Ailing Sexson delivers

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Richie Sexson looked like his old self, hitting a three-run homer in the first inning. He sure didn’t feel like it.

Still battling the flu, Sexson’s drive and a solo homer by Raul Ibanez later in the inning helped the Seattle Mariners to a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.

Jamie Moyer (3-0) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings, moving within two games of passing Randy Johnson (130) for the most wins in Seattle history.

“They made some good defensive plays and scored some runs early, which was nice,” Moyer said of his teammates. “The Angels are a good ballclub. They kept inching back and inching back.”

Wearing long sleeves for a day game under sunny skies, Sexson couldn’t muster any more offense the rest of the way. He finished 1 for 5 and struck out three times.

“Sick as a dog,” Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said of Sexson.

Sexson returned Monday after missing a three-game series in Chicago.

“The first at-bat he felt decent,” Hargrove said. “After that, he absolutely went down the tubes.”

Sexson covered himself in towels during the game and wore a knit cap afterward. He described his health as “not too good.”

“Nah, it’s not the cure for anything,” he said about hitting the first pitch for his fourth homer of the season.

Kevin Gregg opened the game by walking Ichiro Suzuki and Jeremy Reed, and Sexson homered with one out. Ibanez followed one batter later with his third homer.

Adrian Beltre’s two-out RBI single in the second gave Seattle a 5-0 lead.

“Not throwing strikes early was the big problem for me,” Gregg said. “I threw strikes late in the count, but by then they were already in an offensive mode. You don’t want to give two free passes to get to Beltre and Sexson. That’s not a good plan.”

Gregg (1-1) gave up five runs, four hits and five walks in 2 1/3 innings – the shortest outing by any Angels starter this season. He replaced Kelvim Escobar, who is rehabbing a sprained right elbow in the minors.

“Kevin had a real tough time getting the ball in good locations early in counts. And when he did, he had trouble putting guys away,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Moyer, 42, has allowed just eight earned runs in his four starts. The left-hander didn’t earn his third win last year until his 10th start.

The Angels closed to 5-3 on Chone Figgins’ two-out RBI double down the third-base line in the second and home runs by Steve Finley in the third and Vladimir Guerrero in the fifth.

Moyer pitched out of a jam in the sixth, stranding runners at first and second by striking out Jose Molina and Figgins.

Suzuki went 1 for 2 with a walk and scored two runs.

Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his fourth save.