Torres Treats Mariners To Going-Home Present
The plane that carried the Seattle Mariners home Thursday was full - packing a cleanup hitter, a rejuvenated pitcher and one baseball for a collection with plenty of room to grow.
“We’re taking two victories, too,” manager Lou Piniella said.
While splitting a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox, the Mariners tuned up for their four-game series with California - and left-handers Mark Langston, Chuck Finley and Brian Anderson - by beating lefthander Jim Abbott, 3-2.
Now, their season gets serious.
Four games behind the front-running Angels in the American League West, the Mariners will start a homestand tonight with the healthiest lineup they’ve fielded in weeks. Jay Buhner will be in right field, batting fourth. Luis Sojo probably will start at shortstop.
“We’re as healthy as we’re going to be for a while,” Piniella said. “We could easily have won all four games (in Chicago)- or lost three of them.”
Against Abbott, the Mariners pulled out a onerun victory by pushing home a couple of firstinning runs, getting a third on catcher Dan Wilson’s first home run of the year, and then holding on.
“This is the kind of baseball we have to play,” closer Bobby Ayala said after registering save No. 11 with 1 innings of relief. “We played hard, we pitched well, we beat a good team.”
Nice enough summary.
Ayala had help from two fellow relievers - the resurgent Dave Fleming, who pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and Jeff Nelson.
But the pitching star might have been Salomon Torres.
“I haven’t won since last June,” the 23-year-old righthander said, pointing at a game ball in his locker. “I’m keeping this ball for my collection. It’s not a very big one yet.”
Actually, Torres hadn’t won a major league game since May 27, 1994, when he was a San Francisco Giant and beat the Florida Marlins. In a career that spanned 33 major league games, he’d won five times.
“He’s pitched well his last few starts, and he pitched well today,” Piniella said. “His ball was moving so well early he was walking guys and I told him, ‘Son, they’re not hitting you - get it over the plate.”’
Notes
To make room for Jay Buhner, infielder Greg Pirkl was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a partially torn thigh muscle. Pirkl was injured before the game Wednesday while taking ground balls at first base. … To open a roster spot for Luis Sojo, rookie Alex Rodriguez is likely to be sent to Triple-A Tacoma. Rodriguez committed his fourth error and went 0 for 4, striking out each time. … Gary Thurman stole his third base in as many games, in the first against Jim Abbott, giving Seattle runners 31 stolen bases in their last 35 attempts. Abbott put and end to that run by catching Rich Amaral and Thurman stealing in the second when both left first before he delivered.