Just enough runs to smile

SEATTLE (AP) - Brendan Ryan hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning to send the Seattle Mariners to a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.

Mariners starter Jason Vargas matched a career high with 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Charlie Furbush (4-1) earned the win with a scoreless eighth and Seattle improved to 13-20 at home.

Yoenis Cespedes homered for Oakland, which had won seven of 10, and Jonny Gomes had an RBI single.

Casper Wells singled leading off the bottom of the inning against Jim Miller (2-1), who had given up only three earned runs in 23 2/3 innings coming into the game. Dustin Ackley struck out as Wells stole second, and Ryan lined an RBI single over leaping second baseman Jemile Weeks to score Wells.

Ryan is batting .323 with seven RBIs in his last 10 games.

Vargas allowed three hits and two earned runs. Tom Wilhelmsen pitched a clean ninth inning to pick up his sixth save in seven tries.

Travis Blackley went seven innings for the A's, giving up two runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Franklin Gutierrez's third-inning drive to center field that hit the top of the wall scored Ackley and ended another ignominious Seattle offensive streak of 25 scoreless innings.

Prior to Gutierrez's double, Seattle hadn't scored since the fourth inning of Saturday night's game in San Diego. The Mariners' record for consecutive scoreless innings is 30, set last season when the team scored the fewest runs in the majors.

Cespedes hit his eighth home run when he smashed a line drive over the left-center fence in the seventh. It was the 21st home run allowed this season by Vargas, who gave up a career-high 22 last season.

Vargas was replaced by Brandon League after allowing a double to Seth Smith. League lost the lead when he gave up a single to Gomes. Derek Norris also singled before League retired Cliff Pennington to keep the game tied at 2.