Mariners hammer Padres

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published Sunday, March 17, 2002

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Edgar Martinez, who has been in a slump all spring, doubled in the tie-breaking run in the fifth inning as the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 10-6 on Saturday.

The Mariners scored five runs off Ryan Baerlocher in the fifth after Baerlocher replaced Padres starter Brett Tomko with the score tied at 5.

Bret Boone, who hit a two-run homer in the first, opened the Seattle fifth with a double and Martinez followed with his double. Dan Wilson had an RBI single and Luis Ugeuto hit a three-run homer off Baerlocher.

Martinez went 1-for-5 and is hitting .147 (4-for-29) this spring. He has been bothered by a sore quadriceps muscle in his left leg, limiting him to eight games.

Manager Lou Piniella said the Mariners need to get Martinez, 39, ready for the season. The veteran designated hitter is a key player in their offense.

"We need Edgar to get at-bats," Piniella said. "He hasn't been able to play that much because of his leg. We'll get him some at-bats on a consistent basis now and we'll see if we can get him going because he's been struggling here in the spring with the bat."

Piniella praised minor league outfielder Chris Snelling, 20, an Australian who went 2-for-4, with an RBI triple off the center-field wall in the fourth inning when the Mariners came back with two runs to tie the score at 5. He sprained his right thumb making a diving catch in center.

Snelling hit .336 at Class A San Bernardino and is expected to play this season at Double-A San Antonio.

"We have a kid here in camp who is the best hitting prospect in Cactus League that I've seen and he's not even part of the major league club and that's Snelling," Piniella said. "How close is he? If we needed an outfielder, he'd be very close."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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