Thursday, April 25, 2002
Angels 10, Mariners 6
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella is going to take a long look at demoting Paul Abbott to the bullpen. Scott Spiezio had a three-run double in the opening inning and Tim Salmon hit his first homer of the season as the Anaheim Angels beat the Mariners 10-6 Wednesday night.
“Sometimes a little stint in the bullpen doesn't hurt,” Piniella said after Abbott lasted only 2 2-3 innings and saw his ERA balloon to 10.97 this season. “We'll think about it tomorrow and see what we do.”
Abbott, who began the season as Seattle's No. 3 starter, was 17-4 for the Mariners last season. He gave up six runs, seven hits and four walks in his fifth start of the season.
“We'll see what we do, but I want to emphasize that we have confidence that we'll get him turned around,” Piniella said.
Abbott could be replaced in the rotation by Ryan Franklin, who came out of the bullpen and pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory over Anaheim on Tuesday night. It was Franklin's first career start.
“Consistency is the key to the game and I am being consistently bad,” Abbott said. “It's still early, but I'm concerned. The numbers speak for themselves. We've got a lot of guys out there with quality arms.”
Abbott has pitched mainly as a starter the past two seasons after being in the Mariners' bullpen in 1999. He'd rather stay in the rotation.
“I want to take the ball every chance I get,” he said. “But if that's what happens, that's what happens.”
Anaheim won for the first time in seven games against the AL West-leading Mariners this season. The Angels broke a four-game losing streak and ended Seattle's four-game winning streak.
The Angels are hoping their victory means good things for their future.
“On paper, it looks like we have a pretty good team,” Spiezio said. “But we haven't been playing like it. Sometimes when we've been hitting, the pitching hasn't been there and vice versa. I think if we put it together like we did tonight that good things will happen.”
The Mariners (17-5) fell one game behind the pace of last year's team, which tied the major league record with 116 wins.
Jarrod Washburn (2-2) allowed three runs and six hits before being replaced by Al Levine with two on and two outs in the seventh and the Angels ahead 8-1.
Bengie Molina had four hits, while Orlando Palmeiro, Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus each had three hits for Anaheim, which had a season-high 16 hits against Paul Abbott (1-2) and three relievers. The Angels' 10 runs also were their season best.
“Sometimes you're going to see the ball good for a while and sometimes you're not going to see that good,” Molina said. “So it's kind of funny how that works. I was seeing the ball good today.”
Anaheim came into the game hitting .199 (38-for-191) with one homer and 15 runs against Seattle this season.
The Angels took a 5-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Anderson, Glaus' run-scoring single and Spiezio's bases-loaded double to right. Spiezio was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple.
Spiezio came into the game hitting .224 with a homer and four RBIs this season. He hit .271 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs as Mo Vaughn's injury replacement last season.
“I know it's a long season and I've felt good at the plate the whole year,” Spiezio said. “I know that it's going to come around. I was just trying to figure out if I should go to third or not and I shouldn't have.”
They made it 6-0 in the third on Molina's RBI double, and Anderson added a run-scoring double in the sixth. Salmon's homer made it 8-1 in the seventh. The Angels, with nine homers, are tied with Kansas City for the fewest in the AL this season.
Spiezio had a fourth RBI on a fielder's choice before Molina's run-scoring single in the eighth.
The Mariners spoiled Washburn's shutout bid in the sixth on John Olerud's RBI double.
In the seventh, Levine allowed a two-run triple to Bret Boone before second baseman Adam Kennedy's error allowed Boone to score Seattle's fourth run, which was unearned.
Carlos Guillen ended Seattle's scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth.
Ruben Sierra went 0-for-5 for Seattle and had his 12-game hitting streak ended.
Notes: At 7-14, the Angels avoided their worst start in franchise history after 21 games. ... Washburn is 4-2 lifetime against Seattle, while Abbott is 2-5 in his career against the Angels. ... Former Seattle OF Jay Buhner made his broadcasting debut for the Mariners on radio and TV. ... Former University of Washington football player Curtis Williams, who was paralyzed below the neck while making a tackle in a game Oct. 28, 2001, at Stanford, was honored before the game. ... The Mariners have scored 59 of their 142 runs after the sixth inning, including five Wednesday.
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Angels 10, Mariners 6 
