evanreyes
04-13-2002, 12:26 AM
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Ruben Sierra, the four-time All-Star who resurrected his career in Texas, hit a grand slam in his first at-bat against his former team as the Seattle Mariners beat the Rangers 7-3 Friday night.
Sierra's fifth career grand slam, his first homer for Seattle, gave the Mariners a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
After winning an AL-record 59 road games last season, the Mariners have started their first road trip of 2002 with five straight wins.
Jamie Moyer (1-1), pulled after a leadoff walk in the sixth, allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out four and walked four.
Seattle loaded the bases with no outs in the first against Ismael Valdes (0-2). After John Olerud's infield popout, Mike Cameron was hit by a pitch and Sierra homered to center.
Sierra, 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, started at designated hitter in place of Edgar Martinez. The Mariners put Martinez on the 15-day disabled list earlier Friday with a left hamstring injury.
The 36-year-old Sierra hit .291 with 23 homers and 67 RBI in 94 games for Texas last season. He wanted to come back, but new Rangers general manager John Hart never offered him a new contract and Seattle signed Sierra to a $1.9 million, one-year contract on Dec. 26.
Rafael Palmeiro had an RBI double for Texas in the third. The Mariners got the run right back when Bret Boone, the first batter Todd Van Poppel faced after replacing Valdes, hit a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead.
Valdes gave up six runs on seven hits over 3 1-3 innings.
Carl Everett, the last batter Moyer faced, scored on rookie Hank Blalock's double. Kevin Mench, another rookie, added an RBI single.
Mark McLemore had an RBI single in the eighth for Seattle.
Sierra was 17 when he signed with the Rangers in 1983, and made his major league debut three years later. He was an All-Star three times in six seasons before being traded to Oakland on Aug. 31, 1992.
He was an All-Star for Oakland in 1994. He then played for the New York Yankees, Detroit, Cincinnati and Toronto before the Chicago White Sox released him after he played just 27 games at the start of 1998.
The Rangers re-signed Sierra after he spent 1999 in the independent Atlantic League and started 2000 in the Mexican League, and he played at Triple-A Oklahoma before a September callup. He started last year back in the minors before being recalled May 3.
Notes: Olerud's popout in the first ended a string of five straight hits for the Mariners with the bases loaded. ... The Rangers are 3-7, the first time since 1987 they didn't have at least four wins by their 10th game. ... Mench has six RBI in the three games he's started in right field for Juan Gonzalez, who's on the DL with torn muscle fiber in his right hand. ... Seattle 3B Jeff Cirillo was ejected by plate umpire Andy Fletcher for arguing a called third strike in the eighth.
Sierra's fifth career grand slam, his first homer for Seattle, gave the Mariners a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
After winning an AL-record 59 road games last season, the Mariners have started their first road trip of 2002 with five straight wins.
Jamie Moyer (1-1), pulled after a leadoff walk in the sixth, allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out four and walked four.
Seattle loaded the bases with no outs in the first against Ismael Valdes (0-2). After John Olerud's infield popout, Mike Cameron was hit by a pitch and Sierra homered to center.
Sierra, 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, started at designated hitter in place of Edgar Martinez. The Mariners put Martinez on the 15-day disabled list earlier Friday with a left hamstring injury.
The 36-year-old Sierra hit .291 with 23 homers and 67 RBI in 94 games for Texas last season. He wanted to come back, but new Rangers general manager John Hart never offered him a new contract and Seattle signed Sierra to a $1.9 million, one-year contract on Dec. 26.
Rafael Palmeiro had an RBI double for Texas in the third. The Mariners got the run right back when Bret Boone, the first batter Todd Van Poppel faced after replacing Valdes, hit a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead.
Valdes gave up six runs on seven hits over 3 1-3 innings.
Carl Everett, the last batter Moyer faced, scored on rookie Hank Blalock's double. Kevin Mench, another rookie, added an RBI single.
Mark McLemore had an RBI single in the eighth for Seattle.
Sierra was 17 when he signed with the Rangers in 1983, and made his major league debut three years later. He was an All-Star three times in six seasons before being traded to Oakland on Aug. 31, 1992.
He was an All-Star for Oakland in 1994. He then played for the New York Yankees, Detroit, Cincinnati and Toronto before the Chicago White Sox released him after he played just 27 games at the start of 1998.
The Rangers re-signed Sierra after he spent 1999 in the independent Atlantic League and started 2000 in the Mexican League, and he played at Triple-A Oklahoma before a September callup. He started last year back in the minors before being recalled May 3.
Notes: Olerud's popout in the first ended a string of five straight hits for the Mariners with the bases loaded. ... The Rangers are 3-7, the first time since 1987 they didn't have at least four wins by their 10th game. ... Mench has six RBI in the three games he's started in right field for Juan Gonzalez, who's on the DL with torn muscle fiber in his right hand. ... Seattle 3B Jeff Cirillo was ejected by plate umpire Andy Fletcher for arguing a called third strike in the eighth.