Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki became the third player since 1900 to collect 1,000 hits in less than 700 games when he singled in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday against Philadelphia.
Suzuki lined the second pitch from Jon Lieber off the wall in right field to reach the 1,000-hit plateau in 696 games. Chuck Klein reached the mark in 1933 after 683 games, and Lloyd Waner reached it in 1932 in 686 games.
"Rather than thinking about the number 1,000, I was more concerned about the way I have been performing," Suzuki said through his translator. Suzuki was 1-for-4 on Tuesday after going just 5-for-28 on Seattle's recent road trip.
PHOTO: EPA
Since joining the Mariners in 2001, Suzuki has led the league in hitting twice and broke George Sisler's season record of 257 hits set in 1920. Suzuki finished with 262 hits last season.
Gil Meche pitched eight strong innings to help Seattle snap Philadelphia's six-game winning streak with a 3-1 vicory.
Meche (6-4) allowed one run and three hits, struck out four and allowed just two runners past first. Eddie Guardado earned his 18th save in 19 chances.
Dave Hansen homered in the seventh inning and drove in two runs for Seattle
Jon Lieber (8-5) was the loser.
Cardinals 7, Blue Jays 0
Chris Carpenter pitched a one-hitter against his former team, and Larry Walker homered twice to the lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0.
Facing the Blue Jays for the first time since they cut him in 2002, Carpenter (9-4) allowed only Russ Adams' two-out double down the right-field line in the sixth. Carpenter then closed the game by retiring his last 10 batters.
"I was thinking about a no-hitter, no question about it. I thought I had a chance," Carpenter said.
His previous best outing was a two-hitter on April 15, 1999, against Tampa Bay.
The 30-year-old right-hander struck out 10 and walked one for his second shutout of the season and the seventh of his career. He threw 95 pitches, 68 for strikes.
"I'm sure the Jays are missing him right now," Cardinals outfielder Walker said.
Walker hit a two-run homer off Chad Gaudin (1-2) in the first, and a two-run shot off Gaudin in the fifth.
Red Sox 7, Reds 0
At Boston, David Wells held Cincinnati hitless for 5 2-3 innings before leaving after seven innings of one-hit ball, and Manny Ramirez homered for the third consecutive game as Boston blanked Cincinnati.
Wells (5-4) struck out five and allowed two walks to win his third consecutive decision.
The left-hander got Dane Sardinha on a fly ball to center field for the second out in the sixth before Ryan Freel lined a single to right-center to end the no-hit bid. Wells already has a perfect game to his credit: He pitched one for the Yankees in 1998.
Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke each pitched a perfect inning to complete the one-hitter.
Luke Hudson (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits and three walks, striking out five in five innings.
Yankees 9, Pirates 0
At New York, Mike Mussina pitched a five-hitter, Hideki Matsui homered, and the New York Yankees beat Pittsburgh in the teams' first meeting since Bill Mazeroski's won the 1960 World Series for the Pirates with a ninth-inning homer in Game 7.
With owner George Steinbrenner watching from his private box, the Yankees put on a performance worthy of their US$205 million payroll. New York was coming off a 3-9 road trip.
Mussina (7-4) retired the first 14 batters and struck out six while walking one in his 23rd career shutout and second this year.
Matsui was the designated hitter because he injured his right ankle Sunday and homered on the first pitch he saw from Kip Wells (5-5) in the second inning.
Brewers 4, Devil Rays 0
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Tomo Ohka had an impressive debut for Milwaukee, scattering nine hits to beat Tampa Bay and earn his first career shutout.
Ohka (5-3) struck out six and walked none in his first outing since being acquired from the Washington Nationals for infielder Junior Spivey last week.
Lyle Overbay and Wes Helms each drove in two runs off Casey Fossum (2-5).
Orioles 6, Astros 1
At Baltimore, Bruce Chen allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings, Miguel Tejada hit his 18th homer, and Baltimore beat longtime nemesis Andy Pettitte and Houston.
Larry Bigbie had his second straight three-hit game for the Orioles, who broke open a scoreless duel with a three-run sixth inning that included a two-run shot by Tejada.
Chen (6-4) struck out five and walked four in lowering his ERA to 3.31.
Pettitte (3-7) came in with a 20-4 lifetime record against the Orioles and was 8-0 against them since June 25, 2002. The left-hander limited Baltimore to three hits through the first five innings, but yielded four hits in the decisive sixth.
Royals 3, Dodgers 2
At Kansas City, Missouri, Rookie Shane Costa's first major league home run snapped a fifth-inning tie and the Royals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in its first game at Kansas City.
David DeJesus hit a two-run homer in the first for the Royals, who improved to 9-4 under new manager Buddy Bell.
Hee-Seop Choi homered in the first inning for the Dodgers, giving him four home runs in five at-bats. The first baseman has hit seven homers in his last four games.
Runelvys Hernandez (4-7) went six innings in his third consecutive solid start, giving up eight hits and two runs without a walk. Mike MacDougal pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Jeff Weaver (6-6) allowed three runs in seven innings.
Twins 4, Giants 3, 11 innings
At Minneapolis, Shannon Stewart's two-out RBI single in the 11th inning lifted Minnesota past San Francisco.
Michael Cuddyer led off the 11th with a broken-bat single off Jeff Fassero (1-4) and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brent Abernathy.
Two batters later, Stewart blooped a single off Tyler Walker that landed just in between second baseman Ray Durham and center fielder Jason Ellison in right-center field.
Twins starter Johan Santana gave up three runs, six hits and struck out seven in eight innings. Jesse Crain (6-0) worked a scoreless 11th to get the win.
Athletics 5, Mets 0
At Oakland, California, rookie Joe Blanton carried a perfect game into the fifth inning in his best outing yet, and Mark Ellis hit a two-run double for Oakland.
Blanton (2-6), a burly right-hander who outpitched Tom Glavine (4-6), didn't allow a baserunner until Marlon Anderson lined a two-out single to right in the fifth. After that hit, Blanton got seven straight outs before Mike Piazza's eighth-inning single.
Rookie Huston Street relieved Kiko Calero with the bases loaded in the eighth and got the final five outs for his fourth save.
Nationals 6, Angels 3
At Anaheim, California, Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer for Washington after Los Angeles Angeles reliever Brendan Donnelly was ejected for having a foreign substance in his glove.
Guillen, the former Angels' outfielder, tied it at 3-3 in the eighth with a two-run homer off Scot Shields (5-4), then Junior Spivey's RBI single and Brian Schneider's sacrifice fly gave Washington a two-run lead.
The game was delayed some 10 minutes in the seventh inning when Donnelly's glove was examined by all four umpires and he was tossed. Angels manager Mike Scioscia then confronted Nationals manager Frank Robinson, who had asked the umpires to examine Donnelly's glove.
Both benches emptied as several players were pushing and shoving each other.
Washington players had to restrain Guillen. The Angels traded him in November.
Gary Majewski (2-0) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings, and Chad Cordero pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.
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