Sittin' pretty at Safeco: All alone at the top

Before Monday's game, Mariners Manager Bob Melvin called this early series with Oakland "an important series."

As if Melvin had been talking to him, Edgar Martinez responded last night as he has in so many important games over the years.

The veteran designated hitter, still so slow with a sore left hamstring, led the Mariners into a solo hold on first place in the American League West last night. Martinez had three hits and two runs batted in as Seattle beat the Oakland Athletics 5-3 at Safeco Field.

The run that broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning was scored by Mark McLemore, who ran for Martinez after the Seattle elder opened the inning with a double.

In the best of his days, the two bases would hardly have been a given for Martinez. With his latest left leg injury cutting his top-speed trot to a jog, it was a quick coin flip whether he should go for second.

"I had my doubts," he confessed of his decision to go for it. "I knew it was in the gap, but the first baseman (Scott Hatteberg) was blocking my view. I started and then I thought the center fielder had gone down, so I'd be all right."

Center fielder Chris Singleton slipped on the warning track and flipped the ball to right fielder Jermaine Dye, whose throw was not close to getting Martinez.

When Melvin sent McLemore out to run for the hobbling Martinez, he was making the move he smartly had backed off two innings earlier, after Martinez had tied the score with a single following Bret Boone's leadoff double.

Even when Martinez made third on the first of John Olerud's two late-game doubles, Melvin left him on base.

"I considered it," the manager said. "I was tempted to go for the jugular then and get a lead with our bullpen going good."

He re-thought quickly, deciding the sixth was too early.

"If we didn't score, then we'd bat around again, and Edgar would get another at-bat. And I wanted him in there for that."

Asked if there was anyone old and slow like Martinez in Japan, Ichiro smiled and said, "That's rude to him."

Asked if there was anyone old and slow who could hit like Martinez in Japan, Ichiro smiled again, "If you talk of the first two criteria, there might have been. But when you talk about batting technique like him — a franchise player like him — no, I have never seen that type of player in Japan."

Now with the relief equivalent of more than a two-hit shutout game (9-1/3 innings, no runs), Rhodes retired three left-handed batters of the four he set down in order. Among them was Eric Chavez, who had hit a home run off Franklin earlier in the game.

"I try never to start Chavez off the same way," Rhodes said. "I used a fastball in the first game, a slider tonight. I may use a changeup tomorrow."

If the situation requires, the lone lefty in the Seattle bullpen will certainly face Chavez at least one more time in these four games.

"I hate to use Arthur in all four games here, but we'll see," Melvin said. "It's where we need Gio (Giovanni Carrara, home in Florida with the birth of his twins). If we have him back, then it gives us another way to go against their lefties."

When it comes to matchups, they seemed to favor Seattle when Oakland Manager Ken Macha brought lefty Micah Bowie in to hold the 3-3 tie in the eighth. Although Bowie's numbers show better against righties (.286) than lefties (.375), he faced six right-handed hitters of his first seven batters, starting with Martinez.

Earlier, the game was a matchup of No. 4 starters who didn't have their best stuff.

Franklin, who beat back a leadoff double by Mark Ellis in the first inning, said he had "the worst location of my fastball in my time in the majors."

A's lefty Ted Lilly gave up runs in the first two innings but toughened up to retire 10 straight through five innings, including 10 strikeouts.

Meantime, Oakland got him a 3-2 lead on homers by Chavez — his third in eight career at-bats against Franklin — and by Ellis in the fifth.

But Boone opened the sixth with a double into the left-center gap. Martinez slapped his RBI single to tie the score at 3-3.

To run for Edgar or not, that was Melvin's question.

"The way it turned out," Melvin said, "I'm glad I didn't run for him back then."

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com.