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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- Unbeaten John Halama made 87 pitches, 57 for strikes, and faced 29 batters in pitching a gem that added up to a
4-0 victory by the Seattle Mariners and a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins.
|  | | John Halama faced only 29 batters in his 4-hit shutout. |
"We won and that's what really counts," the finesse left-hander said Wednesday night after improving his record to 5-0 with a four-hitter. "It might have looked easy, but it's never easy."
"That's the style of pitcher he is," Seattle manager Lou Piniella
said. "He's not classified as a strikeout pitcher."
During the game, the Mariners announced they had agreed to terms
with Rickey Henderson to be their new leadoff man. The left fielder
was released by the New York Mets last Saturday.
The Mariners said they expected Henderson, 41, to be in Seattle
either Saturday or Sunday to play against Tampa Bay.
Piniella said he talked on the telephone to Henderson on Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm happy to see him come over and I told him that," Piniella
said. "He told me he wants to come here and help us win a ring. I
was asked my opinion and I gave it, but the decision was made
upstairs."
The Mariners' John Olerud played with Henderson with the Mets last season and endorsed his team's move.
"His age (41) is the big question," Olerud said. "But if he
plays like he did last year, he'll definitely help us."
Halama, who was part of the trade of Randy Johnson to Houston on July 31, 1998, did not walk a batter and struck out two. He pitched his second career shutout.
Halama didn't pitch so well in his last start last Friday in
Oakland, a no-decision when he walked six in four-plus innings. He
walked four and hit a batter in the fifth in a 9-7 loss.
"I just tried to come out tonight and not walk anybody," he
said.
The AL West-leading Mariners won their fifth in a row at Safeco Field. The Twins have lost five straight.
"I'd have to say he has our number," said Twins manager Tom Kelly of Halama, who beat Minnesota for the second time this season.
Edgar Martinez homered off former Mariners farmhand Joe Mays
(1-5) in the sixth inning. Martinez had three homers and nine RBI
in the series, during which Seattle outscored the Twins 27-5.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the first on Olerud's RBI
single. In the third, they made it 3-0 when Mays' pickoff attempt
of Alex Rodriguez at first sailed past first baseman Ron Coomer,
allowing Mike Cameron to score from second. Olerud doubled in
Rodriguez from second.
In seven innings, Mays allowed three earned runs on six hits and
two walks. He struck out six.
"Every time they hit the ball, it found a hole," Mays said.
"I guess they came off a pretty hard road trip and they had to
take it out on somebody."
Game notes
The Mariners are 13-5 at Safeco Field. ... Halama, 28, is
4-0 against the Twins. He beat Minnesota 5-4 on May 2. ... LaTroy
Hawkins pitched a perfect eighth for Minnesota and has a 0.59 ERA
in his last nine appearances (one earned run in 16 1-3 innings).
... Butch Huskey had two of Minnesota's hits, ending a 2-for-22
slump. ... For the series, Martinez was 6-for-13 and scored five
runs. ... Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 13 games. During
his streak, he's hitting .440 (22-for-50) with five home runs and
15 RBI. ... After the game, the Twins placed backup infielder Jason Maxwell on the 15-day DL with a strained left quadriceps retroactive to May 9. They recalled OF Brian Buchanan from Triple-A Salt Lake City of the Pacific Coast League. ... The Mariners are
carrying 12 pitchers and they're expected to send one of them to
Triple-A Tacoma to make room on their roster for Henderson. "We have 12 pitchers," Piniella said. "You draw your own conclusions."
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
M's outbid Expos for Henderson's services
RECAPS
Texas 11
Tampa Bay 6
Kansas City 4
Oakland 3
Cleveland 7
Detroit 2
NY Yankees 9
Chi. White Sox 4
Boston 8
Toronto 0
Anaheim 8
Baltimore 7
Seattle 4
Minnesota 0
Los Angeles 8
Chicago Cubs 6
Pittsburgh 9
Cincinnati 6
Florida 4
San Diego 2
Montreal 10
Arizona 2
Philadelphia 5
St. Louis 4
NY Mets 4
Colorado 2
Atlanta 5
San Francisco 4
Houston 0
Milwaukee 0
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