SEATTLE (AP) - Jose Lopez's two-out double in the seventh inning made rookie Doug Fister a winner and sent the Seattle Mariners to yet another one-run victory, 2-1 over the first-place Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.

Fister (2-1), making his fifth major league start, held what was the highest-scoring team in the majors entering the game to just one run and five hits in 7 1-3 innings.

It was the 43rd time in 133 games the AL's lowest-scoring team managed two runs or fewer. Yet Seattle improved to 29-16 in one-run games, the most such decisions and wins in baseball.

Seattle's winning rally came with two outs in the seventh off Darren Oliver (4-1), with the help of iffy fielding from the usually dependable Angels, whose lead in the AL West over Texas shrank to 4½ games

Franklin Gutierrez hit a chopper that shortstop Erick Aybar thought was taking one more high hop. The ball skidded far under his glove for a single. Then Lopez lined a double the other way into the right-field corner. Bobby Abreu rumbled there, then had the ball bounce off his glove. That allowed Gutierrez enough time to score.

It was just Seattle's second run in 25 innings.

Fister left in the eighth with a 2-1 lead - and to a standing ovation from the crowd of 18,542. The 25-year-old's last pitch was hit for a double by Aybar.

Mark Lowe relieved and got pinch-hitter Mike Napoli to fly out, leaving Napoli in an 0-for-16 skid. Then Chone Figgins flew out to end the inning before David Aardsma worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 32nd save in 36 chances.

Starter Ervin Santana continued to show he deserves consideration to be in the Angels' three-man rotation for a probable first-round playoff series - not that manager Mike Scioscia wants to talk about such speculation with a month still remaining in the regular season.

Santana allowed five hits and a run in six innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in five consecutive starts to lower his ERA to 5.68, the lowest it's been since April.

The healthier Mariners celebrated getting nine-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki back for the first time in nine games, and Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre for the first time in three weeks.

When Beltre batted for the first time, after a hard ground ball severely bruised his testicle last month, the stadium public address system had a replacement for Beltre's usual walk-up music: the theme from "The Nutcracker."

Laughter filled the park.

Beltre can thank Ken Griffey Jr. for that. The team crackup had that idea for days, anticipating Beltre's return. Beltre went 0 for 4 with two long fly outs.

Suzuki had two singles while playing under a close watch, following tightness in his calf. He didn't fully sprint down the line on a routine grounder to second base in the first. A trainer met Suzuki upon his return to the dugout, and manager Don Wakamatsu talked to the trainer and an interpreter with Suzuki nearby.

He is now 14 hits from becoming the first player with nine consecutive 200-hit seasons.