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Hunter, Saunders help Angels edge Mariners

Apr 19, 2008 - 5:27 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- After giving the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim the lead with his bat, Torii Hunter preserved the win with his glove.

Hunter drove in three runs before making a game-saving catch in the ninth and Joe Saunders pitched eight effective innings as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim held on for a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

Hunter had three hits and Maicer Izturis added two for the Angels, who have won five of their last six contests.

Richie Sexson blasted two homers and drove in four runs for the Mariners, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

"Felt comfortable at the plate tonight and got a couple pitches out over the plate and hit them hard," Sexson said.

Sexson nearly added a third shot with two outs in the ninth, but Hunter made a leaping catch at the wall in center field to preserve the win for Anaheim.

"I think the ball was going over the fence," Hunter said. "I just tried to time the ball. Nothing beats taking a home run away that could have been the game-winner."

The Angels got off to an early lead as Chone Figgins and Gary Matthews Jr. led off the first inning with back-to-back singles and Vladimir Guerrero drew a walk to load the bases. Mariners starter R.A. Dickey (0-1) struck out Garret Anderson but had no such luck with Hunter.

"I just seem to have luck against knuckleball pitchers after facing (Tim) Wakefield during spring training," Hunter said. "Just have to be patient and wait for a pitch up."

Hunter smacked a three-run double to left field to give the Angels a 3-0 advantage. Guerrero inadvertently kicked the ball away from Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima while sliding into the plate, allowing Hunter to advance to third before being thrown out at home.

"Torii was all over the place tonight," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We finally got to see him do what he does better than anyone in the game."

Saunders (3-0) had another solid outing but struggled with Sexson.

"The last time against these guys, I battled," Saunders said. "My goal this year coming in was to go deep in games and give the bullpen a rest. I've done that so far in three of my first four starts."

Sexson cut the deficit to 3-1 with a solo shot in the second inning, but Saunders retired the next 12 batters before Ichiro Suzuki's infield single in the sixth.

"I made a couple bad pitches that they took advantage of, but we had just enough to hold them off for the win," Saunders said. "Sexson got his hands extended and I just have to tip my hat to him."

After Anaheim extended its lead to 5-1 on back-to-back RBI singles by Izturis and Mike Napoli in the bottom of the inning, Sexson belted a three-run shot in the seventh to make it a one-run game.

Saunders allowed four runs and six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez tossed a scoreless ninth for his seventh save of the season.

"That was an unbelievable catch," Rodriguez said of Hunter's play. "I've seen the highlights on TV but it's even more special to see him make catches like that in person."

Dickey lasted six innings, yielding five runs, eight hits and two walks. The righthander struck out two.

"He (Dickey) started out to a rough start, but managed to settle down and get into a good groove," Mariners manager John McLaren said.