pitch count is at 60 after three innings. Not a great development.

Fourth Inning
The Mariners miss out on another chance to stretch the lead with a runners on second and third and two outs and Lopez grounds out.

In the bottom of the inning, the Indians get a couple runners on, but Bedard comes up with a big strikeout of Kelly Shoppach to end the inning. He's at 77 pitches.

Fifth Inning
Well, it's now a tie ball game thanks to a ghastly two-out error on Jose Lopez. He seemed to anticipate where the ball was going to bounce up to instead of getting down on the ball. Initially, some people in the press box thought the ball had a bunch of sidespin, but replays showed it was was a ball he should have gloved. Bedard didn't look especially pleased and was lifted after the play.

The Ms brought in Miguel Batista, whose hairdo these days, should warrant this for his entrance music. He gets the one out needed to get out of the inning.

Sixth Inning
Well, Batista makes it interesting doesn't he? He looks stellar striking out the first two hitters, then walks light-hitting Luis Valbuena, gives up a double to Kelly Shoppach, throws about 11 pitches to Sizemore, who he eventually walks, and then gets Asdrubal Cabrera to ground out to end the inning. It took about 20 minutes as well.

Eighth Inning
The Mariners manufactured a run as Gutz leads off with a single and then Rob Johnson has a great at-bat, working a walk after an 0-2 count, Ryan Langerhans moves them up with a good sac bunt with all the infield drawn in and then Jack Hannahan hits a sac fly to right.

Mark Lowe gives up a lead-off single, but then leaves him there.

Ninth Inning
WEll the Mariners add a key insurance run when Cabrera bobbles a sure double play ball with bases loaded to let a run score. Yeah, the Mariners should have had more, but you take what you can get.

Aardsma gets some help from Ichiro with a great catch at the wall to save the game.

Well after writing today that Russell Branyan was going to get the day off - based on what manager Don Wakamatsu told us yesterday day - low and behold Branyan is in his usual spot in the order and playing first base.

"We talked about Russell getting a day off," Wakamatsu said. "He came in feeling better. He really wanted to be in there today, and it gives us an opportunity to give Grif a day off with his knee.

So was there any level of convincing?

"We talked about it last night," Wakamatsu said. "I told him I planned on giving him the day off, we'd come in here and see how he felt. He came in today and said he wanted to play. The big thing is we wanted to get Shelton in there, either at first base or DH."

Wakamatsu admits they are walking a line where they try and keep Branyan's back healthy, but also giving him the at-bats to break out of a minor offensive funk that he's been in.

"We're trying to get his swing back to where we feel it should be," Wakamatsu said. "He's making some progress, nice swing on his sac fly yesterday. Now's the time he has to push through. We have to juggle how much is the back, and how much is the swing."

While Branyan is in, Johjima is out. It really wasn't a surprise. Maybe to some since Rob Johnson will have now caught three games in a row, including a day game after a night game, something that most teams try to avoid.

But, since Joh returned from the DL, Johnson has caught every game that Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn have pitched, while Joh has been catching the likes of Garrett Olson, Jason Vargas and Brandon Morrow.

It's a trend that could continue, despite Johjima getting three hits on Thursday to open the series.

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