evanreyes
04-25-2002, 07:51 PM
SEATTLE (AP) - Ryan Franklin has earned a chance to break into the Seattle Mariners' rotation.
Franklin and three relievers combined for a four-hitter as the Mariners beat the Anaheim Angels 1-0 Tuesday night for their 14th victory in 15 games.
Franklin (2-0) pitched 5 2-3 innings in his first career start, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out two.
"After the way he pitched today, you've got to say yes," manager Lou Piniella said when asked if Franklin deserved a second start. "We thought that he would pitch well, but he exceeded it."
Piniella went with Franklin instead of John Halama, their regular No. 5 starter, because Halama is a finesse left-hander like Jamie Moyer, who started Monday night.
"We're going to look at it," Piniella said. "We've got Halama and Franklin and, we can pitch them both time to time."
Franklin, 29, went 3-0 for Team USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Before Tuesday night, he had made 51 relief appearances in three seasons for the Mariners.
"I wasn't nervous going in, but I threw three balls in a row to start the game and said to myself, 'Hey, man, this isn't happening,"' Franklin said. He wound up striking out leadoff hitter David Eckstein.
Halama is scheduled to start May 4 against the Yankees in New York.
The Mariners are 6-0 against the Angels and 15-3 against the AL West. They've won four straight since being shut out by Kenny Rogers and the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field on Friday night.
The Angels, who have lost four in a row and six out of seven, are off to a franchise-worst 6-14 start.
Mark McLemore, who had his first career grand slam and a career-high five RBI in a 16-5 victory by Seattle over Anaheim Monday night, tripled and scored on an error on the same play in the fifth inning.
McLemore scored an unearned run when shortstop Eckstein's relay throw from center fielder Garret Anderson got past third baseman Troy Glaus and pitcher Ramon Ortiz.
"However we got it doesn't matter," Franklin said. "As long as we got it. You can't defend speed."
McLemore had fast wits on the play, too. He had his eyes on Ortiz, who was backing up third, when he did a face-first slide into third. He jumped up and made another face-first slide at home.
"When I saw the ball get through his legs, it hit the fence and then kicked off," McLemore said. "I just saw it spinning away from him a little bit faster than I'm sure he wanted it to. So I just kept on and decided to see what happened."
Eckstein took the blame for his error.
"I thought I had a shot at getting him, but I just threw it away," he said.
Joel Pineiro, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki combined to pitch 3 1-3 scoreless innings for Seattle.
Sasaki worked around a leadoff double by Glaus in the ninth to get his sixth save in seven opportunities. Sasaki wild pitched Glaus to third base on a forkball while pitching to Brad Fullmer before striking out Fullmer on another forkball for the final out of the game.
Mariners catcher Dan Wilson said Sasaki stuck to his out pitch.
"You've just got to keep everything in front of you," Wilson said. "To me, that's the right pitch in that situation."
Fullmer, the Angels' designated hitter who is now hitting .183 after going 0-for-4, said he knew what was coming.
"It's his best pitch," he said. "With the tying run in scoring position at third base, he was going to make me hit his best pitch. He did his job and I didn't."
It was the first shutout of the season for the Mariners, who were 17-5 after 21 games last season when they tied the major league record with 116 victories.
Ortiz (1-3) limited the Mariners to five hits, walked one and struck out eight.
Notes: The Angels are 1-5 in one-run games this season. ... The 2002 Mariners had 14 shutouts, two of which were 1-0. ... The Mariners won with a season-low five hits. ... The Angels tied their season low with their four hits. ... Mariners CF Mike Cameron, who was given the night off after going 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts in his previous three games, entered the game as a PR in the eighth. Piniella said Cameron would start Wednesday night's game. ... Ortiz pitched his fifth career complete game. It was Anaheim's first complete game of the season.
Franklin and three relievers combined for a four-hitter as the Mariners beat the Anaheim Angels 1-0 Tuesday night for their 14th victory in 15 games.
Franklin (2-0) pitched 5 2-3 innings in his first career start, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out two.
"After the way he pitched today, you've got to say yes," manager Lou Piniella said when asked if Franklin deserved a second start. "We thought that he would pitch well, but he exceeded it."
Piniella went with Franklin instead of John Halama, their regular No. 5 starter, because Halama is a finesse left-hander like Jamie Moyer, who started Monday night.
"We're going to look at it," Piniella said. "We've got Halama and Franklin and, we can pitch them both time to time."
Franklin, 29, went 3-0 for Team USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Before Tuesday night, he had made 51 relief appearances in three seasons for the Mariners.
"I wasn't nervous going in, but I threw three balls in a row to start the game and said to myself, 'Hey, man, this isn't happening,"' Franklin said. He wound up striking out leadoff hitter David Eckstein.
Halama is scheduled to start May 4 against the Yankees in New York.
The Mariners are 6-0 against the Angels and 15-3 against the AL West. They've won four straight since being shut out by Kenny Rogers and the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field on Friday night.
The Angels, who have lost four in a row and six out of seven, are off to a franchise-worst 6-14 start.
Mark McLemore, who had his first career grand slam and a career-high five RBI in a 16-5 victory by Seattle over Anaheim Monday night, tripled and scored on an error on the same play in the fifth inning.
McLemore scored an unearned run when shortstop Eckstein's relay throw from center fielder Garret Anderson got past third baseman Troy Glaus and pitcher Ramon Ortiz.
"However we got it doesn't matter," Franklin said. "As long as we got it. You can't defend speed."
McLemore had fast wits on the play, too. He had his eyes on Ortiz, who was backing up third, when he did a face-first slide into third. He jumped up and made another face-first slide at home.
"When I saw the ball get through his legs, it hit the fence and then kicked off," McLemore said. "I just saw it spinning away from him a little bit faster than I'm sure he wanted it to. So I just kept on and decided to see what happened."
Eckstein took the blame for his error.
"I thought I had a shot at getting him, but I just threw it away," he said.
Joel Pineiro, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki combined to pitch 3 1-3 scoreless innings for Seattle.
Sasaki worked around a leadoff double by Glaus in the ninth to get his sixth save in seven opportunities. Sasaki wild pitched Glaus to third base on a forkball while pitching to Brad Fullmer before striking out Fullmer on another forkball for the final out of the game.
Mariners catcher Dan Wilson said Sasaki stuck to his out pitch.
"You've just got to keep everything in front of you," Wilson said. "To me, that's the right pitch in that situation."
Fullmer, the Angels' designated hitter who is now hitting .183 after going 0-for-4, said he knew what was coming.
"It's his best pitch," he said. "With the tying run in scoring position at third base, he was going to make me hit his best pitch. He did his job and I didn't."
It was the first shutout of the season for the Mariners, who were 17-5 after 21 games last season when they tied the major league record with 116 victories.
Ortiz (1-3) limited the Mariners to five hits, walked one and struck out eight.
Notes: The Angels are 1-5 in one-run games this season. ... The 2002 Mariners had 14 shutouts, two of which were 1-0. ... The Mariners won with a season-low five hits. ... The Angels tied their season low with their four hits. ... Mariners CF Mike Cameron, who was given the night off after going 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts in his previous three games, entered the game as a PR in the eighth. Piniella said Cameron would start Wednesday night's game. ... Ortiz pitched his fifth career complete game. It was Anaheim's first complete game of the season.