Batista pitches 7 2-3 scoreless innings, Sexson homers in Mariners' 4-2 win over Angels
Associated Press | Apr 20, 08 5:54 PM CDT in
Sports
Miguel Batista scattered eight hits over 7 2-3 scoreless innings, Richie Sexson hit a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners held off the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
The Angels scored twice in the ninth before Ryan Rowland-Smith struck out Garret Anderson on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded to end it.
Batista (2-2) struck out eight and walking one while lowering his ERA from 6.35 to 4.38. The 37-year-old right-hander did not allow a runner past second base, and six of the hits he gave up came with two out.
Arthur Rhodes got the last out in the eighth, and the Mariners took a 4-0 lead into the ninth. Mark Lowe then walked three batters, loading the bases with two outs, and Gary Matthews Jr. hit a two-run single.
Reliever Brandon Morrow walked Vladimir Guerrero, reloading the bases, and Rowland-Smith took over. He struck out Anderson looking for his second save.
Dustin Moseley (1-2) allowed four runs, eight hits and two walks over 4 2-3 innings. The right-hander, making his fourth start with John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar on the disabled list, has a 7.79 ERA.
Sexson, who drove in four runs with a pair of homers in Friday night's 5-4 loss and was robbed of a third home run by center fielder Torii Hunter for the final out of that game, put Seattle ahead 2-0 with his fifth of the season after a leadoff walk to Adrian Beltre.
The Mariners increased the margin to 4-0 in the fifth on a leadoff single by Willie Bloomquist, a hit-and-run triple to right-center by Ichiro Suzuki and an RBI single by Jose Lopez.
Notes:@ Longtime Angels adviser and former big league manager Preston Gomez, still recovering from major injuries sustained when he was struck by a pickup truck at a gas station on March 26, turned 86 years old on Sunday. ... Sexson had only three hits in 45 at-bats against the Angels last season. His next home run will be his 300th in the majors and 100th with the Mariners. ... Hunter got the day off, which was already determined by manager Mike Scioscia before Friday's rear-end collision that caused extensive damage to Hunter's two-week-old Bentley and left him with minor neck and back stiffness. ... Batista is one of five active players with at least 200 starts, 75 victories and 30 saves. The list includes John Smoltz, Derek Lowe, Tom Gordon and Angels RHP Kelvim Escobar.
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