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GAME LOG
TORONTO (AP) -- A healthy Joey Hamilton is paying dividends for
the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hamilton, who underwent shoulder surgery last September, pitched
seven effective innings for his fourth straight quality start as
the Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 7-3 Wednesday night to stop
a four-game losing streak.
|  | | Joey Hamilton improved to 2-0 in four starts since being activated from the DL on Aug. 19. |
"For me to come back and be able to do it, after everything
I've been through, is the biggest thing for me," said Hamilton,
activated from the disabled list Aug. 19.
"The best part is that I'm giving my team a chance to win. I
struggled with that last year," he said.
Hamilton (2-0), acquired from San Diego before last season,
allowed two runs and four hits against Seattle. The 29-year-old
right-hander pitched with pain for most of last season, when he
went 7-8 with a 6.52 ERA.
"This isn't the Joey Hamilton that pitched for me in San
Diego," said Toronto pitching coach Dave Stewart, who coached
Hamilton with the Padres.
"He's having good success because he's using his good pitching
knowledge to get guys out, but he's about four miles off with his
velocity."
Stewart, who has the dual role of pitching coach and assistant
general manager with Toronto, recommended the Blue Jays acquire
him.
"When I brought him here I knew what I was getting. The only
people that have doubted him are the people that have seen him
pitch unhealthy," Stewart said. "There's going to be a lot more
to come once he's 100 percent."
The Blue Jays are 3-1 in Hamilton's four starts.
Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer for the AL West-leading
Mariners, who have lost 17 of their last 23 games. Seattle had won
its previous seven games at SkyDome.
"Hamilton threw well," Rodriguez said. "He changed speeds,
and threw to both sides of the plate. He kept us off balance."
Down 2-1 in the fourth, the Blue Jays scored five runs in
chasing John Halama (11-8).
Jose Cruz and Darrin Fletcher hit consecutive singles and Craig
Grebeck hit an RBI double. Reliever Brett Tomko loaded the bases by
walking Shannon Stewart, then fanned Alex Gonzalez for the second
out.
But Tomko hit Chad Mottola with a pitch and Carlos Delgado
followed with a double off the top of the left-field wall to give
Toronto a 6-2 lead.
"I'll take my double, the three RBI and the big win," Delgado
said.
Fletcher's sacrifice fly gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the second.
Rodriguez hit his 34th homer for Seattle in the third.
Mottola, making his first start in the majors since 1996, went
2-for-3, including an RBI single in the sixth that gave Toronto a
7-2 lead.
Jay Buhner added a solo homer in the Mariners ninth, his 23rd,
off John Frascatore.
Game notes
The Blue Jays, who lead the majors with 221 homers, failed
to homer for the sixth straight game, a season high. ... A fan was
struck in the head by the bat of Seattle's Edgar Martinez in the
fifth inning. She was taken away by the medical staff and appeared
to be OK. ... Attendance was just 17,055. ... Seattle's Al Martin
snapped an 0-for-17 streak with a pinch-hit single in the ninth.
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