|
SEATTLE(AP) In his own way,
Luke Scott
came to the defense of his manager Dave Trembley, whose animated first-inning outburst led to his ejection.
Scott had a career-high seven RBI and three hits to power the
Baltimore Orioles
to a 12-4 victory over the
Seattle Mariners
on Tuesday night.
He began with a two-run single in the first, followed by a two-run triple in the four-run sixth and a three-run home run in
the six-run seventh. His previous high for RBIs was five.
''Luke comes in (the clubhouse) and I said, 'hey, get me a couple would you?' He said, 'skip, if they throw it across the
plate I'll have a chance. Then he hit that triple,'' Trembley said. Then he came in again and said, 'next time they throw
it over the plate I'm going to hit it out of the ballpark.' I said, 'you do that,' and he did.''
However, it was Scott's first-inning single to center that set the stage for Trembley's outburst. Center-fielder Gutierrez's
scooped up the ball but his throw home flew into the stands. Trembley argued that the lead runner,
Nolan Reimold
, should have scored because the base runner is allowed two bases from where they were at the point the ball left Gutierrez's
hand.
The manager went out to argue to no avail. During the side change, Trembley asked Reimold where he was and he told him he
was past second base. Trembley had enough. He then went out again, screamed at umpire Tom Hallion, tossed his cap and was
tossed.
Gutierrez hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning to give Seattle the lead. That extended his hitting streak to
a career-best 10 games. He is hitting .500 (20 of 40) during the surge.
But Trembley's ejection seemed to bolster the Orioles, especially Scott.
''I talked to him after my second at-bat and he asked me, 'put one out for me,''' Scott said. All right, if I get something
to hit. I put a pretty good swing on it.''
Trailing 3-2 entering the sixth,
Nick Markakis
singled off
Chris Jakubauskas
(5-6). With one out,
Aubrey Huff
was intentionally walked. Reimold, who had two hits and three RBI, tied it with a RBI single to right.
Scott followed with a low liner to center that went to the wall. He scored on
Melvin Mora
's single that made it 6-3.
''We had a good game going and then the wheels fell off,'' Mariners manager
Don Wakamatsu
said. ''Jak got through the fifth then came out in the sixth and tried to protect the lead. It really came down to getting
behind on Huff. That was kind of the turning point of the game. I felt we should have challenged him a little more.''
The Orioles added six runs in the seventh.
Ty Wigginton
had an RBI double, Reimold had a two-run single, and Scott connected on his 17th homer of the season to make it 12-3.
Mark Hendrickson
(4-4) pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings for the win.
Seattle starter
Erik Bedard
, who had missed the last 25 games with left shoulder inflammation, worked the first four innings. He allowed two runs, two
hits, walked one and struck out eight, matching his season high. He was on a 75-pitch count.
''The first inning was a little off but then I started throwing strikes and getting outs,'' Bedard said. ''My arm felt good.
I'm ready to go.''
Ken Griffey, Jr's eighth-inning double was his 514th. That tied former teammate
Edgar Martinez
for 39th on the career list.
Notes: 2B
Brian Roberts
was scratched from the Orioles lineup with an upper respiratory infection. This is something he has been fighting for a while,''
said Trembley. ... SS
Cesar Izturis
(appendicitis) began a rehab assignment Tuesday with Double-A Bowie. to make roster room for Bedard, the Mariners placed DH
Mike Sweeney
on the DL, retroactive to Monday. He's had a couple incidents with his back spasms,'' manager
Don Wakamatsu
said. We're just going to make sure and get that checked out.'' ...
Ichiro Suzuki
has turned down MLB's request to participate in the Home Run Derby. Griffey wore a single white batting glove in his first
at-bat as a tribute to Michael Jackson.
|