evanreyes
04-25-2002, 07:50 PM
SEATTLE (AP) -- In his 17th season and playing for his sixth team, Mark McLemore finally hit a grand slam.
McLemore hit the first slam of his career after going 5,348 at-bats without one, sending the Seattle Mariners over the Anaheim Angels 16-5 Monday night.
"I don't think about trying to hit grand slams," McLemore said. "Why should I? I'm not a home run hitter. This was not that big of a deal."
Jeff Cirillo hit his first two home runs of the season and Bret Boone and Ruben Sierra also connected for Seattle. The Mariners won for the 13th time in 14 games.
McLemore drove in a career-high five runs and had three hits.
McLemore had led all active players for the most at-bats without a slam before his shot made it 8-0 in the third inning. Now, Milwaukee's Eric Young is the leader with 4,585 at-bats and no slams.
Overall, McLemore had batted with the bases loaded 121 times without homering. Young has come up with the bases loaded 92 times.
"So he's the one who's on the hook now," said McLemore with a grin. "Oh well. Sorry about that."
The Mariners got six runs in the third and added six more in the seventh for their highest-scoring game of the season. Seattle won its third in a row.
"Tonight the story was the bats," said Mariners manager Lou Piniella. "We really hit the ball well most of the night."
The Angels lost their third straight game, and have dropped seven in a row to Seattle.
Jamie Moyer (3-1) coasted to victory behind the run support, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. He pitched seven innings and gave up five runs on seven hits and no walks.
It was the first time Moyer had allowed more than three runs in a game this season, but he was pleased with the results.
"I probably could have gone longer, but we needed to get some guys some work," said Moyer. "I think I had pretty good command tonight. I felt pretty good out there."
Seattle battered Scott Schoeneweis (1-3) from the start. With one out, Cirillo homered and then Boone hit the next pitch for his fourth home run.
"I don't know what it is that they're taking or what they are doing over there, but I want some of it," said Schoeneweis. "It was one of those nights."
Schoeneweis put himself in trouble with one out in Seattle's big six-run third. He threw away Mike Cameron's comebacker for a three-base error and walked Sierra.
Carlos Guillen hit an RBI double and Dan Wilson was intentionally walked to load the bases for McLemore, whose slam finished Schoeneweis.
In his last three starts, Schoeneweis has allowed 24 hits and 19 earned runs over 15 innings.
Trailing 9-2 in the sixth, the Angels came up with three runs on Troy Glaus' sacrifice fly and Garret Anderson's homer. Sierra homered in the bottom half.
In the seventh, Ichiro Suzuki drove in a run with his third triple in two games and Cirillo followed with a homer to key another six-run burst.
Cirillo entered the game hitting only .235, and he's been disappointed with his start.
"I'm not where I want to be," Cirillo said. "I'm the new guy and I've had a slow start. I don't like that, but maybe I'm coming around now."
While Cirillo is disappointed with his start, he is excited about how the team is playing as a whole.
"It's just incredible. This is such a complete baseball team."
Seattle, at 16-4, has the same record that it had last year after 20 games.
Notes: Before getting drubbed, the Angels' three previous losses had been by a total of four runs. ... The Angels have hit eight home runs this season, while their pitchers have allowed 30. ... In Schoeneweis' career against Seattle, he is 1-6 with a 9.97 ERA. ... Sierra had three hits. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Seattle is 19-for-41 (.463) with the bases loaded and have hit two grand slams. ... Boone's homer snapped an 0-for-13 slump.
McLemore hit the first slam of his career after going 5,348 at-bats without one, sending the Seattle Mariners over the Anaheim Angels 16-5 Monday night.
"I don't think about trying to hit grand slams," McLemore said. "Why should I? I'm not a home run hitter. This was not that big of a deal."
Jeff Cirillo hit his first two home runs of the season and Bret Boone and Ruben Sierra also connected for Seattle. The Mariners won for the 13th time in 14 games.
McLemore drove in a career-high five runs and had three hits.
McLemore had led all active players for the most at-bats without a slam before his shot made it 8-0 in the third inning. Now, Milwaukee's Eric Young is the leader with 4,585 at-bats and no slams.
Overall, McLemore had batted with the bases loaded 121 times without homering. Young has come up with the bases loaded 92 times.
"So he's the one who's on the hook now," said McLemore with a grin. "Oh well. Sorry about that."
The Mariners got six runs in the third and added six more in the seventh for their highest-scoring game of the season. Seattle won its third in a row.
"Tonight the story was the bats," said Mariners manager Lou Piniella. "We really hit the ball well most of the night."
The Angels lost their third straight game, and have dropped seven in a row to Seattle.
Jamie Moyer (3-1) coasted to victory behind the run support, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. He pitched seven innings and gave up five runs on seven hits and no walks.
It was the first time Moyer had allowed more than three runs in a game this season, but he was pleased with the results.
"I probably could have gone longer, but we needed to get some guys some work," said Moyer. "I think I had pretty good command tonight. I felt pretty good out there."
Seattle battered Scott Schoeneweis (1-3) from the start. With one out, Cirillo homered and then Boone hit the next pitch for his fourth home run.
"I don't know what it is that they're taking or what they are doing over there, but I want some of it," said Schoeneweis. "It was one of those nights."
Schoeneweis put himself in trouble with one out in Seattle's big six-run third. He threw away Mike Cameron's comebacker for a three-base error and walked Sierra.
Carlos Guillen hit an RBI double and Dan Wilson was intentionally walked to load the bases for McLemore, whose slam finished Schoeneweis.
In his last three starts, Schoeneweis has allowed 24 hits and 19 earned runs over 15 innings.
Trailing 9-2 in the sixth, the Angels came up with three runs on Troy Glaus' sacrifice fly and Garret Anderson's homer. Sierra homered in the bottom half.
In the seventh, Ichiro Suzuki drove in a run with his third triple in two games and Cirillo followed with a homer to key another six-run burst.
Cirillo entered the game hitting only .235, and he's been disappointed with his start.
"I'm not where I want to be," Cirillo said. "I'm the new guy and I've had a slow start. I don't like that, but maybe I'm coming around now."
While Cirillo is disappointed with his start, he is excited about how the team is playing as a whole.
"It's just incredible. This is such a complete baseball team."
Seattle, at 16-4, has the same record that it had last year after 20 games.
Notes: Before getting drubbed, the Angels' three previous losses had been by a total of four runs. ... The Angels have hit eight home runs this season, while their pitchers have allowed 30. ... In Schoeneweis' career against Seattle, he is 1-6 with a 9.97 ERA. ... Sierra had three hits. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Seattle is 19-for-41 (.463) with the bases loaded and have hit two grand slams. ... Boone's homer snapped an 0-for-13 slump.