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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Mike Cameron didn't mind settling
for a walk rather than hitting for the cycle.
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| Cameron |
"Victories are more important right now than anything,"
Seattle's center fielder said Tuesday night after he singled,
tripled and homered while driving in two runs in the AL
West-leading Mariners' 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Cameron narrowly missed hitting two homers, smacking his triple
off the top of the left-center-field wall in the third inning. He
missed out on an opportunity to hit for the cycle when he walked on
four pitches in the ninth.
"I wasn't really worried about it. Everybody wanted me to
swing. But I've been getting myself out enough already this year,
so why not get a free pass," said Cameron, who also walked in the
fifth.
"I've been close before. It always seems like I need a home
run," he added. "A double would have been easy ... but I'll take
what I got."
The Devil Rays lost their ninth in a row, matching the longest
skid in the AL this season.
Seattle's winning streak, meanwhile, equals the club's longest
of the year. The Mariners hold a 2½-game lead in the AL West over
second-place Oakland, which won at Baltimore.
"Tomorrow's another big game for us," manager Lou Piniella
said, looking ahead to the final game of a road trip in which the
Mariners are 5-0. "They're all big now."
John Halama (12-9) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3
innings, stopping his three-game losing streak. Jose Mesa pitched
one inning and Jose Paniagua got seven outs for his fifth save in
eight chances.
Cameron finished 3-for-3. He tripled to drive in a run off
Travis Harper (0-2) and hit his 18th homer off Tony Fiore in the
seventh for a 4-2 lead.
John Olerud also had two RBI for Seattle. He homered off Harper
-- hitting No. 13 in the second inning for his second homer in three
days after going 169 at-bats without one -- and added a RBI single
off Doug Creek in the eighth.
Alex Rodriguez drove in the Mariners' other run with a
fifth-inning single.
Seattle also won seven straight from June 20-27. The Mariners
have bounced back from their first losing month in four years
(11-17 in August) to win five straight series and get off to a 13-5
start in September.
Tampa Bay's nine-game slide matches Kansas City's AL-high losing
streak from June 30-July 13. The Devil Rays have been outscored
70-17 during the streak and have lost 15 of 17 games in September
after going 43-40 the previous three months.
"Through this whole thing, we haven't had many base runners,"
Tampa Bay manager Larry Rothschild said.
"Tonight, we left a few guys on, but that hasn't been the case
on a lot of nights. The more you get them on base, the more chances
you have for big innings, and one those times you're going to pop
through. It just hasn't happened."
In losses to Boston, Toronto and Kansas City this month, Halama
allowed 12 runs and 24 hits in 13 2/3 innings. The punchless Devil
Rays never solved the left-hander, who won for just the third time
in his last 10 starts -- a stretch that includes four losses and
three no-decisions.
Tampa Bay's weakest hitters, Miguel Cairo and Randy Winn, did
the most damage against Halama. Cairo drove in the Devil Rays'
first run with a third-inning sacrifice fly and Winn hit his first
homer to trim the Mariners' lead to 3-2 in the fifth.
Harper, making his third major league start, allowed three runs
on four hits, walked five and struck out two in six innings. He
started because Cory Lidle left the Devil Rays on Monday to be with
his wife for the birth of their first child.
Game notes
C Joe Oliver was scratched from Seattle's lineup with a
bruised right hand sustained during batting practice. He was
replaced by Dan Wilson ... Henderson moved within five of tying
Babe Ruth as the career walks leader. He's drawn 85 this season,
including eight in his last seven games, and has 2,057 career walks
... The Devil Rays have gone 14 straight games scoring four runs or
fewer. They've only scored more than four five times in their last
34 games.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
RECAPS
Oakland 7
Baltimore 4
Oakland 0
Baltimore 0
(2nd game)
Boston 7
Cleveland 4
Chi. White Sox 6
Detroit 2
Toronto 16
NY Yankees 3
Seattle 5
Tampa Bay 2
Kansas City 5
Anaheim 1
Minnesota 15
Texas 7
Florida 3
Montreal 1
Pittsburgh 12
Philadelphia 8
Atlanta 12
NY Mets 4
Milwaukee 9
Chicago Cubs 8
Houston 8
St. Louis 6
San Diego 7
Colorado 2
Los Angeles 1
Arizona 0
San Francisco 7
Cincinnati 3
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