Lofton walks to Tribe’s 6-5 win in ninth

The Indians maintained their 41⁄2-game lead.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kenny Lofton drew a bases-loaded walk from Rick White to force home the winning run in the ninth inning, and the Cleveland Indians beat the slumping Seattle Mariners 6-5 Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.

The Indians maintained their 41⁄2-game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. The Mariners, who have lost six in a row, fell a game behind the New York Yankees in the wild-card race and 51⁄2 back of the first-place Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.

Victor Martinez singled off Eric O’Flaherty (7-1) with one out. After Ryan Garko was hit by a pitch, White relieved and retired Jhonny Peralta on a fly ball. Franklin Gutierrez walked to load the bases. Lofton worked the count to 3-2 before taking ball four, which was high and inside, scoring pinch-runner Josh Barfield.

Borowski gains win

Joe Borowski (3-5) got the win despite blowing his sixth save in 45 chances when the Mariners scored a run in the ninth on Yuniesky Betancourt’s RBI groundout.

Pinch-hitter Ben Broussard led off the inning with a walk. Kenji Johjima followed with a bloop single to left. Adam Jones bunted the runners to second and third. Betancourt’s slow grounder got past Borowski and was fielded by second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, whose only play was at first as Broussard scored.

Ichiro Suzuki was walked intentionally before Jose Vidro struck out to end the inning.

Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson left in the fifth with tightness in his left hamstring. He is day-to-day.

The game was the third of four makeups the teams have been forced to play since their scheduled four-game series in Cleveland was postponed by snow in early April. The final makeup will be played as part of a doubleheader in Seattle on Sept. 26.

Mariners move ahead

The Mariners scored twice in the seventh to erase the Indians’ 3-2 lead. Jones, who homered in the sixth, singled to tie the game before Betancourt’s single put the Mariners ahead.

The Indians responded quickly. Grady Sizemore drew a one-out walk from George Sherrill and Travis Hafner singled before Victor Martinez’s single scored Sizemore. Brandon Morrow relieved, but Garko doubled over the head of left fielder Raul Ibanez to score Hafner.

Rafael Perez pitched 12⁄3 innings. He struck out four, including three in the eighth.

Jason Michaels’ two-run single and Chris Gomez’s RBI single highlighted the Indians’ three-run third.

Cleveland rookie Aaron Laffey took a 3-0 lead into the sixth before Seattle came back. Jones led off the inning with a home run, his first of the season. Betancourt doubled and scored on Jose Guillen’s two-out single.

Indians manager Eric Wedge was ejected by plate umpire Sam Holbrook in the fourth. With Michaels on first, Wedge thought pitcher Horacio Ramirez committed a balk while throwing to the bag. Michaels was fooled by the move and was thrown out going to second.

Ramirez allowed three runs and six hits in 52⁄3 innings. Laffey gave up four runs and seven hits in 61⁄3 innings.