Erik Bedard Gets First Win, Seattle Mariners Beat Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 to Stop 4-Game Slide
By FRED GOODALL | Associated Press | Apr 8, 08 9:53 PM CDT in
Sports
Moving from Baltimore to Seattle hasn't changed Erik Bedard's mastery of Tampa Bay.
The left-hander, acquired in an offseason trade, struggled through six innings but got enough support from the Mariners' sputtering offense to ruin the Rays' home opener with a 6-5 win on Tuesday night.
Bedard (1-0) allowed five runs and five hits while improving to 11-3 in 19 career starts against Tampa Bay. The other 10 victories came while he was with the Orioles, who dealt him to Seattle just before the start of spring training.
Richie Sexson drove in three runs, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the third and hitting a two-run single off Gary Glover (0-1) in the sixth. In both situations, the Rays walked Raul Ibanez intentionally to load the bases so they could pitch to Sexson.
Brad Wilkerson also had a two-run single for the Mariners, who staggered into town after losing four straight in Baltimore.
They were just 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position against the Orioles and weren't much better against Tampa Bay, going 2-for-10 and stranding 10 runners.
Tampa Bay starter Matt Garza left the game in the third inning because of an irritated nerve in his pitching arm.
The right-hander was one of the Rays' big offseason acquisitions, coming to Tampa Bay in a trade that sent outfielder Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins. He began the season as the No. 2 starter with left-hander Scott Kazmir on the 15-day disabled list because of an elbow strain.
Garza walked three batters and allowed three runs in the third before summoning a trainer and manager Joe Maddon to the mound. After walking Ibanez intentionally to load the bases, he walked Sexson to force in a run and gave up Wilkerson's two-run single.
The Rays described the problem as irritation of the radial nerve, which runs from the back of the upper arm to the lower front.
Three days after complaining about pain in his left hip and being scratched from a scheduled start against his old team, Bedard threw 107 pitches before departing with a 6-5 lead. Two of the runs off him were unearned, and the left-hander walked four and struck out five.
Relievers Roy Corcoran and Ryan Rowland-Smith worked the last three innings for Seattle. Rowland-Smith got the last five outs for his first career save.
Shawn Riggans and Carlos Pena hit solo homers off Bedard for the Rays, who led 5-4 after scoring twice in the fifth without getting the ball out of the infield.
Bedard walked two batters during the 35-pitch inning, and Tampa Bay scored one run on third baseman Adrian Beltre's throwing error and a second when B.J. Upton raced home on the back end of a double steal.
Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing with third base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt for arguing after Upton was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple.
Notes:@ The crowd of 36,048 was just the ninth sellout in the Rays' 11-season history. Five of them have been home openers. ... Kazmir said he felt fine after throwing 42 pitches during a batting practice session before the game. He could throw another BP session or pitch in an extended spring training game this weekend. ... Mariners manager John McLaren said injured closer J.J. Putz (ribcage) is making progress and could resume throwing later this week. ... Seattle LHP Arthur Rhodes (elbow surgery) has been throwing off a bullpen mound and is set to join Double-A West Tennessee.
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