Chatwood, Angels lose 5-1 to Mariners
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No one could blame Tyler Chatwood if he thought he was involved in some kind of warped rookie initiation with the Los Angeles Angels. His teammates haven't scored any runs in eight of his starts while he's been in the game.
It happened again Saturday night, when Seattle rookie Blake Beavan pitched in and out of trouble through eight innings in a 5-1 victory over the befuddled Angels. Their only run came on an RBI double in the seventh by Chatwood's batterymate, Bobby Wilson, after the frustrated right-hander departed with a 5-0 deficit.
"We didn't give him any support, but he threw a nice game," Bobby Abreu said. "He only gave up four runs, but we didn't score for him. Once we give him a little bit more support, he'll feel more comfortable on the mound. The more times he goes out there the better he'll be and his command is going to help him stay in the game longer."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chatwood (6-8) gave up five runs and seven hits over 6 1-3 innings in his first career start against Seattle, after allowing a career-worst six runs in a 12-2 loss at Detroit on July 29.
Trayvon Robinson hit his first major league homer in his second game up from Triple-A and former Angels postseason star Adam Kennedy hit a two-run double for the Mariners, who are 6-3 since their franchise-record 17-game losing streak. The victory was only their third in their last 20 games at Angel Stadium.
"Obviously, the Angels are a much different team than we are," manager Eric Wedge said. "But when we go out and play good baseball, we can beat anybody — especially when you get the starting pitching we've been getting."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Beavan (3-2) allowed a run and eight hits, struck out two and walked none in his sixth big league start. The 22-year-old right-hander has pitched into the seventh inning in every one of them. He faced the Angels on July 8 at Seattle, getting a no-decision after giving up a pair of solo homers over 6 1-3 innings.
"I think that helped me a lot," Beavan said. "They've got a bunch of good hitters over there. I mean, when I got ahead in the count and didn't put pitches in the dirt, they crushed it. That's the biggest thing I'm starting to figure out."
Beavan worked with runners on base in each of the first seven innings. He got a break in the Angels' third, when speedy Peter Bourjos was held up by third base coach Dino Ebel on a sharp single to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. Erick Aybar followed with an inning-ending double-play grounder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bourjos was stranded at third again in the fifth when Maicer Izturis struck out. Izturis is batting .213 at Angel Stadium this season, compared to .316 on the road.
"He was in the zone. He attacked us with the fastball and he had a pretty good changeup, too," Abreu said. "He threw his backdoor slider to lefties, which is a pretty good pitch for him. He had good command. He doesn't walk many people and he made us swing the bat."
The Mariners, who came in hitting .183 with runners in scoring position and two outs, took the lead with two outs in the first on Kennedy's two-run double — equaling the number of RBIs he had in 62 at-bats over his previous 16 games.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seattle made it 4-0 in the third with a two-out double by Mike Carp and a run-scoring single by Miguel Olivo. Carp, who played high school ball about 25 miles up the freeway at Lakewood High, is batting .344 with 15 RBIs in 16 games since he was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on July 19.
Robinson, a 23-year-old switch-hitter who made a sparkling big league debut Friday night by robbing Torii Hunter of a two-run homer in the left-field corner, made it 5-0 in the seventh with an opposite-field drive to left-center on Chatwood's 106th and final pitch. He wasn't sure it had gone out and held up at second for a few moments before completing his trip around the bases.
"That was wild. I couldn't believe it," Robinson said. "I just tried to put a good swing on it and it jumped off the bat."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Olivo, the Mariners' catcher, lost sight of Hunter's high foul pop behind the plate in the Angels' first and it fell harmlessly on the warning track about 25 feet behind him. Hunter, who had difficulty keeping a straight face, singled on the next pitch. But the Mariners had the last laugh, as Hunter broke for second and Beavan stepped off the rubber before throwing to shortstop Jack Wilson for the third out.
Notes: Robinson hit 64 home runs during a 6½-year minor league career that was spent mostly in the Dodgers' system. ... Jered Weaver's nine scoreless innings in the series opener on Friday night made him the first pitcher since Cincinnati's Tom Browning in 1990 to have two no-decisions of at least nine-plus scoreless innings in the same season. ... Chatwood has allowed a home run in each of his last three starts, after giving up just one in 62 2-3 innings over his previous 11. ... Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez will start Sunday's series finale against Ervin Santana. Hernandez is 0-3 with a 3.65 ERA in his last 10 starts at Anaheim since beating Jered Weaver's brother, Jeff, with a complete-game 6-2 victory in his Angel Stadium debut on June 11, 2006.