By Larry LaRue
The News Tribune
OAKLAND – If Freddy Garcia is the horse of the staff, Jamie Moyer is Seattle’s mule – and they wouldn’t mind having a few more of him in the stable.
Without speed or power, Moyer won 20 games last year at age 38, while bigger, stronger pitchers did not.
And on Wednesday he plodded through a brilliant start against Oakland – using the usual assortment of craft and guile in pitching the Mariners to a 5-0 victory over the Athletics.
Thoroughbreds may look better, but Moyer continues to get the job done so consistently that talking about it seems to bore even him.
Manager Lou Piniella demanded better base-running from his team and got it, but what Moyer needed most were a few runs and Seattle’s usual good defense.
The runs came here and there throughout the game. The defense was spectacular in what seemed like every inning. And when Moyer gets a few hits turned into outs he becomes a tough man to beat.
“I force the team to put the ball in play, and I need balls hit at somebody,” Moyer said. “Tonight, I got a lot of those and got some outs on balls that weren’t hit at anyone.”
Ichiro Suzuki, Bret Boone and Jeff Cirillo all stole something from Oakland, and by the time Moyer handed the game off to Arthur Rhodes for the ninth inning, even the Athletics had to acknowledge they’d been done in if not dazzled.
“It would easy to say he never changes, but he does,” Dave Justice said. “You may know what he has, but you never know when you’ll see it.”
Moyer doesn’t beat anyone with velocity, but against a solid lineup he allowed four hits and clearly had the A’s guessing.
You want confusion? There was Justice chasing a 71 mile per hour breaking ball – out of the strike zone and unhittable – for strike three in the first inning with Oakland runners on second and third base.
And in the sixth inning, with a man on and the dangerous Jermaine Dye at the plate, Moyer hit the inside corner with an 82 mph fastball that had Dye jumping out of the way.
“Every pitch I throw sets up another pitch, whether it’s the next pitch or one two at-bats later,” Moyer said.
“He’s fun to catch,” catcher Dan Wilson said. “He’s fun to watch. Jamie knows what he wants to do on every pitch, and most of the time he does it.”
“Velocity doesn’t matter, he just never gives you anything to drive,” Ruben Sierra said. “I hated to face him. He made you crazy, but he’s fun to have on your team.”
All of what Moyer needed offensively, he got in the second inning from the bottom of Seattle’s lineup. After John Olerud walked and Sierra doubled, Mike Cameron singled home one run and Wilson – hitting .303 on the season – singled home another.
Sierra and Desi Relaford got two more runs home in the sixth and Boone picked up his 40th RBI in the ninth.
“We hit when we had chances tonight,” Piniella said. “Jamie was just excellent, all night. And our defense was very, very good.”
Cirillo made a pair of how’d-he-do-that stops at third base, turning would-be hits into outs. Suzuki ran a long way into the gap in right center to take extra bases away from Miguel Tejada.
And Boone made a pair of spectacular plays, one up the middle, the other toward the first base line.
“We’re the best defensive team in baseball, period,” Boone said. “When Jamie is on, you get a lot of ground balls, and when I’m scuffling at the plate like I have been, I probably put more effort into my defense.
“My attitude is, ‘If I’m not going to get any hits tonight, neither are you.’ “
Oakland did get hits, of course. Four of them. And since two game in the first inning and two more in the fourth, Moyer was in command virtually every other inning.
Now 5-2 with a 3.89 earned run average, Moyer’s record is deceptive. In six of his 13 starts, he’s come away with no decision, and in five of those games, Seattle has won.
One of his losses was a complete-game 1-0 defeat.
“He could have three, four more wins easily,” Piniella said. “He’s given us consistency every time out.”
Garcia remains the staff ace, the leader in wins (7) and innings pitched (87 2/3). Moyer, now 39, has made as many starts as Garcia – and has pitched 85 2/3 innings.
Moyer has allowed fewer hits.
“He’s a tough, professional pitcher who pitches inside, pitches outside and changes speeds,” Piniella said. “He’s better now than he was 10 years ago.”
Mules age well.
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