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Kazmir shuts out M’s for 5 innings in big league debut

Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir works against the Mariners during the first inning. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Jim Cour Associated Press
Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir works against the Mariners during the first inning. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SEATTLE — Scott Kazmir won his major league debut with five impressive innings, and Jose Cruz Jr. hit a three-run homer to lead the Tampa Bay Devil Rays past the Seattle Mariners 9-0 Monday night.

The Devil Rays ended a six-game road losing streak and won for only the second time in their last 17 away from home.

Kazmir was acquired July 30 in a trade that sent right-hander Victor Zambrano to the New York Mets. Considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, the 20-year-old left-hander gave up four hits, walked three and struck out four.

Kazmir (1-0) was called up earlier in the day from Double-A Montgomery to join the Devil Rays’ rotation for the final six weeks of the season. Manager Lou Piniella said Kazmir was being given an audition for a spot in the 2005 rotation.

The 6-foot, 170-pound Kazmir’s fastball reached 96 mph on the Safeco Field radar gun. He was lifted after throwing 101 pitches, 56 for strikes.

Travis Harper and Lance Carter each pitched two innings of scoreless relief to finish the five-hitter, Tampa Bay’s fifth shutout of the year. The Mariners were blanked for the ninth time.

Ichiro Suzuki went 1 for 4 with a single, his 198th hit of the season, most in the majors. He leads the A.L. with a .369 batting average.

Cruz, in his first season with Tampa Bay after playing in San Francisco last season, capped a four-run sixth with his 18th homer of the season off Bobby Madritsch (3-1).

With one out, Julio Lugo walked and B.J. Upton singled him to third before Tino Martinez blooped a single into left to score Lugo from third and send Upton to second.

Cruz then hit the first pitch from Madritsch off the left-field foul pole. It was his 10th career homer against Seattle, his first major league team. The Mariners shipped him to Toronto at the 1997 trade deadline.

The Devil Rays sent nine batters to the plate in the eighth against Clint Nageotte and scored five more runs. Cruz had a run-scoring single for his fourth RBI. Toby Hall added a sacrifice fly, Geoff Blum had an RBI single and Rey Sanchez doubled in the final two runs.

Madritsch, making his fourth start and second against Tampa Bay since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma on July 21, pitched seven innings and allowed four runs on five hits and two walks, with six strikeouts.