M’S Have Too Much Edgar For Angels Martinez Hits His 13th Homer, Lifts Average To Lusty .376
By the time the California Angels finally got Edgar Martinez out in the eighth inning Monday night, it was too late. He’d already done enough damage.
“Edgar is swinging the bat as well as I’ve ever seen anybody swing it,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said after Martinez, the leading hitter in the majors, homered in a 7-3 victory over the Angels.
“Before the season started, I wanted to have a very good year,” Martinez said. “It was in my mind to have a very good start and that’s happening right now. I’m having the best start of my career.”
He got lots of help. Tino Martinez hit a three-run homer and Luis Sojo also homered for the Mariners.
“I just think he’s one of the greatest hitters in the game, period,” Tino Martinez said. “When he won the batting title in ‘92, he was on another level. The last couple years he’s been injured. He’s healthy again this year and he’s back to that form again.”
It was a long night for the Angels, but California’s Jim Edmonds extended his hitting streak to 20 games, longest in the A.L. and second-longest in the major leagues this season.
Edgar Martinez went 2 for 3 with two walks to lift his batting average from .371 to .376. He had an RBI single in the opening inning to tie the score 1-1 after Tony Phillips led off the game with his 10th homer.
“Everything is going so good,” Martinez said. “I made really hard contact this whole series.”
Salomon Torres (2-3) won his second straight game for the Mariners, who acquired him in a trade with San Francisco on May 21. Torres went 6 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.
Brian Anderson (1-1), making his second start since coming off the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left biceps muscle, gave up all three Seattle homers and seven runs in 4 innings.
Anderson might have a different strategy when he faces Edgar Martinez again. “Throw the ball over his head four times for a walk,” he said.
“He’s hot,” Angels manager Marcel Lachemann said. “He’s a very good hitter, period. And on top of that, he’s hot. That’s a tough combination.”
Sojo broke the 1-1 tie when he led off the second with his second homer of the season. Tino Martinez made it 5-1 with his 12th homer in the third after a walk to Edgar Martinez and a single by Mike Blowers.
After Jorge Fabregas doubled and scored on Phillips’ groundout in the fifth for California’s second run, Seattle scored twice in the bottom of the inning. Edgar Martinez led off with his 13th homer, a 425-foot shot into the left-field stands, and Sojo’s infield out scored Mike Blowers from third.