SEATTLE – Bobby Madritsch, a rookie pitcher with tattoos on all parts of his body, obviously doesn’t let much get under his skin.
Forced by umpires to put on long sleeves before the second inning to cover the artwork on his arms, Madritsch held the Minnesota Twins to six hits over seven innings in a 4-3 Seattle Mariners victory at Safeco Field.
The Mariners won it with one out in the ninth when pinch runner Willie Bloomquist stole third base, collided with Twins third baseman Corey Koskie on a play that hurt both players, then scrambled to his feet as the ball rolled away and scored the winning run.
That run, plus two innings of near-perfect relief by rookie pitchers Scott Atchison and George Sherrill, allowed the Mariners to win their second straight game over the American League Central Division-leading Twins.
None of the postgame high fives would have been possible without Madritsch, a 28-year-old who has been the most impressive of the minor league pitchers called up by the Mariners this season.
Madritsch didn’t get a decision and remained 2-0, but he lowered his earned run average to 2.63.
Just as important, Madritsch showed no sign of being bothered after allowing two runs in the first inning, then being forced to wear long sleeves on an 81-degree night after umpires told him to cover his tattooed arms. The Twins did not complain about the tattoos.
“He’s a tough kid I don’t think it affected him, but he came back after the first inning and pitched great like we’ve seen him pitch every time out,” manager Bob Melvin said. “This is a guy who’s got great mound presence and he showed it again tonight.”
He wasn’t the only Mariner who remained hot.
Ichiro Suzuki got two more hits, raised his league-leading average to .362 and grabbed another piece of baseball history. He has 841 career hits, moving past Paul Waner for the most hits in baseball history in his first four seasons.
“And his fourth year isn’t close to being over yet,” Melvin said. “Who knows how he’s going to pad this one. It’s record after record for the guy. He’s one of the best bat handlers I’ve ever seen.”
Madritsch struck out six and, after giving up three hits and two runs in the first inning, allowed just three hits the next six innings.
“The first inning, my pitches were up and they were putting the bat on it,” said Madritsch, who used his slide step more in the second inning and corralled his control. “I got the ball down and got into a rhythm.”
The Mariners came back against Twins starter Brad Radke, scoring a run in the fourth when Bret Boone and Raul Ibanez hit back-to-back doubles, then taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Randy Winn’s two-out, two-run single.
By then, Madritsch had the Twins waving at his fastball and freezing on his changeup. After Michael Cuddyer’s leadoff single in the second inning, Madritsch retired 15 of the next 17 hitters, including Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones on strikeouts to start the sixth. The one-run lead vanished with two outs, however, when Koskie singled and Cuddyer doubled into the left field corner, tying the score 3-3.
It stayed that way until one out in the bottom of the ninth, when Scott Spiezio reached on an infield single and was replaced on first base by pinch runner Bloomquist.
Twins reliever Juan Rincon made a wild pickoff throw that allowed Bloomquist to reach second and set up a wild – and painful – final play.
As Bloomquist stole third base, he crashed into Koskie, leaving the Twins third baseman rolling in pain with a sprained left wrist. X-rays later were negative.
Bloomquist lay dazed as well, having been hit on the bridge of his nose by the wide throw from catcher Henry Blanco. Unlike Koskie, Bloomquist got to his feet and ran home to score the winning run.
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