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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- Mike Cameron, naturally, thought he was safe. At least, that's what he said.
|  | | Jay Buhner homered in the seventh and drove in the winning run in the 11th in Seattle's win. |
Cameron scored a disputed run on Jay Buhner's two-out double in
the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Mariners a 2-1 win over
the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night.
"You think I'm going to call myself out?" he said with a grin. "I thought I got my hand in. The umpire called me safe, didn't he?"
The Mariners increased their AL West lead to two games over
Oakland, which lost to Minnesota 7-6.
Cameron drew a two-out walk from Ricky Bottalico (7-6) and Buhner doubled into the left-field corner. Cameron made a
head-first slide and was called safe by plate umpire Marvin Hudson,
prompting catcher Gregg Zaun to throw down his mask.
A replay showed Zaun blocked Cameron and appeared to tag him in time for the out. Zaun continued his argument as he walked off the field with the umpires.
"It's not a gamble because there's two outs," Cameron said.
"What do we have to lose? If I'm out, we're going to play another
inning."
Zaun took a five-minute break before talking to reporters.
Afterward, he was still adamant that Cameron was out.
"I think I did a great job blocking the plate," Zaun said. "And the replay shows that he was out. It was a tough call, but it was definitely a home-team call. Any time you lose a close game like that on a suspect call, it's a tough loss."
Said Royals manager Tony Muser: "He was out, but it doesn't matter what I think. It only matters what the umpire calls. He obviously didn't get his hand in there. He never came across the plate with his hand."
Of course, manager Lou Piniella agreed with Cameron's version.
"The catcher did a good job of blocking the plate, but I thought Cameron got his hand in," Piniella said. "Cameron can motor."
Jose Mesa (4-6) worked the 11th inning to get the victory.
Buhner tied it at 1 with his 25th homer of the season. He
connected in the seventh against Blake Stein.
The Mariners had a chance to win it in the ninth after Alex
Rodriguez walked, Edgar Martinez singled and Cameron sacrificed.
With runners on second and third, Buhner flied out to shallow
center field and Carlos Guillen also flied out.
In the top of the ninth, Mariners first baseman John Olerud made
a diving catch on Todd Dunwoody's line drive for the third out with
runners at the corners.
Stein went nine innings, giving up one run on five hits and four
walks. Seattle's Paul Abbott pitched six shutout innings, allowing five hits and walking three.
The Royals scored the game's first run in the seventh. Arthur
Rhodes walked Johnny Damon and threw a wild pitch before Jermaine
Dye singled.
Seattle left fielder Al Martin saved two runs when he made a diving catch of Dave McCarty's line drive on the warning track for
the final out in the third.
Game notes
Mark Quinn was supposed to start in LF for the Royals, but
was pulled before game time because of tightness in his right
hamstring. He sat out the entire series against the Mariners after
leaving Sunday's game against Texas in the seventh inning with a
cramp in his right hamstring. ... Buhner's 306th career homer tied
him with Fred Lynn for 83rd on the all-time homer list. He's
3-for-8 in his career against Stein, all homers. ... Guillen
committed his 19th error, most on the Mariners, in his 78th game.
... Stein threw a season-high 128 pitches, 78 for strikes. ...
Seattle improved its record in one-run games to 11-22.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Kansas City Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 7
Oakland 6
Cleveland 10
Boston 3
NY Yankees 3
Toronto 2
Chi. White Sox 1
Detroit 0
Baltimore 9
Texas 4
Anaheim 8
Tampa Bay 4
Seattle 2
Kansas City 1
NY Mets 4
Milwaukee 1
Cincinnati 13
Chicago Cubs 3
Philadelphia 15
Montreal 5
St. Louis 9
Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 4
Florida 0
San Francisco 3
Houston 2
Arizona 3
Los Angeles 2
Colorado 11
San Diego 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jay Buhner talks with ESPN's Rick Sutcliffe about his 11th inning heroics and his role this season in Seattle.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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