No that’s not an error in your standings. The Mariners are the only team in the AL West with a winning record and they sit atop the division. They’re a full game ahead of the Angels who had their game rained out yesterday with today’s game a question mark.
Things didn’t start out well though. Jarrod Washburn gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts in six innings and he lost his first game of the season. The Mariners picked up eleven hits but they only scored two in the 5-2 loss. Kenji Johima went three for three and Raul Ibanez went two for four with a run.
On Saturday, the Mariners got their sticks going. Adrian Beltre homered, drove in three runs and scored twice in the 8-3 win. Jose Guillen also went yard with a two run shot while Miguel Batista picked up the win with a nice start. He gave up three runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Then yesterday, the Mariners really got it going at the plate. Jose Vidro homered twice and drove in four runs while Adrian Beltre homered and drove in four. Even Ichiro got in on the action and he went four for five with a homerun, two RBIs and three runs in the 14-7 win. Horacio Ramirez didn’t have a great start, but it was more then good enough to pick up the win.
The Mariners stay home and they’ll host the Twins beginning tomorrow. Jeff Weaver will look for his first win after a pretty rough start and then Felix Hernandez will get the start on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, the Mariners have to contend with Johan Santana, which should be interesting. Regardless, I’ll be enjoying first place while it lasts.