Boomstick bros: Cruz, Lee crush home runs

OAKLAND — Nelson Cruz is a strong man, as evidenced again by a thunderous home run hit by the Mariners’ designated hitter in Wednesday’s 9-8 victory over the A’s at Oakland Coliseum. But the big man has new company in that department as teammate Dae-Ho Lee ripped a pair of homers himself to propel Seattle to a series sweep.

Cruz reached the upper deck in straightaway center field — rare territory, indeed — on a shot off A’s rookie left-hander Sean Manaea on a 1-0 fastball to give Seattle a 4-2 lead, only to see Oakland erupt for six runs off Felix Hernandez in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-4 lead.

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But that merely set the stage for Lee — a 250-pound slugger from Korea — to hit a solo shot to begin Seattle’s comeback in the sixth and then a two-run bolt to provide the go-ahead runs in the seventh as the Mariners won for the 14th time in their past 19 games to maintain their slim lead over Texas atop the American League West.

“Those are the kind of wins that stick with you for a while,” said manager Scott Servais. “The guys believed …

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