AL Recap (Detroit-Seattle)
Posted: Sun May 3, 1998 at 8:49 p.m. EDT
SEATTLE 10, DETROIT 6
Randy
Johnson struck out 11 over seven innings while Dan Wilson belted
an inside-the-park grand slam and Edgar
Martinez added a three-run homer to power the Seattle Mariners to a
10-6 thumping of the Detroit Tigers.
Johnson (2-1) yielded six runs and eight hits with five walks to win
his second straight start after going winless in his first five. Mike Timlin
struck out three over two hitless innings.
Johnson, who reached double-digits in strikeouts for the third time
this season and 85th time in his career, improved to 56-10 over his last 87
starts. He threw 143 pitches before exiting.
"The way I pitched tonight, if we didn't get 10 runs, it would have
been a very long day," Johnson said. "As it is, it was a long day for me.
It was a frustrating outing. I battled as good as I could. I probably
shouldn't have went out there for the last inning because it could have
ended on a good note."
With the bases loaded in the first, Wilson lashed a 2-2 pitch from
starter Frank
Castillo (0-1) off the wall in left-center field that bounded away from
outfoelders Luiz Gonzalez and Brain Hunter. Wilson circled the bases,
easily beating the throw for his second career inside-the-park homer and
the first inside-the-park slam in the American League since Boston's Mike
Greenwell did it on September 1st, 1990.
It was Wilson's second homer of the season.
"I wasn't sure what was going on because I had turned second base and
I wasn't sure where the ball was at that point," he said. "That's when you
rely on your coach and he was waving me all the way, so I just kept going.
It felt like there was no oxygen in the stadium at that point."
A single by Russ Davis and a
double by Rob
Ducey produced another run as the Mariners scored five times in the
first.
Prior to Wilson's hit, the Mariners had been 1-for-19 with runners in
scoring position. Wilson's other grand slam came on April 16th, 1996
against Anaheim and his first inside-the-park homer was last September
10th, also against the Tigers.
The last inside-the-park grand slam in the majors was by San Diego's
Tony Gwynn
last June 26th.
Martinez, who entered the game in a 3-for-23 slump, crushed a 1-0
offering from A.J.
Sager into the left-field seats for his fourth homer as Seattle scored
five times in the second to build a 10-2 bulge.
Castillo (0-1) was reached for seven runs and six hits while retiring
just three batters as the Tigers fell to just 3-13 on the road this season.
"Frankie's gonna be fine," Tigers manager Buddy Bell said. "He hasn't
had any spring training. His command's not there. It looks like he's
getting a little pop back in his fastball. We just have to live with it
for a while, but I like the way he competes."
Castillo sandwiched an infield single to Alex
Rodriguez between two outs. But David Segui
singled and Martinez walked before Wilson delivered his game-breaking blow.
The Tigers cut the deficit to 5-2 in the second inning. Gonzalez drew
a leadoff walk and Deivi Cruz
followed with an RBI double. Kimera Bartee singled home Cruz to make it
5-2.
Seattle broke open the game in the bottom of the frame. Cora walked
and Rodriguez singled, chasing Castillo. Ken Griffey
Jr. greeted Sager with an RBI single, scoring Cora to make it 6-2.
Segui singled in Rodriguez and Martinez homered to push the lead to 10-2.
The Tigers got a run back in the fifth on Damion
Easley's RBI double and closed within 10-6 with a three-run seventh.
Randa drew a one-out walk, Bobby Higginson singled and Easley was hit by a
pitch to load the bases. Jeff Manto
delivered a run-scoring groundout and Joe Oliver
followed with a two-run single for the final margin.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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