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 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Hugging everybody in sight is not recommended for somebody fresh off shoulder surgery, but John McLaren didn't care. "I'll take the hurt," he said, reeking of beer. Jarrod Washburn and J.J. Putz combined on a five-hitter and Seattle beat Kansas City 4-0 Wednesday night, giving McLaren his first victory as a big league manager, a job that was thrust upon him Sunday with Mike Hargrove's unexpected resignation.
Though shocked at Hargrove's decision, the Mariners were pleased to see McLaren, a popular career coach, finally get his dream job at the age of 55. For three days, an autographed champagne bottle had been quietly stashed away, waiting to be presented upon his first win.
"I've got an autographed champagne bottle here and I've got a ball and I've got the lineup card and I've got a memory that'll never leave me," McLaren said. "It was special for me. The first one's always the toughest I guess."
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