Mariners Fight Off Angels
Brett Hinchliffe won't soon forget his first major league start.
Hinchliffe and two other players were ejected following a fourth-inning brawl in Seattle's 8-5 victory over Anaheim on Sunday night.
The bench-clearing incident started after Hinchliffe hit Anaheim's Todd Greene on the left arm with his first pitch after giving up a homer to Troy Glaus. Greene charged the mound, punches were exchanged and both players were tossed along with Tim Belcher, who charged out of the Angels' dugout to join the melee.
"It was really crazy out there," said Hinchliffe, a 24-year-old right-hander who gave up three runs and five hits.
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Hinchcliffe plunked Greene near the left elbow after Glaus' homer cut Seattle's lead to 5-3.
"He probably expected it," Hinchliffe said, "but I was just trying to jam him and the pitch took off."
Greene rushed to the mound, clearing both dugouts and bullpens.
"Anything above the waist, that's taking away your living," Greene said. "I'm not going to take it. ... In my opinion, it was on purpose, and I decided to let them know it was enough."
Seattle pitchers hit the Angels five times in the three-game series. The only Mariner to be hit was Ken Griffey, Jr., who pointed his bat toward the Angels dugout after getting hit in the middle of Seattle's five-run third inning Sunday.
"I've got nothing to say. It's over and done with," Griffey said.
Domingo Cedeno and Jay Buhner each hit two-run homers, and Butch Huskey added a solo shot for the Mariners.
Ken Cloude (1-1), bumped from Seattle's rotation in favor of Hinchliffe, pitched 2 1-3 shutout innings for the win. Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
"Ken did well in that role," said Seattle manager Lou Piniella. "He threw the ball well, and said he liked it. I hope so, because that's where h's going to be."
After Glaus' third homer of the season cut Seattle's lead to two runs, the Mariners padded their margin in the fifth on Edgar Martinez' RBI double and Huskey's run-scoring single.
Randy Velarde's RBI double and Tim Salmon's run-scoring single off John Halama in the bottom of the inning trimmed the Mariners' lead to 7-5. But Huskey, who had dashed in from his left-field position to join the fourth-inning melee, hit a solo homer in the seventh to make it 8-5.
Anaheim took a 2-0 lead on Darin Erstad's run-scoring grounder in the first and Matt Walbeck's solo homer in the second.
But Seattle rallied for five runs in the third off Steve Sparks (0-3).
After Dan Wilson singled, Cedeno hit his second homer of the season to tie it 2-2. Griffey was hit by a pitch with two outs and then scored on a double by Martinez. Buhner followed with his second homer of the year to make it 5-2.
Sparks dropped his fifth straight decision dating to last season, allowing seven runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.
"I left a couple of slow ones up in the zone," said Sparks, a 33-year-old knuckleball pitcher. Notes: Mo Vaughn, on the disabled list since an opening night injury, will travel with the Angels on their upcoming six-game road trip. He can be activated Thursday. ... Buhner was back in Seattle's lineup after missing two games with food poisoning. He has three career hits in 10 at-bats off Sparks, all of them homers.
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