Ichiro's three hits give Seattle sweep, AL's best record

DETROIT — Just call him the Mariners' main man of May.

Ichiro, who had the worst April of his career in Japan or America, has found comfort in May. His three hits yesterday against Detroit give him a .446 average this month as he helped the Mariners beat the Tigers 6-2 at Comerica Park.

Starter Joel Pineiro (4-3) overcame a shaky first inning to pitch eight innings, allowing four hits, two runs, walking two and striking out seven. He was supported by another double-figure hitting attack that featured Ichiro and Bret Boone, who broke the game open with his fifth-inning, two-run home run.

Ichiro's three hits give him 29 this month, two more than he had in April. He also extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Ichiro's April average of .243 was more than 200 points below his average this month.

"I said before that once he breaks out, he was going to break out big-time," manager Bob Melvin said of Ichiro. "A hitter of that caliber, you're not going to hold down for real long. When he struggles for a whole month that just means bigger things are coming. He's been phenomenal."

Not even Tigers left-handed starter Mike Maroth could slow Ichiro's May madness.

"Lefties were hitting .160 off this guy coming in, and Ichiro gets hits off him the first two times up," Melvin said. "Left-, right- or middle-handers are going to have trouble with him."

Ichiro opened with a single to right field. Carlos Guillen, after failing on a bunt on the first pitch, hit a two-run home run off Maroth, the first Tigers pitcher to start 0-9 since Ted Gray in 1953.

"I get more fastballs to hit," said Guillen, who has batted No. 2 in the order behind Ichiro for most of this month. "They (pitchers) worry about him, throwing over to first base. Then they throw fastballs to me."

Guillen is among several Mariners who have stepped up the offense in May. He's batting .340 this month. Boone is at .322, Edgar Martinez .298 with seven home runs, Randy Winn .356 and Jeff Cirillo .340.

But Ichiro has led the Mariners' May onslaught. He's hitting .403 (120 of 298) this month since arriving from Japan for the 2001 season. That's the highest average for any current big-league player with at least 300 plate appearances.

Even in his seven full seasons playing for Orix, May was kind to Ichiro. He averaged .371 in May from 1994 to 2000, hitting .400-plus three times (.408 in 1994; .403 in 1997 and .414 in 1999).

In the Mariners' games in Cleveland and Detroit, Ichiro has hit .518 (14 for 27).

"It seemed like on this road trip, Ichiro got a hit every at-bat," Boone said.

Said Melvin, "When that guy is on base, we feel we have a chance to score every time. With Edgar getting hot, Randy and Jeff hitting better near the end of the lineup, we feel we can be productive up and down the lineup. But it all starts with Ichiro."

The Mariners began the trip tied with Oakland in the American League West, but their 5-1 trip has opened a two-game lead and they have the best record in the American League at 28-15. They are 11-6 this month, hitting .306 as a team. They are also 11-0 in day games and 7-0 on Sundays.

Ichiro, the former batting champion whose average has climbed to .318, said the only difference "is the month has changed."

"When other hitters in the lineup are in the groove, it makes it more possible for the other guys to get going," he said.

Pineiro didn't react well to his two-run cushion. He issued a one-out walk to Ramon Santiago in the bottom of the first, then Bobby Higginson crushed a first-pitch slider into the right-field bullpens to tie the score at 2-2.

"The last time I tried to slip a slider past a lefty, (Yankees) Jorge Posada hit it out," Pineiro said. "You're not going to see that one for a while."

Pineiro then settled down, retiring 13 of 14 batters. He had a bit of two-out trouble in the sixth inning after back-to-back singles by Dmitri Young and Carlos Pena. But he then struck out Craig Monroe.

"I had the best two-seamer I've had all year," Pineiro said of his two-seam fastball. "It was down in the zone. That's why we had so many ground-ball outs."

Melvin said Pineiro, who had eight ground-ball outs, was "as good as we've seen him. That's the guy we were looking for."

The Mariners led 4-2 in the fifth inning when Boone connected on a 1-0 pitch from Maroth and hit it over the left-field fence. In two games, Boone has hit three home runs to left, where fences were moved in before this season.

"Ever since we got on the road we've been hitting the ball," Boone said.

None more efficiently than Ichiro.

"He was hitting the ball (in April), but everything he hit was at someone. Now they are falling in for him," Mariners batting coach Lamar Johnson said. "He's the guy who can get you that early lead.

"When you get out front first, it puts more pressure on the other team. He's very important. He's the guy. I'll take five more months like that."

Bob Sherwin: 206-464-8286 or bsherwin@seattletimes.com