Mariners pick up pace behind Branyan

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Short of making a trade, there wasn’t much the Mariners could do to bolster their recently ailing offense.

So they did the next best thing by reinstalling Russell Branyan as the team’s first baseman and No. 5 hitter.

Branyan had been out for a week with a stiff back, but he looked loose as could be while rounding the bases after a second-inning home run that opened the scoring Friday night in the opener of a key series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The early blast seemed to shake the Mariners from their offensive doldrums. A six-run fifth inning was all they needed to post an 8-3 win and extend their lead over their division rivals.

Besides a two-hit night from Branyan, the Mariners also saw an offensive awakening by Adrian Beltre and Ken Griffey Jr., a pair of key bats gone missing in the heart of the order for much of this past week.

Seattle scored as many runs in that fifth inning as in any of its past seven games. And with Mariners starter Erik Bedard cruising through much of this one, yielding just one hit before the fifth inning, the issue was no longer in doubt for the 43,083 fans at Angel Stadium once the six-spot was posted.

The Mariners (11-6) entered the night knowing they had a chance to inflict some early-season damage on a floundering opponent. Los Angeles has seen its starting rotation decimated by injuries and the death nearly three weeks ago of rookie starter Nick Adenhart.

With emergency spot starter Darren Oliver going on the disabled list Thursday with a strained left triceps, the Angels now have seven arms out with injuries. They’ve called up Triple-A prospect Anthony Ortega to make his major-league debut tonight against Carlos Silva.

The Mariners increased their A.L. West lead to 4 1/2 games over third-place Los Angeles, the preseason division favorite, knocking Angels starter Shane Loux from the contest in the big fifth inning. Seattle had scored just 10 runs total in its five previous contests, yet managed to stay atop the division in large part with some of the best early-season pitching the club has ever had.

Seattle’s earned-run average of 3.01 heading into the contest was the best in team history after the first 16 games of a season. But despite a 3-3 record the past half-dozen games, it was becoming clear the club could no longer rely exclusively on bunts and aggressive baserunning to manufacture a run or two for its pitchers.

The middle of the team’s order, before Branyan’s return, saw Griffey hitting a paltry .171 with two home runs, while Beltre was at .164 with zero long balls.

Something clearly had to give and it did in the fifth inning. It began with a leadoff single by Ichiro and then a tough, relentless at-bat by Endy Chavez, who lined another single the opposite way to left.

Griffey followed with a single of his own to load the bases, and Beltre then changed the game for good by drilling a Loux pitch to the gap in left-center for a two-run double that made it 3-0. Some blooped hits and a wild pitch later, the Mariners had doubled their advantage and Bedard could coast the rest of the way.