SEATTLE (AP) - If the Minnesota Twins fall short in their quest to win the AL Central, they may remember this loss.

And if these young, upstart contenders end up winning their tight division, they may still remember it: for the levity and leadership shown after it by manager Ron Gardenhire.

Raul Ibanez had a grand slam and six RBIs - all in a wild seventh inning - and the Seattle Mariners staged their biggest comeback of a lost season to stun the Twins 11-6 on Monday night.

Ibanez set Seattle's record for RBIs in one frame, one more than Ken Griffey Jr. had in the fifth inning on April 29, 1999, at the old Kingdome.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal,'' said Ibanez, who thought he was going to be traded to Toronto or the New York Mets last week. "I wasn't even sure it was the same inning.''

Ibanez sent Minnesota out of the AL Central lead with a potentially devastating loss. The Twins, a major league-best 31-14 since June 13 entering Monday, fell a percentage point behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, one day after they reached for the top for the first time in three months.

Afterward, a red-faced Gardenhire fumed about his two-faced bullpen. It is the best in the majors in home ERA (2.11) but baseball's worst away from the Metrodome, with an ERA of 6.31 after allowing six runs in Seattle's 10-run seventh-inning.

"We got nobody out in the bullpen. Just terrible pitches. Balls flying around everywhere,'' Gardenhire said. "We have to have someone ... step up and make pitches. Not very much fun.''

Yet moments later, in the middle of a silent clubhouse with players dressing, Gardenhire playfully scolded equipment guys for ruining the road trip after just one night. Wearing a T-shirt that read "Lead. Follow. Or get the hell out of the way'' on the back, Gardenhire saw one Minnesotan with a long face and joked: "Don't look sad. I'll send you home, too.''

The message was clear: be angry. And then be done with this, ready to resume the long pennant race tomorrow.

Minnesota starter Glen Perkins cruised into the sixth with a 6-0 lead and was still comfortably up 6-1 with one out in the seventh before Ibanez hit his grand slam. Perkins' trouble began with a single by Yuniesky Betancourt, a walk to Ichiro Suzuki and a single by Willie Bloomquist to load the bases with one out.

Ibanez, who thought he was going to be traded to Toronto or the New York Mets a week ago, then hit Perkins' inside fastball about six rows into the right-field bleachers. His seventh career grand slam cut the lead to 6-5 - and awakened what had been another frustrated, booing crowd.