No. 200 not enough
Guillen returns to help sink Mariners
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jose Guillen wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play after being sick the night before, and still didn’t feel well before Wednesday night’s game.
He ended up feeling well enough to play and was good enough to give the Kansas City Royals the big hit they needed.
Guillen hit a key two-run single after the one-day illness, helping the Royals win their sixth straight with a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
“I was in the lineup, I just played, it’s as simple as that,” Guillen said. “I felt good, decided to go in and just went.”
Guillen didn’t play Tuesday night against the Mariners, a late scratch that drew some suspicion after manager Trey Hillman said it was a managerial decision.
The Royals struggled through the early innings against Seattle starter Ryan Rowland-Smith, staying close in a tight game on Ryan Shealy’s fourth homer in five games. Guillen then provided the big hit in the seventh inning, lining a two-out, two-run single off Miguel Batista just past shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt.
“He’s had some big at-bats and that was a huge at-bat just out of the reach of Yuniesky,” Hillman said. “Obviously, he had enough on it and he squared up on it and stayed inside a tough pitch.”
Rowland-Smith pitched six solid innings and Ichiro Suzuki was 3 for 3, reaching 200 hits for the eighth consecutive season to match Willie Keeler’s major league record.
The Mariners (57-94) still lost their seventh straight, moving a step closer to their first 100-loss season since 1983.
“The losses have mounted up. They are tough losses,” Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said.
Starter Gil Meche (12-11) kept the Royals close. Meche appeared to be in for a long night after walking Ichiro to start the game, then giving up Jose Lopez’s two-run single.
Meche settled down after that despite working deep into most counts, benefiting from double plays in the fourth and fifth.
Joakim Soria pitched the ninth for his 40th save in 43 chances.
Notes
Seattle lefty Erik Bedard will have exploratory arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Sept. 26. He’s been on the DL since July 5 with shoulder tightness. … Ichiro is 10 for 15 in his career against Meche. … Seattle has lost nine straight road games.