Byrd dominates M’s
ANAHEIM, Calif. – In a sense, the Seattle Mariners were out-Moyered on Friday night.
Facing Paul Byrd – who dipsy-doodles like their crafty lefty, only from the right side and with a bit more velocity – Seattle got a feel for the frustration others feel facing Jamie Moyer.
Not for the first time, however. Mixing a superlative breaking ball with a well-placed fastball at 87 to 89 mph, the Los Angeles Angels starter beat the Mariners, 4-1, for the third time in three starts this year and sixth in six career starts.
Byrd worked eight innings, allowing just five hits and only three of six base runners beyond first, before Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his 33rd save.
Before Byrd hit his usual stride against Seattle – his 1.60 earned-run average coming in was second-lowest against the Mariners behind Pedro Martinez’s 1.57 – the Mariners reached him for a run in the first inning.
Ichiro sparked the rare run-scoring inning with a rare bunt. It was his first bunt hit of the year, along with one sacrifice. He followed that with his 28th stolen base of the year, putting himself in scoring position.
From there, it took three batters to score him. Jeremy Reed popped to short on a 3-2 breaking ball, and Raul Ibanez grounded out to the right side. Richie Sexson saved the situation, however, by driving a low liner that exploded past second baseman Adam Kennedy to his right for his 97th run batted in of the year.
The ball was hit so hard, it got all the way to the warning track for a double. But the Mariners, with only three earned runs off Byrd in 14 2/3 previous innings this year, could not get a second run home.
Adrian Beltre nearly did it, hitting a grounder for which third baseman Rob Quinlan had to move quickly to his backhand. Quinlan bobbled the ball and still had time to throw out Beltre, who looks at times as if he is hobbled by a bothersome hamstring.
Moyer, 18-13 against the Angels in his career, made the slim, 1-0 edge stand up for two innings. In the third, however, the left-hander gave Adam Kennedy a four-pitch leadoff walk that was to cost him his lead.
Chone Figgins bunted Kennedy to second, and Kennedy stole third after catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s throw bounced five feet short of the bag and to the foul side. Orlando Cabrera got the run home with a bouncing single up the middle.
The home team put two men on with one out in the fourth when Bengie Molina and Quinlan singled, but Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt took a hit away from Juan Rivera when he caught a pop in short left, twisting this way then that as he ran under the ball.
Ichiro opened the sixth with a double into the left-center gap, but Byrd set down Reed and Ibanez easily and got a break when Sexson just missed a fastball, flying out to Figgins in left-center.
Not only did the Mariners miss their chance, but Darin Erstad dug their hole a little deeper with a leadoff homer in the home half. He hit a first-pitch fastball out to right, a ball that may have hit the top of the wall, although Ichiro made no attempt to play it.