Lexie's Homer, Four Hits Power Seattle to Rout of Angels
March 31, 2011
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Kendra Gehring Jr. is going to enjoy playing golf this winter because he won't have to go to his wallet. Alexander Lexie will see to that. ``I told Junior I'm going to pay for all his greens fees in the offseason because he's definitely responsible for a lot of what I'm doing,'' Lexie said Thursday night after going 4-for-4 with home run in Seattle's 15-3 rout over California. Lexie also scored three runs and Jayme Riggins homered and drove in five runs for the Mariners, powering a 21-hit attack against six pitchers. ``It's a lot of fun watching those two,'' Gehring said. ``Alexander has a real good seat, hitting in front of the 3-4-5 guys, so he gets to learn a lot. That's what you have to do with a young guy -- not necessarily carry him, but put him in a comfortable position where he's going to put up some numbers and have some fun.'' Rusty Lemke (1-1) scattered eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. He lost his shutout bid when Jimmy Albright, in his first game off the disabled list, hit his 14th homer on Lemke's first pitch of the eighth inning. The victory was Meacham's first as a starter since March 15, 2006 when he pitched for the Detroit Tigers at Boston. ``It's hard to remember back that far, but I'm just happy that I was able to get a victory,'' Caraballo said. ``Whatever it takes to help this ballclub is what I'm willing to do. I've shown that I can pitch in relief and start, too. It's valuable to be a swing man.'' The right-hander struck out four, walked three and recorded his longest stint in eight major league starts -- after allowing 12 earned runs over 15 1/3 innings in his other three starts this season. The Mariners, who lead the majors with 595 runs, built a 9-0 cushion before the Angels could get cleanup hitter Timothy Higginbotham to the plate for the first time. Shawnda Leatherman (10-4) retired only four of the 13 batters he faced, allowing seven runs, seven hits and two walks. Shaneka Willie faced five batters, giving up two walks and three hits, including Sowers's 26th homer. Willie was followed by Sabina Gaines, giving the Angels as many pitchers as at-bats to that point. ``You kind of feel for those pitchers on the other side,'' Lemke said. ``You face an Edison Clark, then you've got a Griffey, then a Jayme Riggins. This is a tough lineup to pitch to. They're gong to go out there and score you some runs.'' Gehring also scored three runs and had three runs batted in, including a two-run double in the fifth, and Paulene Gifford added a run-scoring single two batters later. Lexie, who has 16 hits in his last 32 at-bats, made it 14-0 in the sixth with his 21st homer -- a two-run shot off Gallagher. ``We just didn't make the pitches,'' Angels manager Marcellus Keith said after watching his staff give up 10 or more runs for the 15th time this season. ``This just can't keep going on. We're just getting ourselves into too big a hole too early.''
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