Originally posted by madonna31
Boss - can we PLEASE not go 'there'...I mean do you really want to hear about the 9-1 Seattle victory last night??? 
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you had to go and say that
TORONTO -- It seems only fitting that Edgar Martinez would have so much to do with the Mariners reaching a franchise milestone.
The 40-year-old designated hitter has been hitting baseballs into seats and gaps for nearly 15 years now, and he did both Tuesday night in the Mariners' 9-1 victory over the Blue Jays before 24,025 at SkyDome.
Martinez's 22nd home run of the season -- the 295th of his career -- put Seattle ahead for good as the Mariners franchise notched its 2,000th regular-season win.
"I didn't know that," Martinez said. "The franchise has had more success in the last eight or nine years and everything is more positive and promising now than it was at the beginning."
Edgar Martinez / DH
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175
Bats/Throws: R/R
More info:
Player page
Stats
Splits
Hit chart
Mariners site
Edgar went 4-for-5 Tuesday and continued to hammer Kelvim Escobar practically at will. He is now 13-for-25 in his career against the Toronto right-hander.
"If I can get Edgar out of their lineup, I would be fine," Escobar said. "So far he has hit everything I have. Fastballs. Sliders. Breaking balls. The pitch he hit for the home run was a changeup. I never thought he'd be expecting a change right there. He has been around a long time and is going to be a Hall of Famer."
A young Martinez joined the Mariners for the first time in 1987, hitting .372 in 13 games and won his first AL batting title five years later, batting .343 in 1992.
That still was three years before Seattle experienced its first taste of the postseason.
"There is a good future now," he said. "There is a great stadium, the fans are great, packing (Safeco Field) all the time and (the Mariners) have been able to put an exciting team on the field."
This latest version clicked on all cylinders in the opener of a three-game series. Martinez went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs. Second baseman Bret Boone had a two-run home run (No. 31) among his three hits. And shortstop Rey Sanchez's hustle turned what would have been a fifth-inning-ending double play into Martinez's huge three-run homer.
Ryan Franklin / P
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 165
Bats/Throws: R/R
More info:
Player page
Stats
Splits
Mariners site
On top of all that, starting pitcher Ryan Franklin gave his mom and dad, Ken and Debbie Franklin, a nice 36th wedding anniversary present.
"They were at home watching (on TV) and I'm sure they're happy," he said.
Franklin, 4 years old when the Mariners won their first game in 1977, picked up his ninth win of the season, working the first six innings and departing with a 5-1 lead.
"We got Frankie out of there with less than 100 pitches and that's good, especially this time of the season when he has thrown a lot of innings," manager Bob Melvin said.
Right-handed relievers Julio Mateo, Armando Benitez and Kazuhiro Sasaki each pitched one scoreless inning for the Mariners, who maintained their four-game lead over the Athletics in the AL West.
"A lot of good things happened tonight," Melvin said.
And one not-so-good thing also happened.
Third baseman Willie Bloomquist left the game in the fifth inning after straining his right groin. Jeff Cirillo replaced Bloomquist and contributed a run-scoring single in the sixth inning, his first RBI since July 5 -- a span of 21 at-bats. "Hopefully, we got him out early enough and he'll be out only a couple of days," Melvin said. "There's never a good time for something like this, but it helped with Jeff coming back so we could move him in there."
Franklin (9-10) played with fire and got burned in the third inning when two of his three walks led to a run.
The Mariners right-hander got away with hitting the first batter he faced in the game and having the second one reach on a single. He also dodged trouble after issuing a leadoff walk in the second inning. In both instances, he got out of the inning holding onto a one-run lead.
Seattle, 12-2 this season in games immediately following off-days, scored the game's first run in the first inning. Boone reached on a two-out single, stole second base and scored when Martinez dropped a single in front of center fielder Vernon Wells.
Toronto tested Franklin in the bottom of the first when Reed Johnson was hit by a pitch and went to second on Eric Hinske's popup single into left field. Three Mariners converged on the ball, but none of them got to it.
Lurking ahead were Wells, who has 98 RBIs, and Carlos Delgado, the AL leader at 114.
Franklin gulped a couple of times and retired both hitters. Wells grounded out, advancing both runners, and Delgado fouled out to catcher Dan Wilson before Greg Myers grounded out to Bloomquist on a checked swing.
The Jays tied the game in the third on a leadoff walk to Bobby Kielty, a forceout at second, another walk and Delgado's two-out single to center field.
Despite the not-so-smooth beginning, Franklin said he felt in control.
"I had a good slider and was able to throw my off-speed pitches at any time in the count for strikes," he said. "I varied speeds more than I did against them the last time (in Seattle)."
