OAKLAND, Calif. – The Seattle Mariners are set on making the AL West interesting until the very end – even if they have to run over people to do it.

Ichiro Suzuki had four hits and drove in five runs, and Bret Boone added three hits and two RBIs as Seattle beat the first-place Oakland Athletics for the second straight day, 9-3 Saturday.

Oakland’s division lead dropped to three games over Seattle, and the A’s magic number to win the West remained at five. Any combination of A’s wins and Mariners losses would give Oakland its second straight division title.

Expos 4, Mets 3

NEW YORK – Todd Zeile’s home run in the 10th inning lifted the Montreal Expos to a 4-3 victory over the Mets on Saturday, New York’s seventh straight loss.

Zeile homered off Mike Stanton (2-7), keeping Montreal mathematically alive in the NL playoff race. The Expos are six games behind Philadelphia, the wild-card leader.

The stumbling Mets have lost 15 of 16.

Yankees 7, Devil Rays 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Andy Pettitte became a 20-game winner for the second time, and the New York Yankees clinched their ninth straight playoff berth by beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-1 Saturday night.

Devil Rays reliever Jon Switzer was ejected in the ninth inning after New York’s Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch for the second straight inning. Brandon Backe plunked the Yankees’ shortstop in the eighth, and Switzer hit Bernie Williams later in the inning.

Reds 2, Phillies 0

PHILADELPHIA – Todd Van Poppel and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

Van Poppel, a former first-round pick by Oakland in 1990 pitching for his sixth team, allowed four hits in 6 1-3 innings, his longest outing in five years. Van Poppel (1-1) struck out five and walked two.

Marlins 6, Braves 5

ATLANTA – Miguel Cabrera homered in the 11th inning and the Florida Marlins took the NL wild-card lead with a 6-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.

The Marlins pulled a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 2-0 to the Cincinnati Reds.

Cabrera lined a pitch from Will Cunnane (2-2) into the seats in left leading off the 11th.

The Braves tied it with two runs in the ninth off closer Braden Looper. Javy Lopez cut it to 5-4 with his 42nd homer of the season – and 41st as a catcher. That tied the major league record for backstops set by Todd Hundley of the New York Mets in 1996.

Looper walked Vinny Castilla, who was replaced by pinch-runner Jesse Garcia, and pinch-hitter Julio Franco singled to move Garcia to third.

Then Mark DeRosa lined a single to left to bring in Garcia with the tying run. It was Looper’s sixth blown save in 34 chances, and he’s blown three saves in his past five appearances against the Braves.

Gary Sheffield singled leading off the 10th, the 2,000th hit of his career, and Altlanta eventually loaded the bases twice. But Michael Tejera retired Rafael Furcal on a popup and pinch-hitter Johnny Estrada flied out against Rick Helling (1-0).

Atlanta closer John Smoltz pitched for the first time since Aug. 23, retiring Juan Pierre on a groundout in the ninth inning before giving way to Ray King. Smoltz was activated from the disabled list before the game after missing nearly a month with tendinitis in his right elbow.

The Braves set a franchise record by using nine pitchers, and matched a franchise mark by using 26 players.

Marcus Giles became the sixth Atlanta player to reach 20 home runs this season, helping the Braves tie the NL record. The Milwaukee Braves set the mark in 1965.

Brad Penny pitched five-hit ball for seven innings and tied a career high with three RBIs for the Marlins before the bullpen blew the lead.

Atlanta closed to 5-3 in the eighth on Sheffield’s two-run homer off Ugueth Urbina.

Penny left his previous start – also against Atlanta – with a hyperextended elbow after getting two outs in the first inning. He allowed three runs on two hits in that game, which the Marlins eventually won 5-4.

But he had few problems Saturday night. He retired his first seven batters before Castilla singled in the third, then set down eight of the last 10 he faced. Penny struck out two.

Penny provided the early offense with a three-run double in the second off Horacio Ramirez. With two outs, Jeff Conine and Cabrera walked, and Alex Gonzalez reached on an infield single to the hole at shortstop.

That brought up Penny, who had gone nearly two months since his previous hit. He lined a double all the way to the wall in left-center, clearing the bases and giving himself a 3-0 lead.

He outpitched Ramirez, who gave up four runs on seven hits in only 4 2-3 innings. Ramirez also walked five after allowing only two free passes in his previous five starts.

In the fourth inning, Giles hit a 3-2 pitch from Penny into the left-field seats and cut the Marlins’ lead to 3-1. He joined Lopez, Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones and Castilla with at least 20 homers.

The previous high for Giles was nine in 2001.

The major league record is seven players with at least 20 homers, which has been done twice according to the Elias Sports Bureau, baseball’s statistician: the 1996 Baltimore Orioles and the 2000 Toronto Blue Jays.

The Marlins added a run in the fifth on a single by Cabrera, then made it 5-1 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Juan Encarnacion.

Notes: Penny also had three RBIs on June 3 against the Oakland Athletics. … The Braves also activated RHP Kevin Gryboski, who’s been out since Aug. 28 with a small tear in his right labrum, a piece of cartilage that stabilizes the shoulder. In 61 games, he’s 6-4 with a 4.10 ERA in 41 2-3 innings. … The Braves last used 26 players Sept. 9, 2000, against the Montreal Expos.

AP-ES-09-20-03 2255EDT