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  Saturday, Jul. 8 9:05pm ET
Olerud drives in five runs for Seattle
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

SEATTLE (AP) -- All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez could have gone home. He chose to stick around and the Seattle Mariners appreciated the gesture.

"I think it was good to see him down there with a smile on his face and feeling better," John Olerud said. "It's nice to see that he's going to be all right."

John Olerud
John Olerud drove in five runs with a 417-foot three-run homer and two-run double against the Dodgers.

With Rodriguez sidelined by a concussion, the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-0 Saturday night as Aaron Sele won his fourth straight start.

Sele (11-3) won for the ninth time in his last 10 decisions, Edgar Martinez had his 87th RBI and his 100th hit, and Olerud hit a three-run homer, a 417-foot shot to center in the third inning that gave the Mariners a 4-0 lead. Olerud added a two-run double in the seventh to give him five RBI for the night.

But, after the game, everyone in the Mariners dressing room was talking about the importance of Rodriguez's presence on the bench on a day he got out of the hospital.

Rodriguez got dressed in his uniform and joined his teammates after undergoing treatment. He waved to the fans when they applauded him on the big-screen TV screen on the Mariners scoreboard.

"It goes to say why he's a leader for us," manager Lou Piniella said. "That was a perfect illustration of leadership. That type of gesture said it all."

Meanwhile, Sele pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up three hits and four walks, while striking out three. He has his second All-Star invitation and hopes to pitch for the first time next week. He went to the 1998 All-Star Game but didn't get to pitch.

"I know it's going to be a great experience if I get to pitch or not," said Sele, who was signed as a free agent by the Mariners in January after Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos withdrew a contract offer to him.

Rodriguez, who was struck in the head by Dodgers shortstop Alex Cora's knee Friday night, will be out of action for a week and will miss starting in the All-Star Game Tuesday night.

Like Olerud and Piniella, Sele was pleased to see Rodriguez back.

"After a collision like that, you're just happy to see him get up," he said.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the second off rookie Eric Gagne (1-5) on Joe Oliver's infield hit. After Olerud's eighth homer of the season, David Bell added a sacrifice fly in the third to make the score 5-0.

In the fourth, the Mariners made it 9-0 on Martinez's RBI double, Carlos Guillen came in on a wild pitch by reliever Jamie Arnold, a sacrifice fly by Jay Buhner and Bell's RBI infield single.

Gagne gave up eight runs, seven hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. Veteran Gary Sheffield blamed plate umpire Paul Schrieber for calling pitches too closely on Gagne.

"When you're a rookie and a young guy and you get squeezed a little, sometimes you lose it and get erratic out there," Sheffield said. "He had to go in there with fat pitches and any time you do that, they're going to hit it."

After the game, Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said he didn't know how he was going to field a team Sunday, when Los Angeles will go against left-hander Jamie Moyer.

"We're trying to find nine healthy guys to send to the post tomorrow," he said. "Our guys are a little beat up and we're a little shorthanded in the outfield."

F.P. Santangelo has the flu, Todd Hundley has a sore thumb and can't hit against left-handers, and Chad Kreuter is serving a suspension after chasing a fan into the stands at Wrigley Field.

Game notes
Rodriguez was hospitalized Friday night after trying to break up a double play on Martinez's ground ball. Martinez, Seattle's DH, is not quick down the first-base line. "It was tough," Rodriguez said before Saturday's game. "Edgar is not exactly Carl Lewis." ... Mike Cameron returned to center field for the Mariners after missing two games because of a stiff right knee. After going 1-for-14 in a four-game series against Anaheim, Cameron was 0-for-3 with two walks. ... Martinez, whose RBI total is a franchise high before the All-Star break, lost his 88th RBI when a fan reached out of the seats along the left-field line and grabbed his double, keeping Guillen from scoring. The fan was ejected. ... Bell, the Mariners' third baseman, flipped over the railing into the Dodgers' dugout when he attempted to catch Cora's foul ball in the seventh. ... Olerud matched his career high with five RBI. He's done it five times. The last time was Aug. 22. 1999, vs. St. Louis while with the Mets.

 


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Concussion knocks A-Rod out of All-Star Game start


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