Mariners sport pink gear for a good cause

SEATTLE -- As part of Major League Baseball's initiative to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer and to honor Mother's Day, players from around the league used pink bats and wore pink shoes, sleeves, shoelaces and wristbands Sunday.

It was befitting, then, that the Mariners' top run producers wielded pink bats and one wore pink shoes in Seattle's series finale against the Royals at Safeco Field.

The Mariners lost, 9-7, though the run total was their highest yet four games into their seven-game homestand.

With the Mariners trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, third baseman Kyle Seager used his pink bat to line a two-run homer into the first row of seats down the right-field line. He finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Designated hitter Corey Hart used a pink bat to rip an RBI single back up the middle to give Seattle a 7-5 cushion in the fifth inning. He finished 1-for-4, too.

Sporting some pink on his black shoes, left fielder Dustin Ackley recorded the first multi-homer game of his career. Sunday also marked the first time he'd hit homers in back-to-back games. Ackley raised his batting average to .264 with a 3-for-4 afternoon. He drove in two runs and scored twice.