The Associated Press
Denny Stark showed no jitters in his major-league debut, shutting down the Angels in the Mariners' 5-3 victory over Anaheim on Saturday.

Stark raving glad

Lampkin aids battery mate with home run in Seattle win

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published July 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Catcher Tom Lampkin was quite helpful to Denny Stark in the right-hander's first start in the majors -- behind the plate and in the batter's box.

Lampkin guided Stark through 5 2-3 impressive innings en route to his first big-league victory and hit a tiebreaking solo homer as the Seattle Mariners beat the Anaheim Angels 5-3 victory Saturday.

Stark (1-0) allowed three runs and eight hits, striking out four and walking one. The right-hander was recalled from the minors Thursday after John Halama was demoted to Triple-A Tacoma.

"We knew that he wouldn't be intimidated by the situation," manager Lou Piniella said. "We felt that he could come in here and throw strikes and compete. And that's exactly what he did. He was very composed out there and he had good stuff."

Stark was 9-1 with the Rainiers after missing most of last season because of a strained right shoulder. He made five relief appearances for the Mariners in 1999, allowing seven earned runs in 6 1-3 innings.

"I had a lot of adrenaline running, but I was just trying to keep control of my emotions out there," Stark said. "I was able to keep us in the game and give us a chance to win, and that was one of my goals. I worked a lot off my fastball and I was able to throw a lot of good sinkers."

Jose Paniagua inherited a bases-loaded, two-out jam from Stark before retiring rookie Larry Barnes on a flyout with his first pitch. Paniagua escaped his own jam in the seventh, getting Troy Glaus to hit into a double play with runners at first and second.

Kazuhiro Sasaki got three outs for his major league-leading 28th save in 32 attempts. Seattle moved 20 games ahead of Anaheim in the AL West.

"To me, having a good closer is a byproduct of having good setup people," Piniella said. "If you don't have good setup people, then you don't need your closer as many times."

Ramon Ortiz (6-6) allowed five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Edgar Martinez tied the score at 3 with an RBI single in the fifth, after Mark McLemore doubled off the glove of right fielder Tim Salmon.

"Ramon Ortiz getting behind in the count was an opportunity they took advantage of," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "If you pitch behind in the count, that opens up the doors for a club like that because they have a high on-base percentage."

Lampkin put the Mariners ahead to stay, hitting his fourth homer with two outs in the sixth.

"I don't think that's where he really wanted to throw it -- middle away. I can hit that ball to second base with the best of them," Lampkin said. "When I hit it, I just put my head down and started running.

"This has always been a tough park for me to hit in. Other guys don't seem to have a problem with it, but I do. I haven't even hit a ball out of here in batting practice."

The Mariners got an unearned run in the seventh when John Olerud's two-out grounder went through the legs of second baseman Adam Kennedy, allowing a run to score.

Seattle tied the score at 2 in the fourth with back-to-back triples by Bret Boone and Mike Cameron and a single by Al Martin. The Angels regained the lead in the bottom half when Orlando Palmeiro tripled and scored on Jorge Fabregas' sacrifice fly.

Glaus opened the scoring in the third with a two-run homer into the left-field bullpen after a two-out single by Darin Erstad.

Glaus leads all AL third baseman with 21 homers and 52 RBIs. But Seattle's David Bell, whose team hosts the All-Star game on July 10, leads in the fan balloting despite only seven homers and 37 RBIs.

M's 5, Angels 3

- Record: 58-21.

- Today: Seattle (Garcia 8-1) at Anaheim (Wise 1-1), 5 p.m. (no TV).

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