AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle streaks to fifth in row

Randy Winn just missed hitting for the cycle in a 6-0 win over Detroit.
SEATTLE (AP) -- Randy Winn figures he got lucky, and not just because he had a chance to hit for the cycle, although missing it.
Winn tripled, doubled and singled, and Bret Boone hit a three-run double as the Seattle Mariners won their season-high fifth straight, 6-0 over the struggling Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
The Mariners had nine hits on a night when the temperature was in the 50s, and a cool 14 mph wind made high-hit balls to left field potential candidates for comedy highlight reels.
"It was kind of like Candlestick Park out there," said Mariners manager Bob Melvin, who played three seasons for the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.
Winn was relieved that he didn't bobble any flies hit to center field.
Scored first run
He scored Seattle's first run when a fly by John Olerud unexpectedly dropped 10 feet in front of Detroit left fielder Dmitri Young. In the third, Mariners left fielder Willie Bloomquist made a big adjustment to catch a deep fly.
"I was extremely lucky. I didn't get any balls hit out there," Winn said. "The ball I hit to second just got away from the guy. Then there was one hit to Willie that might have started in foul territory. The wind was pretty crazy."
Mike Maroth (0-6) became the second pitcher in major league history to lose six times before the end of April. He joined Dave Stewart, who lost six games before May 1 for the Texas Rangers in 1984.
Maroth allowed six earned runs and eight hits in just two innings.
Left runners stranded
The Tigers didn't help themselves at the plate, either. After loading the bases nine times in their first 20 games, they did it twice in the first two innings against Joel Pineiro (2-1) and again against reliever Julio Mateo but failed to score.
"This is a club that is somewhat fragile," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. "It's a lot for us to overcome. When you get better, these are things that you are going to fight through a little easier."
Detroit (2-19) has been shut out a major league-high six times, just four short of its 2002 total. The Tigers have fewer runs (43) than the New York Yankees have homers (45).
"The part that matters is we got shut out again," Trammell said. "We got four hits six times in 21 games. I'll leave it at that."
Pineiro had control problems early but settled down and struck out six and walked six in 5 1-3 innings. He left after giving up two of the four hits he allowed all night.
"I had no release," Pineiro said. "It took me a while to find it."
Escaped jam
Mateo escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam to preserve the shutout. He got Ramon Santiago to pop out and struck out Bobby Higginson on a high fastball. Rafael Soriano got the last three outs of the four-hitter.
Winn went 3-for-4 and scored twice. He tripled to right in the first, singled to center in the second and hit a ground-rule double over the wall in left-center in the fourth, before switching to the left side and grounding out to first in the sixth.
"I knew I had a double, triple and single but the odds of me hitting a home run were pretty slim," Winn said. "Switching over to the other side of the plate, they're even slimmer. If I was still on the right side, I'd probably have taken a shot."
The Mariners, who got their third shutout, took a 2-0 lead in the first, aided by the stiff crosswind that blew the flags stiff above the outfield.
"Cold and windy," Boone said when asked about the conditions. "And it helped us a few times."
Winn hit a one-out triple and scored when Olerud's hit to left was held up by the wind and fell 10 feet in front of Young as he dropped to cover the warning track.
"I was the example that everyone keyed on after that," Young said. "Everybody knew the wind was howling."
Martinez safe at home
Edgar Martinez added another run, lumbering home from second on Carlos Guillen's single to left. A good throw would have nailed the slow-running Martinez, but catcher Brandon Inge came off the plate and the 40-year-old veteran slid across.
Seattle added four runs on five straight hits in the second, led by Boone's three-RBI double to the left-field corner that made it 6-0. Boone lined a shot and Dan Wilson, Ichiro Suzuki and Winn all rounded the bases as Young raced to grab it.