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Show Sunday. March DAILY HERALD M 212005 MLB SPRING TRAINING Chacon, Pineiro look good in return from injuries Suzuki keeps momentum going at spring training j M- ASSOC lATfD TMf Tim Korte Ichiro Suzuki is at PEORIA. Ariz. again. Sure, it's only spring training, but Seattle's star outfielder is slapping the ball silly. He was leading the Cactus League with a .531 average and 26 hits best in the majors going into the ml it . LENNY IGNELZI t 7-- widening his stance slightly to about 16 inches. It's vintage Suzuki, as his new manager has found. "His hand-ey- e coordination is great," Mike Hargrove said. "But probably the biggest thing Ichiro does is he knows himself. He stays within his boundaries. I don't know if I've ever run across a more disciplined hitter." If anyone today could challenge streak, then, DiMaggio's you'd have to think it would be Suzuki. Too bad Suzuki doesn't share that belief. "A hitting streak? I don't think of that, not at all," he said. "I don't even think I've reached halfway there." Just how good is Suzuki right now? He's within reach of spring training club records for batting average (.491, Edgar Martinez, 1996) and hits (35, Carlos Guillen, 1999). After a night against the Angels last week, Suzuki's average actually dropped from .579 to .571. He even drew an intentional walk rare in spring games. Seattle led Milwaukee with one out and runners on the corners Thursday when Brewers manager Ned Yost decided it was safer to take the bat out of Suzuki's hands. h "You just can't around him," Yost said. "I know it's only h spring training, but if you try to around him, he'll slap it through a hole and all of a sudden it's 34)." Xrjv 8-- I Yankees 5, Twins 3: At Fort Myers, Fla., Mike Mussina and Johan Santana locked up in a tight duel. In a rematch of Game 1 of last year's AL division series, Mussina allowed three runs and six hits in six innings for New York. He struck out four. Santana was nearly as sharp, scattering three hits over 5 innings and striking out six, but John homer off CJ. NiFlaherty's three-ru- n tkowski proved to be the difference. 2-- 0 bad-pitc- I Indians 7, Tigers 4: At Lakeland, Fla., d Ryan Ludwick and Josh Bard to lead Cleveland. bad-pitc- Nissan ofOrem single. g Seattle also got an encouraging outing from a key starter. JoeL Pineiro threw three shutout innings in his return from a stiff shoulder, and the Mariners defeated the Kansas City Royals 3 in Surprise, Ariz. Pineiro, who had not pitched in a big league spring training game since March 4, gave up two singles, walked one arid struck out four. He threw two scoreless innings in a minor league game on Monday. 56-ga- KenGarff. ,t second-innin- 56-ga- at-b- hom-vere- Devil Rays 4, Red Sox 0: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Jorge Sosa pitched four perfect innings for Tampa Bay. Boston starter Bronson Arroyo allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 'A innings. I Reds 9, Blue Jays 3: At Sarasota, Fla., Joe Randa had three hks off Toronto starter Josh Towers, who got rocked for 14 hits and seven runs in 4 A innings. Adam Dunn hit a two-ru- n homer. www.kengarffnissan.com 9, Phillies 7: At Bradenton, Fla., Phillies rookie Gavin Floyd, impressive in camp until now, yielded homer while Jose Castillo's three-ru- n giving up eight runs and nine hits in three innings. I Diamondbacks 11, Padres 2: At Peoria, Ariz., Troy Glaus homered, doubled and drove in five runs, and Arizona scored eight times in the first inning. Russ Ortiz was sharp, allowing one run and four hits in six innings. I Pirates rCr-.fiJ- 1 '', FRFff- - WITH EVERT I; PURCHASE! mi i$m79o' The Reliable 2005 Nissan Altlma 2.5S f yd, frit $16,53cy - $24986 ."t, The 2005 Nissan Pathfinder SE Offroad PowrEfludnKrt. 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I Orioles r l I Athletics 6, Angels 2: At Tempe, Ariz., Kirk Saarloos boosted his bid for a spot in Oakland's revamped rotation, allowing only two hits in five scoreless innings. Angels ace Bartolo Colon allowed three runs, two earned, and six hits in 6 innings. "MISS 866.924.4444 I - " J. PUSKARAssociated Press GENE 165 E. UNIVERSITY PKWY EXIT 272INOREM v y Tampa Bay's Alex Sanchez evades the tag of Boston catcher Jason Varitek to score in the second inning of spring training action Saturday. Tha 2005 Nissan Frontier King Cab V6 SE. tale price v " All-Sta- July 4 'v Press Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki races out of the batter's box after doubling down the right field line in the Mariners' game March 14 in Peoria, Ariz. 46-h- it rN Associated -r; , g 56-ga- 1 I DfJ U weekend. With a triple Friday against Kansas City, Suzuki stretched his hitting streak to all 15 of his spring, games, tving a Mariners record set by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989. After a historic season last year, mawhen Suzuki broke an jor league record with 262 hits, fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean are eager to see what he'll do for a follow-up- . Can he become the first .400 hitter since Ted Williams batted .406 in 1941? Maybe he can challenge Joe DiMag-gio'- s record hitting streak set that year. Suzuki was jokingly asked if he can hit in all 162 games. "If that happens, I'll quit baseball," he said through a translator, returning serve with a playful laugh. Not only did Suzuki make history with 262 hits in 2004, breaking George marSisler's 1920 mark, but his gin over runner-u- p Michael Young of Texas (216) was the largest difference ever. Suzuki became the first player with at least 200 hits in each of his first four seasons, and his 924 hits from 2001-0set another major league mark for a four-yea- r stretch. His 225 . singles were also a record. Oh', and he hit .372 for his second .. American League batting title. So what's next? Unfortunately for the curious, it goes against Suzuki's nature to dive into forecasts. ." "Those things occur so far ahead, and I really can't see that far ahead," he said. "I've really got to focus on what I'm doing right now. Of course, as a hitter, you want to get hits. There are ways of getting hits. "That's the fun part," he added. "Evis different." ery But what about a .400 season? Suzuki won't touch the question, explaining that he's only committed to what's immediate. He'll allow, however, that his strong hitting stems from minor changes he made last sixth-innin- ) p i I The Colorado Rockies need as much ' pitching as they can get. That's why having a healthy Shawn Chacon is so important. After missing nearly a month with a sore hamstring, Chacon threw four crisp innings to solidify his spot in the rotation and lead Colorado over Greg Maddux and the Chicago Cubs 6 on Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. "It was good to see him out on the mound and the ball came out of his hand pretty good," Rockies manager dint Hurdle said. "He threw some good pitches." r as a starter two years An ago, Chacon struggled miserably after Colorado tried to .ROUNDUP convert him todoser last year. Now, he's a starter again, joining a young rotation that also includes Jason Jennings, Joe Kennedy and top prospect Jeff Francis. Chacon pitched poorly in his first three runs in outing this spring and then missed three two innings starts because of a strained hamstring, putting his spot in the rotation at least a little in doubt. He didn't seem bothered by the layoff, allowing only a 3WSb t WfSS AetliUiK Brr.d Available 2e Sate ft Senrtc Location from Ogden to Prom) $20,966 |