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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) – Mark McLemore can't believe how well the Seattle
Mariners are playing.
|  | | Ichiro Suzuki's fast start is one of the reasons the Mariners reached the 20-win plateau so quickly. |
Kazuhiro Sasaki got his record 13th save in April and Mark
McLemore homered as the Mariners won their ninth straight and set a
major league mark with 20 April victories, beating the Chicago
White Sox 8-5 Saturday night.
"Really? Wow! That's pretty special: the most wins ever in
April," McLemore said, shaking his head.
So are the Mariners really that good?
"Only time will tell," said McLemore, who went 4-for-5.
"Setting a record is not our goal. Winning the World Series is our
goal."
Bret Boone hit a go-ahead, sixth-inning single for the Mariners,
who at 20-4 are off to the best start in baseball since the
Milwaukee Brewers won 20 of 24 to open the 1987 season.
"If you had told me in spring training that we'd be 20-4, I'd
say, I don't think so," Boone said. "Hey, it's a great run –
let's ride it. This has been as impressive a run as I've ever seen.
We feel like we're going to win every night."
Seattle, which had 15 hits, is just the 11th team to start 20-4,
and broke the previous record of 19 April wins, set by the 1997
Atlanta Braves.
"It's something we're very proud of," manager Lou Piniella
said. "In the long history of baseball, to think that our Seattle
club would set the record for most wins in April, it's special."
The Mariners have won 13 of 14 overall and have beaten the White
Sox in 18 of their last 24 meetings, including a 3-0 sweep in the
first round of last year's playoffs.
Chicago has lost 11 of 14 overall.
"They have all types of hitters," White Sox manager Jerry
Manuel said of the Mariners. "They are taking hits, making
defensive plays – and that bullpen."
Brett Tomko (1-1) allowed one hit in 1 2-3 innings, and Sasaki
got three outs for his 13th save in 14 chances, eclipsing the
previous April record, set by Baltimore's Lee Smith in 1994.
"I'm not really worried about a record right now," Sasaki
said. "As long as the team wins, that's all that matters."
Seattle starter Paul Abbott gave up four runs – three earned –
and five hits in 4 1-3 innings in his first start. He had been on
the disabled list since spring training because of sore shoulder.
Rocky Biddle (1-1) gave up six runs, eight hits and five walks
in 5 1-3 innings.
White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas, who left Friday night's
game with a strained right triceps, did not play. Thomas said after
the game he would probably return by Thursday or Friday.
"There are some small tears in the muscle fibers," Thomas
said. "It's still hard to bend my arm and bring up a bat, so it'll
take a few days."
Seattle trailed 3-1 in the fifth when Edgar Martinez hit an RBI
groundout and Al Martin hit a two-run double. Harold Baines, in a
2-for-21 slump, put Chicago back ahead in the fifth with a looping,
two-run double off Tomko.
McLemore homered off Biddle in the sixth and Boone, who went
3-for-4, had an RBI single off Bob Howry for a 6-5 lead.
David Bell added a two-run single in the eighth off Lorenzo
Barcelo.
Boone's run-scoring infield single put Seattle ahead in the
first, but Jose Valentin hit an RBI double in the bottom half.
Boone's relay on Mike Cameron's throw from center field caught
Julio Ramirez at the plate to keep the game tied.
Martin misplayed Paul Konerko's liner for a run-scoring error
that put Chicago ahead.
Konerko extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI
single in the third.
Game notes
The major league mark for best start over 24 games is 22-2
by the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. ... The Mariners are 15-0 when a
right-hander starts against them. ... Cameron lined out in the
third, ending a streak of reaching base 10 straight times. Over the
three games within the streak, Cameron had two doubles, three
singles and five walks. The Mariners' record is 11 straight, set by
Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989. ... Konerko has reached base in all 21
games he has played this season. ... Valentin stole his 100th
career base in the fifth.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 8
Boston 2
Tampa Bay 7
Detroit 3
NY Yankees 7
Oakland 6
Anaheim 4
Toronto 1
Seattle 8
Chi. White Sox 5
Cleveland 7
Texas 3
Baltimore 5
Minnesota 2
Milwaukee 8
Montreal 4
NY Mets 6
St. Louis 5
Houston 6
Florida 4
Cincinnati 9
Colorado 4
San Francisco 5
Chicago Cubs 0
Atlanta 3
Arizona 1
San Diego 8
Pittsburgh 1
Los Angeles 7
Philadelphia 6
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