SEATTLE – Baseball the way the Seattle Mariners planned it in the offseason finally unfolded before their eyes Saturday night.
Jamie Moyer teased the Texas Rangers by allowing a first-inning run, then served nothing but unhittable pitches after that. Scott Spiezio made his Mariner debut by hitting right away and scored two runs. Rich Aurilia drove in a run and scored one.
And Dan Wilson provided the biggest hit of 2004 with a fourth-inning double that not only drove in three runs, it released the tension of the Mariners’ horrid start to the season.
The Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 at Safeco Field, improving to 3-8 and showing what they’re capable of doing with a complete lineup.
After 10 days of stress, everyone exhaled.
“This was the first time we’ve run out the lineup we envisioned,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Jamie did his thing, Dan-o got a big hit and it ended up being what we feel is our type of game.”
The victory helped the Mariners avoid their worst 11-game start in team history (3-8 in 1981, ‘82, ‘90 and ‘98) and it was their first home victory of 2004 to avoid the first 0-5 home start in franchise history.
The fourth-inning rally made it happen.
The Mariners had managed two walks and nothing else in the first three innings against Rangers starter Colby Lewis, and the fourth didn’t look any more promising after Edgar Martinez popped out and Bret Boone squibbed a ball in front of the plate and was thrown out easily.
Spiezio, playing his first game after beginning the season on the disabled list with a back injury, lined a single up the middle before Lewis lost his control and walked Aurilia and Raul Ibanez.
Wilson, the hottest M’s hitter with a .370 average entering the game, drove Lewis’ fastball to deep center, landing beyond the reach of center fielder Ramon Nivar and easily clearing the bases.
“Dan had a great at-bat, a huge hit,” Spiezio said. “That just lifted us up right there.”
It gave the Mariners a 3-1 lead, soon to be 4-1 after Spiezio started the bottom of the sixth with a double high off the left-field wall that he thought was a home run when he hit it.
“Then I remembered, oh yeah, we’re in Safeco. Just don’t catch it,” Spiezio said.
Rangers left fielder Kevin Mench didn’t, and Spiezio scored when Aurilia battled back from a two-strike hole and grounded a single up the middle.
“It’s great to be here and be part of the run scoring,” Spiezio said. “The biggest thing is to be able to win. Hopefully we can get on a roll a little bit. We’ve got everybody here finally.”
With Jamie Moyer well into a rhythm after a moment of peril in the first inning, the game essentially was over.
Moyer gave up a leadoff double to Michael Young and a sacrifice fly to Alfonso Soriano in the first inning, then worked over the Rangers in by far the best of his three starts this season.
Moyer, 1-1, allowed only two infield singles and two walks the rest of his eight innings.
“Basically, he had no-hit stuff after that,” Melvin said. “Talk about a big time to do it. This was a huge game for us.”
Eddie Guardado gave up a one-out double to Mench before recording his first save as a Mariner by getting Herbert Perry and Eric Young on popups.
“It’s clutch hitting, getting the big hit when you need to, a good starting performance and Eddie at the end,” Melvin said. “That’s what we envision a lot of our wins will be like this year.”
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