Saturday, July 20, 2002
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
recap | boxscore
Seattle Mariners at Anaheim Angels
recap | boxscore
ANAHEIM, Calif. (July 21, 2002 02:52 AM EDT) - Exactly two years ago, switch-hitter Scott Spiezio hit a right-handed home run. He did it again Saturday night when the Anaheim Angels needed it most.
Spiezio's solo homer snapped a tie in the eighth inning and Troy Glaus hit a three-run homer with two outs in the seventh as the Angels defeated the Seattle Mariners 7-6 Saturday night.
"I wasn't looking to do that. I was looking to get on base any way possible," said Spiezio, who went 212 at-bats between right-handed homers. "I still didn't think it was going out when I rounded first base until I heard the crowd. It's a crazy game. You expect that stuff from Glaus, but me?"
Anaheim's second consecutive victory over AL West-leading Seattle left the Angels and Oakland tied for second, two games behind the Mariners.
"We've had this attitude all year, never say die," Glaus said. "We thought all along we had the team to contend. We've put ourselves in position where we can have a say in what happens at the end."
Rookie Scot Shields (2-1) earned his second career victory, giving up one run on two hits in two innings of relief. The right-hander struck out three and walked one. His other win also came in relief.
Shields picked up some dirt and threw it angrily on the mound after giving up a homer to Desi Relaford that tied the game at 6 in the eighth. Relaford, who has three homers, hadn't homered since May 3 at Yankee Stadium.
Ben Weber got two outs in the ninth to earn his third save in five opportunities since Troy Percival went on the disabled list.
Spiezio hit reliever Arthur Rhodes' first pitch of the eighth inning over the fence in left center for his fifth homer and first since June 19.
"Everybody on this team is good at bouncing back, so I don't worry about that," Seattle second baseman Bret Boone said. "Arthur's been around long enough. He's given up runs before, and he'll be fine. I'd give the ball to him every time in that situation, but they got to him, and that happens."
The Angels trailed 5-2 in the seventh. Glaus hit his 16th homer off Rhodes (5-2) to give the Angels a 6-5 lead after Tim Salmon's RBI single pulled Anaheim within two runs earlier in the inning.
Seattle manager Lou Piniella blamed himself for not bringing in right-hander Jeff Nelson to face Glaus.
"I had him ready, I didn't use him, I take responsibility," he said. "Now if we hadn't hit the second hitter (David Eckstein) and walked the first one (Adam Kennedy), we wouldn't have gotten to that decision."
Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia credited Kennedy and Eckstein for working Shigetoshi Hasegawa, who was lifted for Rhodes, who gave up consecutive hits to Darin Erstad and Salmon.
"We had to have the table set for those two big guys to do what they did," Scioscia said. "We came back against an incredible bullpen and that makes us feel good."
Rhodes had given up only one homer all season until Saturday. The two homers he gave up were his first allowed on the road, a span of 16.2 innings.
Garret Anderson also drove in two runs for the Angels.
"They rallied against a pretty tough reliever in Arthur and got some big hits," Boone said. "The Angels are playing well and they're a different team than they were. These guys are for real, and they're not going away."
John Olerud and Edgar Martinez drove in two runs apiece for the Mariners, who lost 15-3 in the series opener Friday.
Seattle starter Ryan Franklin gave up two runs on six hits in five innings, struck out two and walked two in his fourth career start.
Rookie John Lackey struggled in his fifth career start, giving up five runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings. He walked five and struck out none.
The Mariners hit Lackey hard by scoring three runs in the first inning. Olerud had an RBI single and Martinez hit a two-strike, two-run single up the middle to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.
Notes: It was Anaheim's 28th comeback win of the season. ... The Angels moved to a season-best 18 games above .500 for the second time. ... Spiezio's last right-handed homer was July 20, 2000, against Texas. He had 11 homers against left-handed pitchers in 519 at-bats coming into this season. ... Seattle CF Mark McLemore left the game in the first inning with tightness in his left hamstring after running to third base on a passed ball. ... The Angels improved to 3-6 against Seattle this season. ... Anaheim SS David Eckstein was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning for a major league-leading 15th time this season. ... "Friends" star Matthew Perry threw out the first pitch to a battery of "The West Wing" co-stars Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff. Actor-comedian Bob Saget sang the national anthem.