Alex Guerrero caps rally night for Dodgers in 6-5 win

It was a strange and puzzling game from the beginning, from a lineup that featured only four Dodgers regulars, to Brandon McCarthy surrendering four homers but striking out 10 batters, to some bewildering fielding by the Mariners.

In the 10th inning Andre Ethier, the man who no longer starts, led off with a double off the right-centerfield wall. The Dodgers loaded the bases with a pair of walks, and after Carl Crawford struck out, it was left to Alex Guerrero.

Guerrero, in only his second career start, laced a single to right-centerfield to score Ethier and earn his first walk-off hit in the Dodgers’ 6-5 victory over the Mariners.

He also drove in the Dodgers’ first run, giving him six RBIs in his two starts.

The Dodgers came back from deficits of 4-0 and 5-3 to win in extra innings.

The wild and crazy McCarthy ride got off to an almost immediate start in the first inning. After Robinson Cano hit a one-out single, Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer into the right-field seats. And we were off.

It was still a 2-0 Seattle lead with one out in the fourth when Cruz hit a second homer, this one a solo shot halfway up the right-field pavilion. Kyle Seager – the big brother of Dodgers No. 1 prospect Corey Seager – liked the Cruz routine so much, he followed with a solo home run of his own.

The Dodgers started to answer in the bottom of the inning. Yasiel Puig singled off left-hander James Paxton, but was erased at second on an Adrian Gonzalez grounder. Howie Kendrick doubled with Gonzalez stopping at third.

Scott Van Slyke, who had thrown out Logan Morrison with a bullet to second when he tried to stretch a single into a double in the second inning, then worked an 0-2 count into a walk.

Guerrero’s sacrifice fly scored the Dodgers’ first run and when the throw from Cruz missed the cut-off man, Van Slyke tagged and alertly advanced to second. That proved significant when Joc Pederson singled and both Kendrick and Van Slyke scored.

McCarthy, though, was not done with his long ball business. Dustin Ackley hit another solo home run in the fifth to put the Mariners up 5-3.

But the Dodgers tied it with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Puig, who had been benched Saturday after starting the season two for 17, hit his second home run in as many games. This was another almost line-drive shot.

Gonzalez followed with a double and scored the tying run on a Kendrick single. Cruz helped the cause with another errant throw over Morrison’s head at first.

McCarthy remained in the game and actually finished with a flourish. He retired his last seven batters and 11 of his last 12 – six via strikeout. In his seven somewhat remarkable innings, he struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. Of course, he also gave up five runs on six hits, four of them homers.

The victory went to Yimi Garcia, the first of his career, who pitched a scoreless 10th inning.