Another strong showing for Silva in WBC

There was some good news on the pitching front for the Mariners Saturday when Venezuela beat The Netherlands 3-1 in the World Baseball Classic. The starting pitcher and winner was Carlos Silva, who gave up four hits and one run in seven innings. In two starts for Venezuela in the WBC, Silva has thrown 11 innings and allowed just one run. For a pitcher who finished the 2008 season 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA, that kind of showing can only be encouraging. Silva threw 79 pitches, 58 of which were strikes. Among the hitters for Venezuela, Mariner outfielder Endy Chavez went 1-for-4 with a triple and scored a run. And second baseman Jose Lopez hit a solo homer in three at-bats. Seattle outfielder Greg Halman went 0-for-2 for The Netherlands. Meanwhile, the Mariners are up 5-2 over Colorado in the bottom of the fifth inning in Tucson. Rain has started to fall, and even though it is light rain, much of the crowd has cleared out.