M’s give Moyer 200th triumph
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jamie Moyer’s 200th career victory was a testament to hard work and keeping it simple.
Moyer reached the lofty milestone with help from Randy Winn’s fifth career grand slam as the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-4 on Friday night.
When the 42-year-old left-hander got back to his locker – the same one former Texas reliever John Wetteland used five years ago on the night of his 300th save – Moyer found a chilled bottle of champagne with seven glasses.
“I’m not a big one on numbers, but I’m pretty happy,” the 19-year veteran said. “Baseball has given me a great opportunity to play the game. But what I try to give back to it is just as important. I’m one of many thousands who have played this game, and to have the longevity to be able to win 200 games is pretty special to me.”
Moyer averaged 15 wins during the previous eight seasons. At his present pace, he would have to be pitching until age 49 to join the 300-win club.
“The way I look at it, it’s not over,” Moyer said. “Realistically, I think I’ve got two more years. But I could go out tomorrow and blow out my arm. You never know.
“I try to take it day by day, week by week, season by season. And if I have my health after this season and still feel like I can contribute, that’s the most important thing – being able to contribute to a ball club and try to take your ego out of it.”
Moyer (8-3) allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking one. He was staked to a 7-0 lead before giving up a three-run homer to Bengie Molina in the sixth and a solo shot to Jeff DaVanon in the seventh.
Jeff Nelson faced one batter in the seventh, retiring American League Most Valuable Player Vladimir Guerrero on a flyball for the third out with the potential tying run at the plate.
Moyer, the 25th left-hander since 1900 to win 200 games, got his 100th career win at age 35 when he beat Cleveland on Aug. 27, 1998. He already has one more victory than last season, when he was 7-13 after winning a career-high 21 games in 2003 and making his only All-Star team.
“He doesn’t differentiate with his mechanics. He’s always the same,” said Pat Borders, his 42-year-old batterymate. “Jamie doesn’t get out of whack and always hits his spots. And he’s got such an array of pitches that he’s got a variety of places to attack people. You’re never really comfortable at the plate against him.
“Besides the physical shape he’s in, he’s also mentally strong. He’s very studious, as far as knowing the hitters and their weaknesses and reading the swings and seeing what they’re trying to do at the plate.”
Moyer has 18 wins against the Angels, more than any other team. His 100th victory with the Mariners came in April 2003, at Anaheim. His 7-3 triumph at the “Big A” last Sept. 21 ended a personal 10-game losing streak.
“He’s been very tough on us. He’s just one of those guys who’s got our number,” Angels first baseman Darin Erstad said. “It just becomes totally mental. He knows what he’s going to throw, he knows what we’re going to do, and it’s just a matter of him executing or us executing.”
Los Angeles’ Jarrod Washburn (5-4) pitched 5 1/3 innings and was charged with four runs and nine hits, including run-scoring doubles by Mike Morse and Raul Ibanez. Morse broke out of a 3-for-26 slump with three hits and Ichiro Suzuki had three hits, including a two-run single in the ninth.