PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -Mike Sweeney's chances of making the Seattle Mariners' roster on opening day keep improving.

Sweeney, a non-roster invitee who is attempting a comeback after having surgery on both knees in June, had two hits and an RBI in Seattle's 8-5 win over an Oakland Athletics split squad Saturday.

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``I came to camp not to just show up and have a vacation in Arizona but to make the team and have an impact,' Sweeney said after raising his Cactus League average to .381. ``I feel wonderful, my swing feels good. I feel great.'

Ken Griffey Jr. doubled and scored twice in his second game playing left field this spring, Franklin Gutierrez homered, and Matt Tuiasosopo and Mike Morse had two RBIs apiece for Seattle.

Jack Cust went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Oakland while Travis Buck added an RBI triple.

Sweeney was on the A's opening day roster last year but was released in September after missing 85 games and eventually undergoing microfracture surgery on both knees in June.

Seattle rookie manager Don Wakamatsu was Oakland's bench coach in 2008 and was familiar with Sweeney, so the Mariners extended a spring training invitation to the 35-year-old veteran slugger even though there already was a logjam of players at first base.

Since coming to camp, Sweeney has been a hit on the field and in the clubhouse and is convincing team brass he might be worth keeping around.

Sweeney is competing with Chris Shelton, who went 2-for-4 and is batting .581, for the backup job to starting first baseman Russell Branyan and offers Seattle another option at DH whenever Griffey plays left field.

``He just brings the energy level (up) when he's on the field,' Wakamatsu said. ``Whether it's drills or whether it's the clubhouse during the game, he just brings the energy level in such a positive factor he makes guys around him stronger.'

As for Sweeney's knees, the outlook is optimistic. There have been no setbacks so far and he had an easy stride running from first to third on Jeff Clement's RBI single in the fifth.

``I answered (the health) questions in the winter when I was working out on the beach in San Diego running in the sand and in the hills,' Sweeney said. ``However this next chapter unfolds, it will be God's will and it will be a good thing. Whether I'm here in Seattle for a couple years or two more weeks, I want my legacy to be something positive so when I leave this locker room or leave this team, it's a better place.'

Cust's RBI single in the first gave Oakland a 1-0 lead, but Gutierrez homered to tie it in the bottom half. The two teams traded runs in the second before Seattle scored twice in the third on Sweeney's run-scoring hit and a sacrifice fly by Tuiasosopo.

The Mariners broke the game open with three runs in the fifth, all of them off Oakland reliever Jeremy Bevins. Clement, Tuiasosopo and Morse all had RBI hits.

The A's couldn't dig their way out of the hole.

``We missed a couple of opportunities where we could have probably produced a run or two but for the most part, not bad,' said Oakland bench coach Tye Waller, who served as the A's manager while Bob Geren managed the team's other squad playing at home against San Francisco. ``Jack (Cust) is a guy who is very streaky and when he's swinging good you can jump on his back. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.'