Blasting off the 1981 season with a bases loaded homer by Brian Downing in the first inning, the Angels went on to a 6-2 triumph over the Mariners. Downing's clout off Glenn Abbott came with two out and a 3-2 count. Abbott had allowed a single by Fred Lynn and walks to Don Baylor and Dan Ford to load the sacks for Downing. The Angels added markers in the sixth, on an RBI triple by Bobby Grich, and in the eighth on a solo round-tripper by Ford. [The Sporting News]

California Angels 6, Seattle Mariners 2

Game Played on Thursday, April 9, 1981 (Night game) at Kingdome

Angels 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 - 6 7 0 Mariners 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 2 6 1 Angels AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Mariners AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Carew 1b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .200 Cruz 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Burleson ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Henderson cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Lynn cf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .333 Bochte 1b 3 1 1 0 1 2 .333 Baylor dh 3 1 0 0 1 1 .000 Zisk dh 4 0 2 0 0 1 .500 Ford rf 3 2 1 1 1 0 .333 Burroughs rf 4 1 1 2 0 0 .250 Downing c 4 1 2 4 0 0 .500 Paciorek lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Brunansky lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .250 Edler 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Grich 2b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .250 Anderson ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hobson 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Gulden ph,c 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Campaneris pr,3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Bulling c 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Zahn p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gray ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 1.000 Aase p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Auerbach pr,ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Abbott p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Andersen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 33 6 7 6 3 3 Totals 32 2 6 2 1 5 Time of Game: 2:14 Attendance: 33,317 Left on Base: Angels 4, Mariners 4 DP: Angels 1, Mariners 0 Errors: Anderson Doubles: Downing (1) Triples: Grich (1), Gray (1) Home Runs: Downing (1), Ford (1), Burroughs (1) Stolen Bases: Lynn (1), Brunansky (1) GIDP: Burroughs (1) Hit by Pitch: Hobson (1,by Andersen) Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Zahn W(1-0) 7 4 2 2 1 4 1 25 2.57 Aase 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 8 0.00 Totals 9 6 2 2 1 5 1 33 Mariners IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Abbott L(0-1) 8 7 6 6 3 2 2 34 6.75 Andersen 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0.00 Totals 9 7 6 6 3 3 2 37 Hit by Pitch: Andersen (1) Umpires: HP - Jim Evans, 1B - Steve Palermo, 2B - Al Clark, 3B - Ted Hendry ANGELS 1ST: Carew flied out to center; Burleson grounded out (shortstop to first); Lynn singled to center; Lynn stole second; Baylor walked; Ford walked [Lynn to third, Baylor to second]; Downing homered [Lynn scored, Baylor scored, Ford scored]; Brunansky reached on an error by Anderson; Debut game for Tom Brunansky; Brunansky stole second; Grich grounded out (second to first); 4 R, 2 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. MARINERS 1ST: Cruz singled to center; Henderson grounded out (third to first) [Cruz to second]; Debut game for Dave Henderson; Bochte struck out; Zisk singled [Cruz to third]; Burroughs grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. ANGELS 2ND: Hobson struck out; Carew flied out to center; Burleson flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. MARINERS 2ND: Paciorek grounded out (shortstop to first); Edler grounded out (shortstop to first); Anderson flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. ANGELS 3RD: Lynn grounded out (second to first); Baylor flied out to right; Ford grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. MARINERS 3RD: Bulling grounded out (shortstop to first); Cruz flied out to right; Henderson made an out to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. ANGELS 4TH: Downing doubled to left; Brunansky grounded out (shortstop to first); Grich made an out to first; Hobson grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. MARINERS 4TH: Bochte walked; Zisk struck out; Burroughs grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Bochte out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. ANGELS 5TH: Carew singled to right [Carew out at second (right to shortstop)]; Burleson flied out to center; Lynn walked; Baylor was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. MARINERS 5TH: Paciorek grounded out (third to first); Edler grounded out (pitcher to first); Anderson flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 4, Mariners 0. ANGELS 6TH: Ford lined to left; Downing grounded out (shortstop to first); Brunansky singled to center; Grich tripled to center [Brunansky scored]; Hobson grounded out (third to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 5, Mariners 0. MARINERS 6TH: Bulling struck out; Cruz popped to first; Henderson flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 5, Mariners 0. ANGELS 7TH: Carew grounded out (third to first); Burleson flied out to right; Lynn grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 5, Mariners 0. MARINERS 7TH: Bochte singled to left; Zisk made an out to second; Burroughs homered [Bochte scored]; Paciorek struck out; Edler flied out to left; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 5, Mariners 2. ANGELS 8TH: Baylor flied out to left; Ford homered; Downing grounded out (shortstop to first); Brunansky grounded out (pitcher to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 6, Mariners 2. MARINERS 8TH: AASE REPLACED ZAHN (PITCHING); GULDEN BATTED FOR ANDERSON; Gulden made an out to second; GRAY BATTED FOR BULLING; Gray tripled to right; AUERBACH RAN FOR GRAY; Cruz flied out to center; Henderson flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 6, Mariners 2. ANGELS 9TH: GULDEN STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING C ); AUERBACH STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING SS); ANDERSEN REPLACED ABBOTT (PITCHING); Grich struck out; Hobson was hit by a pitch; CAMPANERIS RAN FOR HOBSON; Campaneris was picked off first (pitcher to first); Carew grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 6, Mariners 2. MARINERS 9TH: CAMPANERIS STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 3B); Bochte struck out; Zisk singled to right; Burroughs flied out to center; Paciorek made an out to first; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 6, Mariners 2.

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