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BALTIMORE (AP) -- With Rickey Henderson leading the way, the
Seattle Mariners began an important road trip in unusual fashion:
with a win.
Henderson scored two runs to pass Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron and
move into second place on the career list as the Mariners beat the
Baltimore Orioles 10-2 Friday night.
Seattle had started its previous 10 road trips this season with
a loss and had dropped seven straight in Baltimore. The Mariners
emphatically ended both streaks and, more importantly, maintained
their two-game lead in the AL West over Oakland, a 17-3 winner over
Tampa Bay.
"It came at the right time," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said
of the streak-breaker.
It all started with Henderson, who opened the game with a triple
and scored on a grounder to put Seattle ahead to stay. Henderson
has scored 2,175 runs, one more than Ruth and Aaron and trailing
only career leader Ty Cobb (2,246).
"That's a great honor, a great achievement. When I was a kid I
always looked up to the guys that played the game, that did well,"
Henderson said. "You try to pattern yourself after the great
players of this game and it so happens I fell in that class with
them. It's a great feeling."
Henderson also drew two walks, moving within six of tying Ruth
for first place on the career list (2,062).
"It's a good achievement but right now all the records and
stuff ... we don't really recognize them until we're through
playing the game," he said. "You just try to go out there and do
your job and when it's all over with, let the records speak for
themselves."
Aaron Sele, who almost signed with the Orioles during the
offseason, pitched seven strong innings for the Mariners. He
allowed two runs, seven hits and two walks to earn his second
straight win after losing four in a row.
Sele (15-10) was prepared to sign as a free agent with the
Orioles over the winter, but Baltimore withdrew its four-year offer
after a physical revealed wear on his arm. Sele then signed with
Seattle rather than accept a modified offer from the Orioles.
Sele smiled when asked if he derived any extra satisfaction from
beating the team that passed on his services.
"Not really. These are big games for the Seattle Mariners, and
we've got to go out and try to win them," he said.
Henderson scored in the first and third innings, and Seattle
made it 6-0 with a four-run fifth against Jose Mercedes (12-6), who
had won his last four starts.
Mercedes was 9-1 with a 2.68 ERA in the second half, tied with
Boston's Pedro Martinez for most wins since the All-Star break. He
allowed six hits, five earned runs and five walks.
The Mariners jumped on Mercedes in the first inning, then added
an unearned run in the third courtesy of two errors by shortstop
Melvin Mora.
"The two errors we made in the third inning added a lot of
pitches to Mercedes' count," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said.
"He hit 93 going into the fifth, so his pitch count was up there
and he wasn't as sharp as we've seen him. He was missing down and
out of the strike zone. People have outings like that, and that's
what happened."
Stan Javier delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth before Joe
Oliver hit a three-run homer. It was his ninth homer of the season
and first since Aug. 13.
Delino DeShields hit a two-run double in the Orioles' half.
David Bell hit an RBI single and Mike Cameron singled in two
runs in a four-run ninth against Buddy Groom.
Game notes
The Orioles issued 12 walks, only one of which turned into
a run. ... Seattle's Jay Buhner was ejected by home plate umpire
Marty Foster for arguing a third-strike call in the third inning.
... Mercedes was bidding to match his career high for successive
wins. ... It was the 1,100th career victory for Mariners' manager
Lou Piniella, including 621 with Seattle. ... Mora has 11 errors in
40 games with Baltimore.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
RECAPS
Seattle 10
Baltimore 2
Boston 7
Detroit 6
Cleveland 11
NY Yankees 1
Oakland 17
Tampa Bay 3
Toronto 6
Chi. White Sox 5
Anaheim 16
Minnesota 5
Texas 12
Kansas City 11
Cincinnati 6
Milwaukee 4
Montreal 4
NY Mets 3
Philadelphia 7
Florida 4
Houston 16
Pittsburgh 7
St. Louis 3
Chicago Cubs 2
Arizona 2
Atlanta 1
San Diego 5
San Francisco 4
Los Angeles 4
Colorado 3
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