Phelps, Jays slam Mariners
SEATTLE — Slumping Josh Phelps hit his first career grand slam, leading the Toronto Blue Jays over the Seattle Mariners 5-3 Wednesday night.
Phelps, a Lakeland High School of Rathdrum, Idaho, graduate, had one hit in his last 14 at-bats when he homered in the second inning off Joel Pineiro (1-7), who allowed a grand slam to Boston’s David Ortiz in his previous start last Friday.
Ted Lilly (4-2) won his fourth straight decision, allowing two runs and seven hits in 61/3 innings. He had been 1-5 with a 6.31 ERA in 11 previous games against Seattle.
Kerry Ligtenberg pitched the ninth for his second save in three chances, allowing an RBI single to pinch-hitter Dave Hansen.
Pineiro gave up five runs and seven hits in 71/3 innings. He is 0-6 with a 5.20 ERA in eight starts since beating Texas on April 18.
Toronto won its second straight road game after losing six in row away from home. Seattle, which stranded eight runners in the first five innings, has lost five of its last seven overall.
Toronto went ahead on Phelps’ fifth homer, which followed singles by Vernon Wells and Gregg Zaun, and a walk to Chris Gomez.
Howie Clark made it 5-0 with a squeeze bunt in the fourth that followed Zaun’s double and Gomez’s groundout.
Dan Wilson hit an RBI single in the bottom half and Rich Aurilia homered in the sixth.
Meche demoted to Tacoma
When Gil Meche arrived at Safeco Field about 3 p.m. Wednesday, he didn’t wait to be called into manager Bob Melvin’s office. Meche entered himself, ready to discuss his future.
“I wanted to ask him what he thought and what was going to happen because I didn’t want to walk around here not knowing,” Meche said. After just a few minutes, he knew. The Mariners were sending their struggling right-handed pitcher to the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers, where he can sort out the problems that have turned him into a mental mess on the mound.
Meche, 1-5 with a 7.06 earned run average, couldn’t have agreed more with the decision. “I haven’t slept well this whole year. I talked to my wife a lot last night and weighed all the options of what could happen,” he said. “There are more positives about me going to Triple A and pitching. I’d never wanted to pitch in the minor leagues again, but this is where I know I should be. It’s to the point now where I’m hurting the ballclub and not only that, but I’m killing myself on the mound.”
Meche’s season-long control problems continued against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, when he lasted just two innings and threw 73 pitches.
“The last thing you need to do on the mound is think about your mechanics and whether or not you’re going to throw a strike,” Melvin said. “You just can’t keep running someone out there who has to work on things in a big-league game.”
Meche will join the Rainiers today.
“I’m not going to take it as a negative thing,” he said. “I think it’s going to be good for me and the team.”
The only thing certain about Meche’s next turn in the rotation is that he won’t make it, meaning the Mariners’ year-plus streak of using five starters will end. Melvin wouldn’t say who would pitch in Meche’s place on Tuesday.
“We’ve got some time on that. There’s any number of options,” Melvin said. The M’s could move right-hander Clint Nageotte into the rotation or pull left-hander Ron Villone from the bullpen.
“With the closer being left-handed, it’s something I don’t want to do,” Melvin said of Villone.
Last season, the Mariners became the first team since the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers to go start-to-finish with the same five starters.
Bocachica promoted
It took a few months, but Hiram Bocachica finally became a Mariner on Wednesday when he was called up from Class AAA Tacoma to replace Meche on the roster.
Bocachica, signed in January after playing parts of the last four seasons with the Dodgers and Tigers, was a pleasant surprise of spring training for the Mariners. He batted .341 with four home runs and 14 RBI in March.
With the Mariners’ roster already full, all it got him was a ticket to Tacoma, where he continued to play well, batting .302 for the Rainiers.