|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) – Dan Wilson was in an 0-for-18 slide. He had never
homered as a pinch hitter.
|  | | Edgar Martinez's two-run homer helps the Mariners improve baseball's best record. |
Mariners manager Lou Piniella sent him up to the plate, anyway,
with Saturday's game against Toronto tied in the seventh inning.
Wilson came through with a tiebreaking home run, and Seattle went
on to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5.
"When you deliver, it's a good feeling," said Wilson, who is
hitting .193. "But I wasn't surprised that Lou sent me up there. I
think he's got confidence in all of us. I was glad to be in that
situation."
Wilson's first home run in 28 career at-bats as a pinch-hitter
came off Pedro Borbon (0-2) and gave the Mariners a 5-4 lead.
"I'm very, very happy for Danny," Piniella said. "He's
capable. I hope this gives him some confidence and gets him going.
But all a manager can do is match up the guys the best way you can
and then it's up to them."
After an error by second baseman Jeff Frye later in the inning,
Ichiro Suzuki hit an RBI single and Edgar Martinez added a
run-scoring grounder, his third RBI of the game.
Seattle has the best record in baseball at 23-7 and with a win
Sunday the Mariners would capture their 10th straight series.
"It does make Lou look like a genius to bring in Dan Wilson,
who is in a slump, and then have him hit a home run," Seattle
reliever Jeff Nelson said. "But none of us on the bench was
surprised, because Lou likes to give us opportunities to produce."
Toronto manager Buck Martinez thought his center fielder, Jose
Cruz Jr., might snag Wilson's drive, which barely went over the
wall in the deepest part of Safeco Field, at 405 feet.
"He ran into the fence before he could jump," Martinez said.
Borbon gave up the home run on a 3-1 fastball.
"I didn't think it was going that far," Borbon said. "I
didn't think he hit it that hard. But he obviously got a couple
more inches than I would have liked."
Wilson is 10-for-28 (.357) in his career as a pinch-hitter with
12 RBI.
"It's difficult coming in cold," he said.
Mariners pinch hitters are 11-for-18 with two homers and 10
RBIs. Their .611 batting average and 10 RBI are tops in the
American League.
"Everybody is playing, and that has a lot to do with our
success," Piniella said. "Plus we have a lot of experience here.
We don't have young kids."
Toronto got a run in the eighth off Arthur Rhodes (3-0) when,
with Raul Mondesi on second, Luis Lopez singled to right and Suzuki
allowed the ball to get away for his first major league error.
Kazuhiro Sasaki got four straight outs for his major
league-leading 14th save in 15 chances.
On Friday, Seattle's bullpen gave up four runs in 3 1-3 innings
during an 8-3 loss. This time, the bullpen allowed one run in four
innings and it was unearned.
Seattle starter Freddy Garcia allowed four runs and seven hits
in five-plus innings, while Toronto's Joey Hamilton gave up four
runs and six hits in six innings.
Brad Fullmer, who went 4-for-4 with a home and two doubles, put
Toronto ahead with a second-inning homer, but Tom Lampkin hit an
RBI double in the bottom half.
Cruz hit a run-scoring double in the third, but Toronto took a
4-2 lead in the bottom half on Suzuki's RBI double and Martinez's
two-run homer.
Suzuki, who went 2-for-5, is hitting .350. He extended his
hitting streak to 12 games and has hit in 28 of 30 games this
season.
Fullmer's RBI double chased Garcia in the sixth and Frye hit a
run-scoring grounder off Jeff Nelson with the bases loaded.
Game notes
Wilson had Seattle's second pinch homer of this season.
Mark McLemore had one at Texas on April 8. ... Wilson's homer was
his first since last Sept. 16 against Baltimore. ... Fullmer had
four hits for the second time this season and the fourth time in
his career. He's 5-for-11 with two homers against Garcia. ...
Toronto's pitchers have allowed two pinch homers this season.
 Send this story to a friend
| |
RECAPS
NY Yankees 5
Baltimore 2
Boston 7
Oakland 1
Seattle 7
Toronto 5
Cleveland 9
Tampa Bay 4
Kansas City 12
Minnesota 10
Texas 2
Chi. White Sox 0
Detroit 11
Anaheim 2
NY Mets 8
Arizona 1
San Diego 5
Cincinnati 2
Chicago Cubs 20
Los Angeles 1
Atlanta 6
St. Louis 5
Milwaukee 8
Florida 2
Houston 4
Montreal 3
Philadelphia 4
San Francisco 2
Pittsburgh 11
Colorado 3
|
