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LOS ANGELES(AP) The
Seattle Mariners
overcame some distressing news from ailing third baseman
Adrian Beltre
, and evened their interleague series against the
Los Angeles Dodgers
with another dominating performance by
Felix Hernandez
.
Hernandez scattered four hits over eight innings, Ken Griffey Jr. and
Russell Branyan
each hit home runs, and the Mariners beat the Dodgers 5-1 on Saturday night for their eighth victory in 11 games.
Beltre informed the club that he'll undergo surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles to have bone spurs removed from his troublesome
left shoulder, which was operated on in September for the same reason. He's expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks
after Angels team physician Lewis Yocum performs the procedure.
''I don't think I'll be able to help the team the way I want to because of the way I'm feeling right now,'' said Beltre, who
flied out to the warning track in center field his first time up. ''It's gotten to the point where it's really painful. There
were a couple of pitches tonight that I couldn't get to because of the shoulder, so I think it's probably better to go fix
it and come back 100 percent.''
Beltre singled in five at-bats and threw out two batters at first base. Manager
Don Wakamatsu
said after the game that Beltre would be in the lineup again in Sunday's series finale if he's up to it.
''He's played with a lot of pain,'' Wakamatsu said. ''He's a guy who brings a lot of presence to our clubhouse and a lot of
presence to that lineup. And over the last three or four weeks, he's really started to swing the bat. So we're going to miss
him a lot. It's unfortunate that he has to go through that. But this club has responded to a lot of tragedy and a lot of hard
times, and we'll be OK.''
Beltre, who also had thumb surgery on the same day as the first operation on his non-throwing shoulder, will be going on the
disabled list for the third time in his 12-year career and first time in five seasons with the Mariners. The two-time Gold
Glove winner, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, is batting .259 with five homers and 30 RBIs.
Hernandez (8-3) allowed an unearned run, struck out nine and walked one.
Rafael Furcal
reached on an infield hit in the third inning and scored from third when eight-time Gold Glove right fielder
Ichiro Suzuki
misplayed
Casey Blake
's sinking liner for his second error of the season.
Hernandez retired his next 12 batters and 16 of his final 17 before
David Aardsma
finished up.
''Felix was just outstanding,'' Wakamatsu said. ''I think this game was the best I've seen him with his stuff. He was just
dominating with his off-speed stuff and his fastball was electric. Just the way he's been taking the mound, I can't say enough
about him. He's at the top of his game right now, and probably as good as anybody in the game.''
The 23-year-old right-hander is 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA in seven starts - including a two-hit shutout at San Diego - since giving
up six runs over 5 2-3 innings in a 6-5 loss to the Angels on May 19 at Seattle.
''He's one of a handful of pitchers in the game who can dominate like that,'' Los Angeles manager
Joe Torre
said.
Suzuki went 3 for 5 to raise his major league-leading average to .375 and record his seventh straight multihit game, matching
his career best.
Eric Milton
(2-1) gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking none. The 33-year-old lefty, activated
from the DL earlier in the day after missing 17 games because of a back strain, is 1-6 with a 9.18 ERA in 10 career starts
against Seattle.
The Mariners increased their margin to 4-0 in the third when Suzuki led off with a single, Branyan followed with his first
triple of the season and Griffey drove a 1-1 pitch into the right-field pavilion for his ninth homer this season and 620th
of his career - fifth on the all-time list.
The homer was Griffey's 55th during interleague play, keeping him one shy of
Jim Thome
for the most in that category since the format was established in 1997. Thome also homered Saturday.
Griffey, 39, has homered in three of the last five games in which he's had an at-bat.
NOTES:
Manny Ramirez
, eligible to return from his 50-game substance abuse suspension next Friday, was 2 for 2 with a home run for Class A Inland
Empire at Lake Elsinore, leading off as the DH. The Dodgers are 27-19 during his absence, the best record in the majors since
the ban was announced May 7. ... Griffey's homer was his first at Dodger Stadium since Mother's Day 2007, and it came with
his wife, Melissa, in the stands celebrating her birthday. ... Seattle has won the last eight interleague games in which Hernandez
has started, and he has gotten the decision in five of them.
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