SEATTLE — Jason Vargas extended a
stretch of strong starting pitching by the Mariners in Seattle's 3-1
victory over the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
One night after Doug Fister carried a
no-hitter into the seventh inning for a win, Vargas (2-1) allowed just
three hits in seven innings against the anemic Orioles.
Baltimore is 2-13, with just two runs
and nine hits combined in two games here.
David Hernandez lost his ninth
consecutive decision. He allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3
innings and left after consecutive doubles by Adam Moore and Jack
Wilson, Seattle's No. 8 and 9 hitters, made it 3-1.
Mark Lowe pitched a scoreless eighth
and David Aardsma finished for his sixth save in six chances as Seattle
won for the sixth time in seven games.
Vargas is competing with Fister and
Ian Snell to keep the final two rotation spots before Cliff Lee returns
from a strained abdomen to make his Seattle debut, likely at the end of
next week.
The 27-year-old former high school
quarterback who quit baseball power LSU after just one season and then
became a power hitter at Long Beach State relied on precisely locating
pitches and allowing the Orioles to get themselves out, as is their norm
right now. Vargas didn't throw a pitch faster than 88 mph.
Not that many noticed. One night after
the Mariners had a crowd of 14,528, the smallest in Safeco Field's 10
1/2-year history, 15,931 were covered by the retractable roof on a cool,
damp night. It was the third-smallest turnout at the stadium, and three
of Safeco Field's lowest crowd counts have been on this opening
home stand.
Hours after Baltimore demoted Brad
Bergesen, its 2009 rookie star starter, to Triple-A, Hernandez (0-3)
lost again. He hasn't won since Aug. 11. The Orioles have lost 12
consecutive games started by the 24-year-old right-hander.
Hernandez immediately gave back the
1-0 lead Nick Markakis had given him with an RBI double in the top of
the first. Hernandez allowed a single to Ichiro Suzuki and a walk to
Chone Figgins to begin his night. Then Hernandez advanced each with a
wild pitch on a breaking ball that appeared to skip off the lip of
infield grass about 8 feet in front of home plate.
Franklin Gutierrez, playing with
tightness in both groin muscles, drove in Suzuki with a sacrifice fly
that tied the game. Milton Bradley singled home Jose Lopez with the
go-ahead run by slicing an 0-2 pitch into left field.
Bradley fist-bumped first-base coach
Lee Tinsley after his eighth RBI in eight games and appeared fine, yet
left the game with tightness in his left calf minutes later. Eric Byrnes
replaced him in left field.
The often news-making Bradley is due
in Chicago this weekend for the first time since the Cubs traded him
this winter following one failed season. The Mariners and White Sox
begin a three-game series Friday.
After starting the season 1-for-21,
Bradley is 6-for-21 (.286) in his last eight games.
Notes
Seattle might get Lee back on
April 30. The team is considering that debut date after Major League
Baseball dropped the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner's five-game
suspension for throwing over the head of Arizona's Chris Snyder in an
exhibition game, and after Lee breezed through a 70-pitch simulated
game. Lee has an 85-pitch minor league rehabilitation start scheduled
for Sunday at Triple-A Tacoma. … Orioles 3B Miguel Tejada (strained
groin) wanted to start but manager Dave Trembley wanted him to only take
batting practice instead on a cool night. Tejada could return
Wednesday.