Mariners 16, Angels 6
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Raul Ibanez came up with the kind of offensive performance usually associated with teammate Ichiro Suzuki, who wasn't far behind.
Ibanez tied an American League record with six hits and Suzuki had four more singles to pace the Seattle Mariners' 24-hit outburst in a 16-6 rout of the Anaheim Angels on Wednesday night.
I was pretty lucky, Ibanez said. A couple of those balls happened to drop in for me. It seemed like quite a few of our hits were just out of reach or over someone's head.
The Angels remained 2 1/2 games behind Oakland in the AL West, but dropped 6 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL wild-card race. The Rangers beat the Athletics 5-3 Wednesday to pull a half-game back of Anaheim.
We've been banging our heads against the wall for 10 days or so, trying to get some momentum and it seems like we've been moonwalking, Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said. The Athletics are struggling, but the Rangers are playing great, so there's more than one challenge in our division. But it's there for us.
Ibanez went 6-for-6 with a career-high five RBIs a night after Suzuki went 5-for-5 in Seattle's 7-3 victory over the Angels, who lost their second straight three-game series.
If you didn't enjoy that one as a teammate, you should not be on this team, Suzuki said.
Ibanez's six hits tied the AL record for a nine-inning game, held by many, last accomplished by Kansas City's Joe Randa on Sept. 9.
Like Suzuki, all of Ibanez' hits were singles.
It's an Ichiro night, Ibanez said, describing his own effort. He does stuff like this all the time. He never gives in and never gives away at-bats. Who wouldn't be inspired watching what he's done this season?
Suzuki set a Seattle record with nine hits in two games. He now has 247 hits and is 10 from tying George Sisler's 84-year-old major league record with 10 games remaining.
It's still difficult right now, Suzuki said.
The Mariners set a club record with 21 singles. Their 24 hits were the most given up by the Angels this season as were their 16 runs.
We're not hitting them over the fence, but it's all right, Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. In a season of some bad moments, this was a nice day for us. We're having a little fun right now.
Gil Meche (6-6) gave up six runs on seven hits in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out four and walked three for just his second victory this month.
Ibanez had a pair of two-run singles, his second one coming with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning that extended Seattle's lead to 13-3.
The Mariners scored four runs in the sixth, including a sacrifice fly by Dan Wilson and Suzuki's RBI single.
Seattle is hot. I mean, look at some of the pitches they hit, Anaheim's Scot Shields said. That whole lineup can hit. Ichiro sets the pace for all of it, and they feed off each other.
Seattle scored six runs in the fourth to chase Bartolo Colon (16-12). Ibanez had a two-run single, Wilson and Jolbert Cabrera had RBI singles, Randy Winn hit a sacrifice fly and Bret Boone had a two-out RBI double for a 7-1 lead.
Colon gave up seven runs on 10 hits the most he's allowed this season walked three and struck out none in 3 2-3 innings, equaling his shortest start of the season. He had won his previous three starts.
I threw a lot of fastballs early in the game and when I tried to go to my breaking ball, I couldn't find it and my location was poor with it, Colon said.
Troy Glaus and Vladimir Guerrero had solo homers for the Angels, and rookie Dallas McPherson added a three-run shot in the sixth for his first in the majors. All three homers came off Meche.