Ichiro reaches 50 hits in month as M's sweep doubleheader

The Mariners are starting to get the knack of coming from behind, and Ichiro has maintained his knack for accumulating hits.

The Mariners rallied twice yesterday to sweep the first doubleheader at Safeco Field, beating Kansas City 9-7 in the opener and 5-3 in 12 innings in the second game.

Ichiro got his third hit of the second game leading off the 12th inning. That hit gave him 50 this month with two games remaining. It's believed he is the only major-league player to have three 50-hit months in one season. He had 50 hits in May and 51 in July. He tied Pete Rose for the most 50-hit months in a career with four.

"Fifty a month is harder to do than 200 for a whole year," Ichiro said. "I couldn't imagine 50 hits in a month. Of course, you can't make that a goal."

The Mariners wouldn't make it a goal to fall behind, but it has worked for three straight games. They won 7-5 Friday after trailing 4-0, then fell behind 4-0 and 3-0 in yesterday's games before coming back.

In the first game, rookie Matt Thornton (1-2) won his first big-league game in relief of injured starter Clint Nageotte.

Then, in the second game, the Mariners rallied for a run in the ninth to tie the score 3-3, then won in the 12th on Randy Winn's two-run home run on a 2-2 pitch from reliever Matt Kinney.

Mariners rookie Cha Seung Baek, who was added to the roster between games, worked two solid innings and also earned his first major-league victory.

Despite all their tenacity, the Mariners still are 49-80. They trail Oakland in the AL West by 27 games.

"Those two teams are probably not going to win their divisions, but even with as many losses as we've had, both teams played extremely hard out there," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said.

Ichiro had one hit in the first game before his three in the second. He opened the bottom of the 12th with an infield single, which preceded Winn's game-winning home run.

Already this season, Ichiro became the first player to reach 200 hits in his first four seasons. He has 206 hits and is on pace for 258, which would be one more than George Sisler's record of 257 for most hits in a season. Depending on what he does the next two August games, it may take another 50-hit month to pass Sisler.

"I saw Pete Rose late in his career and I've never seen something like this," Melvin said. "This is a season everyone should watch and remember for what this guy is doing."

Ichiro also is within range of the team record for hits in a month. Alex Rodriguez had 54 in August 1996. That's the most monthly hits since at least 1972, according to the club's research. In addition, his 868 hits are the most for a player in his first four seasons.

Despite giving up three first-inning runs in the second game, Mariners rookie lefty starter Bobby Madritsch pitched a decent game. After the first, he allowed no runs and three hits over the next seven innings. He struck out a career-high eight.

"That first inning was pretty tough," Madritsch said. "After that, I got the ball down,"

The Mariners rallied for a run in the ninth to tie the score at 3-3 as Jolbert Cabrera sent home Bret Boone with a one-out double.

With Ichiro opening the 12th with his single, Melvin initially gave Winn the bunt sign. Winn watched the first pitch for a strike. Then, Melvin took off the bunt.

"At that point I just hoped to move Ichiro into scoring position. I was not thinking of driving it. But I got it up in the air," Winn said. "This has not been the season we've wanted, but hopefully we can build on this, finish strong and get that winning feeling back."

In the first game, the Mariners fell behind 4-0 after two innings. They rallied back but, Melvin said, "It was not a very well-played game."

With Nageotte dealing with his back issues, Thornton knew he would have to pitch.

"We all want to be out there," he said. "We all want to prove ourselves."

He entered the fourth with his team down 4-2. He tossed three hitless innings and struck out a career-high five.

Bucky Jacobsen narrowed the deficit to 4-3 in the fifth with a leadoff, 411-foot home run into the left-field upper deck. The M's scored three in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. The big hit was Jacobsen's two-run double.

Bob Sherwin: 206-464-8286 or bsherwin@seattletimes.com