Five days after his last start, the Tampa Bay Rays had Matt Andriese right where they needed him Wednesday night -- in the bullpen.
Sent to the bullpen with a 5-0 record, the right-hander pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings to get the win in the Rays' 3-2, 13-inning win over the Seattle Mariners.
"Fortunately for us, him being down there won us a ballgame," said Rays manager Kevin Cash.
"I was very comfortable actually. I just went about it the same way I always do," said Andriese (6-0). "I think they were just going to ride me out because I was pretty fresh. I haven't started in four or five days so I wanted to just ride it out and see how many pitches I could throw."
Mike Montgomery walked Logan Morrison with the bases loaded in the 13th to bring in the winning run. Logan Forsythe tripled with one out and scored the winning run after Montgomery hit pinch-hitter Tim Beckham with a pitch and walked pinch-hitter Taylor Motter.
Montgomery (2-3) lost for the second straight night.
Nelson Cruz's 16th home run followed a leadoff single by Robinson Cano in the fourth inning, giving the Mariners a 2-0 lead against Rays starter Drew Smyly. They never scored again.
"Nobody said it was going to be easy," Cruz said after his fifth homer in nine games.
Smyly struck out a career-high 12 in 6 2/3 inning while giving up two runs on four hits. After giving up the home run to Cruz, the left-hander did not give up another hit and struck out six of the 11 batters he faced.
"I was happy to keep our team in it, but the story's the bullpen," Smyly said. "They held them scoreless for eight innings."
Corey Dickerson drove in the Rays' first two runs with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and a two-out single in the sixth that tied it, 2-2. Dickerson has 10 of his 31 RBIs in five games against Seattle.
Steve Pearce tripled and doubled and reached base four times for the Rays, who won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Seattle starter Nathan Karns, who was acquired in a winter trade from the Rays, struck out eight in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits.
PINCH HITTING FOR LONGORIA . . .
Motter was pinch hitting in the 13th for Evan Longoria, who left the game with tightness in his left forearm after a check swing in the 11th. "It's something I've been dealing with, just sore," said Longoria, who doubled and walked twice. "It's a day-to-day thing."
MOVING DAY
The Rays designated LHP Dana Eveland for assignment and purchased the contract of OF Jaff Decker from Triple-A Durham. Cash didn't rule out Eveland, 0-1 with a 7.56 ERA in 21 games, from eventually joining Durham.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mariners: After leaving Tuesday night's game in the fourth inning with a strained tendon in his right foot, RHP Taijuan Walker is hopeful of not skipping his turn in the rotation. "He feels like it's not going to be a big issue, and he's on some medicine to kind of calm it down," reported manager Scott Servais.
Rays: Manager Kevin Cash said it should be known in the next day or two if RF Steven Souza Jr. (sore left hip) will need to go on the disabled list. "A little sore today," Souza said. "I don't have a whole lot (of news) right now." ... RHP Ryan Webb (right pectoral strain) allowed one run, two hits, one walk and struck out two over two-thirds of an inning in his first game with Class A Charlotte.
UP NEXT
Mariners: LHP James Paxton (0-2) will make his fourth start of the season in the series finale.
Rays: LHP Blake Snell is "definitely excited, jittery" about facing the Mariners in his Tropicana Field debut. Snell, who got no decision in his major league debut in New York on April 23, was born and raised in the Seattle area.
