Ichiro Inch

Ichiro inches one closer
09/15/2004 9:07 PM ET
By Jim Street / MLB.com

SEATTLE -- The hits are getting a little harder to come by for Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. But a good bounce Wednesday night moved him one hit closer to the 84-year-old Major League record that he's chasing.
After surprisingly striking out twice in his first three at-bats against the Angels at Safeco Field, Ichiro slapped a one-hopper back at pitcher John Lackey in the eighth inning. The ball ricocheted off Lackey's right thigh and bounced far enough away to allow Ichiro to easily reach first base with his 233rd hit of the season.

The hit moved him into a tie for 23rd place with Shoeless Joe Jackson on the all-time single-season hit list. Ichiro needs 25 hits in the Mariners' 17 remaining games to eclipse the 257 hits George Sisler had in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns.

Wednesday's infield hit that helped the Mariners score the game's only run was the 197th single of the season, increasing his own American League record and moving to within one of Lloyd Waner's single-season record, set in 1927.

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Recent history says Ichiro will have a good chance to pick up some ground on everyone in Thursday night's series finale against the Angels, who are starting right-hander Aaron Sele.

Ichiro is 10-for-17 in his career against the veteran.

A remarkable streak of contact hitting ended in the first inning when Lackey threw a two-strike pitch into the dirt and Ichiro went fishing. He tried to stop his swing, but went too far and struck out.

Ichiro had gone 15 consecutive games without striking out, a streak of 64 at-bats. Even more astonishing, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the right fielder completely missed only three of the pitches he swung at in his first 59 at-bats in September.

"That's pretty impressive," manager Bob Melvin told the newspaper. "It's an incredible stat really. I mean, he'll swing and miss just like anybody else, but what he's done lately is incredible to see. It says everything about his focus.

"He's got hand-eye coordination as good as anyone's. And mechanically he does things that you wouldn't teach a young player, but because of his hand-eye coordination, he gets to ball as well as anybody ever has.

"It puts the defense on edge and with his speed, he has a chance for a hit every time he makes contact."

After grounding into a force out in the third inning, Ichiro struck out again in the fifth, chasing another two-strike pitch that was out of the strike zone. The Mariners star thought he checked his swing in time, but third base umpire Bruce Dreckman ruled otherwise.

It was the ninth time this season that Ichiro struck out at least twice in a nine-inning game this season.

Ichiro, believed to be the only player to have more than two 50-hit months in a season, is now 21-for-58 at the halfway point in September. He is 9-for-37 during the current homestand.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.