By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Eight months ago, Carlos Guillen just wanted to wipe his nose without seeing blood. He wanted to go home from the ballpark certain that the exhaustion he felt was from playing a hard game.
Guillen was a sick man late last September, when major leaguers play through their pain in the stretch drive of a season. Tough as he is, Guillen couldn’t play through this, and a trip to the doctor revealed his frightening ailment: tuberculosis.
“It shook him up pretty good,” Seattle Mariners bench coach John McLaren said.
It also drove Guillen to succeed once he came back. He spent the winter recuperating, then tuned his swing at spring training into something that has been a force for the Mariners this year.
On Sunday, they both were in spectacular condition in the Mariners’ 8-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles
Guillen singled, doubled and homered, drove in two runs and scored three times as the Mariners broke out offensively to win the final game of their homestand.
The M’s scored four times in the second inning, once in the fourth, twice in the sixth and once in the eighth, and pitcher Jamie Moyer used that cushion to throw a five-hitter over eight innings for his fourth victory.
For Guillen, the game was proof that he’s not only healthy again, but he’s a dangerous switch-hitter from both sides of the plate.
He hit 52 points lower against righties last year than against left-handers, but tweaked his swing from the left side of the plate.
Guillen is batting .365 as a left-hander now, the third-highest average in the American League against right-handed pitching.
“We leveled his shoulders and it’s worked out well for him,” manager Lou Piniella said. “I thought that this would be a breakout year for him offensively, and so far it has proven to be just that.
“He looked much stronger to me in spring training. I’ve always liked his swing and now he’s had a few years of experience. I felt that this was the year it came together for him.”
So far it has.
Guillen is batting .298 overall and, after making seven errors at shortstop in the first six weeks of the season, hasn’t made one in nearly two weeks.
Guillen, the classic example of a guy who speaks softly and swings a big stick, wasn’t so technical in evaluating his hitting.
“I feel more comfortable and more relaxed,” he said.
Anything would feel better than what Guillen went through last year, when he not only couldn’t play, he had to stay away from his teammates because he was contagious.
“Here we are having the greatest season in the history of baseball and he had to stay in his apartment watching it on TV,” McLaren said.
Piniella only wonders how Guillen played as well as he did before his illness was diagnosed. Guillen batted .438 in September last year.
“He showed me how tough he was last year playing with TB,” Piniella said. “That shows me a lot about his character. He likes to play and he plays hard. He’s a tough kid.”
“I’m healthy now,” Guillen said. “I feel 100 percent.”
Sunday, he led a bottom third of the hitting order that accounted for five hits and four RBI. Ben Davis went 2-for-4 with a run-scoring single in the second inning and Desi Relaford, while 0-for-2, drew a walk and hit a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
“We need production throughout the lineup,” Piniella said. “You can see how evenly our RBIs are spread.”
Guillen, with 30 RBI, is two short of Ruben Sierra’s team lead.
The breakout offense, and the fact that Moyer took the mound Sunday, made for a near-impossible situation for the Orioles.
Moyer owned a 12-1 career record against the Orioles and it became apparent early that he would win his 13th straight decision against them.
It took Chris Singleton’s leadoff single, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly by Jeff Conine for the Orioles to score their only run. After Tony Batista blooped a two-out single to center in the fourth, Moyer retired the next 11 Orioles.
In raising his record to 4-2 with his first victory since April 22, Moyer continued a solid run by the Mariners’ starters, who have pitched at least six innings in eight of the past 10 games. Moyer threw a complete game his last time out but lost 1-0 to the Devil Rays.
“It’s getting to the end of May. It’s about time for us to pitch well,” Moyer said. “The starting rotation needs to get deeper into games on a consistent basis.”
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