Document text
--> --> Seattle sets record with 56th road win ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - The Seattle Mariners don't sit back and wait for the long ball. They create offense with speed and situational hitting. Bret Boone drove in four runs as the Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 13-2 Tuesday night to set an American League record with their 56th road victory. The Rangers lead the majors with 233 home runs, 76 more than Seattle, but they trail the AL West champions by 38 games. "They're able to manufacture runs, and that's the biggest difference between them and everybody else in baseball right now," Texas manager Jerry Narron said. John Olerud, Carlos Guillen and Al Martin homered for Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki stole two bases, giving him 50 for the season. The Mariners improved to 56-21 on the road, breaking the league mark set by the 1971 Oakland Athletics. The 1906 Chicago Cubs hold the major league record with a 60-15 record. "We're proud of that," manager Lou Piniella said. "We've fed off our road record all year. It's not easy to win on the road with the consistency that we have. It's one of the reasons we've been in first place all year. That's a lot of wins and it's a credit to our players. They get after it every night." Boone went 3-for-4. He hit a two-run single in the second and a two-run double in the fourth, helping Seattle post its 108th victory of the season. "We're playing the same way at home and on the road," Boone said. "This team is relentless. There's never a letdown." We go out and want to win every night." The Mariners continue to get strong starting pitching and solid relief work. They're smart hitters, and they usually play tight defense. Seattle made four errors Tuesday night but still won easily. "The manager is more involved with this type of team than when you sit and wait (for the long ball)," Piniella said. "We have more speed, we hit-and-run more. It keeps the manager on his toes." Aaron Sele (14-5) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings to break out of a recent slump. He lost four of his previous five decisions, but Tuesday night's outing pushed him over 200 innings. "The biggest thing for me was to get my fourth consecutive year of 200-plus innings," Sele said. Seattle took a 4-0 lead in the second against rookie Justin Duchscherer (1-1) on Stan Javier's RBI triple, Mark McLemore's RBI infield single and Boone's two-run single. Duchscherer was making his first appearance in 20 days and his second major league start. He hit three batters in the first three innings to tie the club record, done nine times in the past. Texas cut it to 4-1 in the third on Alex Rodriguez's RBI single, but Boone's two-run double in the fourth made it 6-1. The Mariners stole five bases the first four innings, including two by Suzuki. Duchscherer allowed six runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings. "I don't think it had to do with the layoff," he said. "Sometimes I made good pitches, sometimes I didn't. The layoff is part of the game and it would be a poor excuse." Texas made it 6-2 in the fourth on Bill Haselman's run-scoring single, but Guillen's fifth homer leading off the fifth gave Seattle a 7-2 lead. Olerud's 19th homer, a two-run shot in the sixth, made it 9-2. In the ninth, Guillen had an RBI triple, Tom Lampkin hit a run-scoring single and Martin had a two-run, pinch-hit homer. Notes: Suzuki hit safely in his 127th game, extending his club record. The major league mark is 135 shared by four players, most recently Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter in 1999. ... The season series ends Wednesday. Seattle leads 11-4. ... Texas' Frank Catalanotto was ejected by plate umpire Bruce Froemming in the fifth inning for complaining from the dugout about a strike call during an earlier at-bat. ... Seattle's top two base stealers in club history are Harold Reynolds (60 in 1987) and Julio Cruz (59 in 1978). ... The Mariners have stolen five bases in a game 16 times. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing