M’s get lift from old guys
CLEVELAND – Among the many theories on why the Seattle Mariners have played so poorly this season is this one: They got old. Elder statesmen Jamie Moyer and Edgar Martinez don’t buy it – and they’re not letting too many others make that purchase, either.
The 41-year-old Moyer outpitched Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia, and the 41-year-old Martinez drove in a pair of runs, one with a record-setting home run, as the Mariners won their third game in a row by beating the Indians, 7-3.
“They may be old, but they’re still pretty good,” Ryan Franklin said, laughing.
The Indians wouldn’t argue.
Matched against the American League’s earned run average leader coming in, Moyer posted six shutout innings before allowing a solo home run in the seventh.
Over the same span, Sabathia had allowed a career-high six runs, including home runs to Raul Ibañez and Ichiro Suzuki.
“We have some left-handed hitters who hit left-handed pitching pretty well,” manager Bob Melvin said, “and tonight they hit a quality left-handed pitcher.”
So Moyer handed off a 7-1 lead after seven innings and the Mariners cruised to win No. 17 …
Not this team. Not this year. Before the Mariners got their victory, J.J. Putz gave up back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning, walked one hitter and gave up a single to another.
Anyone familiar with the history of the Seattle-Cleveland rivalry can recall ninth-inning disasters here.
So Melvin went to closer Eddie Guardado, who struck out three Indians in a row to pick up his eighth save.
“They call him Every Day Eddie, and every time we get a lead in the ninth we’re going to let him earn the name,” Melvin said.
And then, there was The Edgar.
The man who may be the best designated hitter in major league history, Martinez hit his fourth home run of the year in the top of the ninth inning – a solo shot that was the 236th of his career as a DH.
No DH ever hit as many.
Breaking a tie with Harold Baines at 235, Martinez hit his 304th home run and now has a higher batting average (.319) and more homers (236) than any other DH. He’s 13 RBI behind Baines’ DH total.
“It’s nice,” Martinez said. And everyone – including Martinez – laughed.
“It’s awesome,” Moyer said. “That’s really pretty amazing.”
“Phenomenal,” Melvin said. “In my mind, he’s a Hall-of-Fame player, the best right-handed hitter I’ve seen. This just adds to that mix of numbers he’s put up that I hope gets him into the Hall.”
Martinez couldn’t come up with much to say about the record, or any others that lie ahead of him.
“Four hundred home runs is way off, 3,000 hits is way off,” he said. “What else is there? I’m not happy with my year so far, but I’m happy the team is improving.”
If Moyer (3-2, 4.26) and Martinez (.247) moved a little further into Seattle history Wednesday, Ichiro continued to dominate the month of May – something of a tradition.
A career .390 hitter in his first three major league Mays, Ichiro had four hits against Cleveland – two singles, a double and a home run – and is now batting .410 this month.
“In April, you’re so excited to play baseball again your body can’t keep up with your emotion,” Ichiro carefully explained. “In May, there’s a month behind us. Your body and your feelings come together and there’s a good balance. You play more naturally.”
Well, OK then.
The Mariners have played slightly better this month than last, and with five games left in May they are 9-13 compared to their 8-15 April.
Progress?
“We had a similar stretch in April, so it’s too soon to say that,” Ichiro said.
True enough. The Mariners won four games in a row in April, and hadn’t won more than two in a row since – until now. Among the better signs this month has been the pitching of Moyer.
After three consecutive no-decisions to open the month, Moyer has won back-to-back starts and allowed just one run in 14 innings in those two wins. He’s done it by using vintage Moyer batting practice fastballs.
What, precisely, is that?
“Old guys have tricks,” Franklin said, shaking his head.