Washburn stellar yet again
SEATTLE – When he hasn’t been caught in an opponent’s bid for a no-hitter, Jarrod Washburn has been an unbeatable pitcher when the Seattle Mariners needed one most.
Take away last Saturday’s loss in New York when Chien-Ming Wang threw a one-hitter against the Mariners, Washburn has done nothing but win.
He did it again Friday, holding the Yankees to six harmless hits in eight innings, leading the Mariners to a 3-0 victory at Safeco Field.
Raul Ibanez’s RBI single in the third inning and Kenji Johjima’s two-run homer in the fourth gave Washburn more than enough offensive support as he pushed his record to 3-3 and lowered his earned run average to 2.64.
Not lost on anyone is the fact that Washburn’s run of victories began at the same time ace starter Felix Hernandez went on the disabled list in mid-April.
In his past four starts, Washburn is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA, having allowed 14 hits and five runs in 31 1/3 innings.
“He has pitched well enough in all his starts to be 6-0,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “He’s aggressive. He throws all of his pitches over for strikes at any time in the count. And hitters know that he’s going to be around the plate and throwing strikes, so consequently they’re more aggressive. When he’s on, you get a performance like tonight.”
Before a crowd of 44,214 – the Mariners’ second-largest this season at Safeco Field, falling short of only the 46,003 at the season opener – Washburn allowed a hit in each of the first six innings, but little else.
“I controlled the inner half of the plate and got ahead (in the count). That was basically the story,” he said. “I knew going in that the inner half of the plate against these guys was very important, to the lefties and the righties. I wanted to establish that and stick with it.”
Washburn also controlled his emotions which, for him, has meant getting a lot more animated than he was last year, when he went 8-14.
“I feel very healthy, which is the biggest key,” he said. “But my attitude is different and that’s carrying over onto the field. I’m being more myself and not trying to worry about fitting in. I’m an emotional guy when I play. I’m yelling and screaming and I’m having fun. I don’t think I did that last year. I was a little more laid-back and reserved than normal, and I think that carried over to my style of pitching and my approach to the game.”
While the Yankees were bleeding most of their hits off Washburn through the infield or blooping them into the outfield, the Mariners made just enough solid contact against Yankees starter Darrell Rasner to beat him.
Ichiro Suzuki’s third-inning double and Ibanez’s RBI single gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Johjima added to it with one swing in the fourth, lining a two-run home run into the left-field seats after Rasner had walked Adrian Beltre with nobody out.
Washburn then finished the Yankees off the same way he started them.
Weaver goes on DL
The Mariners placed struggling right-hander Jeff Weaver on the 15-day disabled list, believing shoulder tendinitis may be at the root of his winless record and inflated ERA.
Seattle called up left-handed reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith from Triple-A Tacoma to take Weaver’s roster spot.
The Mariners believe it’s a strength issue causing Weaver’s continuing problems.