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Monday, May 15 10:05pm ET
Twins' Milton doesn't last 3 innings | |||||
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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- Edgar Martinez isn't ready to put his bat in the bat rack and retire. Not with the way he's started his 12th season with the Seattle Mariners. Martinez hit two homers and drove in five runs, and Aaron Sele pitched seven strong innings as the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 14-0 Monday night.
Not so young anymore at 37 years old, the Mariners' veteran designated hitter is off to a sizzling start, leading the team with 41 RBI while hitting .351. "Sometimes when you get a little older, you wonder if you can still do it," said Martinez, who missed four games in April after getting hit in the elbow by a pitch by Arizona's Todd Stottlemyre in spring training. "This makes you feel like you can play for a few more years." With 10 homers in 30 games, he could be headed for a career high. His previous high was 29 twice. "Sure, I'd love to pass that," Martinez said. The Mariners' 14 runs were the most they've scored at Safeco Field, the $517.6 million stadium they moved into last July 15. They had 16 hits, 10 for extra bases. It was Minnesota's worst loss of the season. The Twins lost 13-4 to Boston on April 11. "It was a bad day for us," Twins manager Tom Kelly said. "We haven't got knocked around all year. Maybe we were due for our knockaround time." Alex Rodriguez also homered for the Mariners, who returned from a 2-5 road trip that knocked them out of first place in the AL West. Martinez hit a two-run homer in the third inning to give Seattle a 7-0 lead, and added a three-run shot in the fifth. The five RBI tied a regular-season career high. Rodriguez's two-run homer came in Seattle's three-run first inning against Eric Milton (2-1). Both of Martinez's homers came on 1-2 counts. "All good hitters go deep into the count," Piniella said. "That's what separates the real good hitters from the ones who aren't as good." Sele (3-2) allowed two singles, walked two and struck out two before being replaced by Kazuhiro Sasaki at the start of the eighth. Sele earned his first victory for the Mariners in Seattle, and his first win at Safeco. Sele improved his career record against Minnesota to 12-2, while pitching for three different teams. "When you do get early leads, it makes it nice," Sele said. "I felt good enough to finish it and my pitch count was low, but we had some guys in the bullpen who needed some work." Martinez's ninth homer of the season came off Milton, a 411-foot shot to center. His 10th came against Johan Santana to right field. Rodriguez's 13th homer of the season was an upper-deck shot to left off Milton. Martinez was 3-for-5 and he scored three runs, while David Bell was 2-for-4 with three RBI for Seattle. In his shortest stint of the season, Milton allowed nine runs, eight earned, on eight hits and a walk in 2 1/3 innings. He lasted only three innings in his previous start against Cleveland. "I made some good pitches tonight, too," Milton said. "I definitely had better stuff than my last outing. They were just swinging the bats."
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Minnesota Clubhouse Seattle Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 8 Toronto 1
Seattle 14
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