M’S Rip Twins; Piniella Ribs Trainers Griffey’s 49th Among Seattle’s 4 Hrs, But Others’ Rib Problems May Be Nothing To Laugh At
The manager was slightly bewildered.
“I asked our trainer tonight - are rib cage strains contagious?” Lou Piniella asked.
No, but forgive him for wondering. On a night when the Seattle Mariners hit four more home runs, defeated the Minnesota Twins, 10-6, and extended their lead in the American League West to four games, they came up with another injury.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 49th home run, Andy Sheets and Rob Ducey their third, each, and Edgar Martinez his 25th.
Martinez hit his ball over the centerfield fence - after straining a muscle in his left side.
“I felt it the at-bat before, when I tried to check my swing on a change-up,” Martinez said. “I did something to it last week in Colorado, and it’s been bothering me when I swing and miss.”
Forgive Piniella for questioning his trainers, but the possibility now exists that Martinez, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Blowers are all victims of rib injuries.
“We’ve got strained ribs, bruised ribs and barbecued ribs,” trainer Rick Griffin said.
Rodriguez wants to play Sunday. Blowers wants to test his bruised ribs today at first base - and Piniella is inclined to let him try. And Martinez?
“I’ve been playing with this for a week, I’m going to come to the ballpark tomorrow expecting to play again,” he said. “If I can swing, I can play.”
Jamie Moyer won his career-best 15th game with six solid-if-unspectacular innings, and for the second consecutive night in the Metrodome, the Seattle bullpen was good enough to hold off the Twins.
“We need wins, and it doesn’t matter who gets them,” Moyer said. “Sometime in November, maybe I’ll look back at the season and the numbers and be happy, but for right now all that matters is that this team wins.”
For the third time in four September games, the Mariners did. All they had to do this time was pound Twins ace Brad Radke - an 18-game winner coming in.
That took them all of four innings.
In that span, Griffey hit a solo home run, matching the career-high he set last season, Sheets hit a two-run home run, Ducey a solo homer and Martinez a two-run shot. That chased Radke and put the Mariners ahead, 7-2.
Piniella had thrown together a left-handed hitting lineup against the Twins’ right-handed starting pitcher, resting both Roberto Kelly and Jay Buhner, in hopes of getting a little rest for a pair of his regulars.
And when Moyer got through six innings on 83 pitches, Piniella pulled him out of the game, too.
“He’s taken us deep into the game the last few starts, why not get a breather for him when you can?” Piniella asked.
That’s another way of saying he wants to keep anyone who’s healthy now healthy for later.
“We’re beat up,” Piniella said. “We were a little short-handed at times in August, and now we’ve got a lot of the kids here. We’ve got to rest guys when we can. I’ve never seen so many rib injuries.”
And all the problems started at first base.
Martinez felt a slight pull last week in Coors Field when, while playing first base, he stretched for a throw. Blowers was hurt five days earlier in a collision at first base with Yankees outfielder Tim Raines. And on Tuesday, Rodriguez strained a muscle in his right rib cage while sliding into first base.
Add those three to a list of ailing players that includes Randy Johnson and Russ Davis and it’s easy to see why the Mariners are scrambling to put together a recognizable lineup or rotation. One of the fill-ins Friday was Brent Gates. And a night after hitting a home run, Gates chipped in a three-run double this time.
xxxx TODAY ON TV Seattle meets the Twins at 5 p.m. on TCI Cable channel 25.