Mariners get rare, one-sided win over Twins

Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu – an unfailing optimist – can’t help but find the positives in almost any situation.

It’s his nature. It’s his personality. He’s not going to change in the face of losses, no matter how they mount.

On Monday night, he praised his team for playing hard in a one-run loss to the Minnesota Twins.

A day later, Wakamatsu seemed almost apologetic for talking in terms of moral victories, when he knows they won’t lift his team out of last place and people take little solace in them.

“I know fans don’t want to hear that, but from our standpoint these guys are working as hard as they ever have and we feel like they believe we have a chance to win some games,” he said before Tuesday’s game.

But there was no need to search for sentiments after the game.

The Mariners (20-31) got their usual solid starting pitching, grabbed a lead and never gave it back in a 7-1 win over the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field.

It was one of the more complete victories the Mariners have earned in a season that’s seen far too many scoreless innings and surprising mistakes – both mental and physical – and too few wins.

But not Tuesday night against the American League Central-leading Twins. The Mariners looked like the team many hoped and believed they would be before the season.

“We talked about it last night, the fact that we’ve had some tough losses and these guys have kept coming out and competing,” Wakamatsu said. “And we did it again tonight.”

What was the difference in this game?

The Mariners got production from two players who were expected to produce, but hadn’t consistently done so this season – Jose Lopez and Chone Figgins.

Lopez, who came in hitting .234 with two homers and 17 RBI, ripped a two-run homer in the fourth inning to put the Mariners up for good. He added an RBI single in the seventh inning.

Figgins, the Mariners’ big free agent signee in the offseason who was hitting .211 – .145 from the left side – had two hits, both from the left side. Figgins had an RBI double and also walked and stole a base.

“We have some guys in our lineup starting to swing the bat much better,” Wakamatsu said.

For a team that came in averaging 3.66 runs per game, seven runs was an offensive explosion. And more than enough for left-hander Jason Vargas, who turned in another quality outing for the Mariners to improve to 4-2 on the season and lower his ERA to 2.92.

It didn’t start out well for Vargas. For the first three innings, Vargas found himself in trouble, giving up walks, going deep in counts, yet finding ways to avoid trouble. He had six runners reach base in the first three innings, but the only run was on Justin Morneau’s line drive home run to right field on a 3-0 count.

But there was a side effect to those early troubles – a rising pitch count. He had thrown more than 60 pitches in those three innings and seemed destined for a five-inning start.

“You kind of know when you are doing it,” Vargas said. “You are throwing a lot of pitches, and getting deep in counts and you see it up on the board, obviously.”

He stopped that trend and was able to get through to the seventh inning, allowing six hits and one run while walking three and fanning two.

What changed?

“They started swinging more and I started to get my two-seam (fastball) over the plate a little bit more,” he said.

Vargas also helped himself. In the fifth inning after giving up a leadoff single to J.J. Hardy, he caught a line drive back to the mound by Joe Mauer in an act of self-preservation. Had he not gotten his glove in the way, the screaming line drive seemed likely to strike him in the head.

“I saw it,” he said. “It’s the only way I save myself. I’m just glad I got my glove up. I don’t know if I’ve had one that hard, but I’ve had one that close.”

Vargas shook it off and got some revenge by getting Morneau to ground into an inning-ending double play.

“The fifth inning was obviously critical,” Wakamatsu said. “It kept his pitch count in check and allowed him to go two more innings”

It was just another outing from Vargas that Wakamatsu marveled at.

“Vargas was unbelievable, especially the way that game started,” Wakamatsu said. “The big thing with him and (Doug) Fister is when they get in trouble or when they look like they are going to lose it, they have had the ability to battle back and get through it.”

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners