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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Seattle's Adrian Beltre dives safely into third base, advancing from first on a single by Raul Ibanez in the sixth inning of the Mariners' 8-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. Beltre eventully scored.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, May 11, 2008 Mariners finally find some offense, just not enough Seattle loses 8-4, misses another chance to gain ground on struggling Angels By Kirby Arnold Herald Writer SEATTLE -- They've gotten four hits in two games and have been shut out in both. The offense has disappeared, and who would have expected that? Another day in the life of the Seattle Mariners? Not quite. That's the current plight of the L.A. Angels, who have lost three straight games, including a second shutout Saturday at Tampa Bay. From the Mariners' perspective, it meant another opportunity was lost amid a continued stretch of difficult baseball. It happened to them again at Safeco Field, where the Mariners showed signs of offensive life but were let down this time by their pitching and baserunning in an 8-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox scored six runs in the second inning off starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn and the Mariners, despite a three-run sixth inning that was their best rally in six games, couldn't overcome it. Now 10 games under .500 at a league-worst 14-24, the Mariners have lost five straight and 10 of 11. Considering all the disheartening elements of their previous games, manager John McLaren saw a bright side to this one. "We had some better at-bats," he said. "I think we can carry this over. We got behind 6-0 but the guys never quit. I saw a lot of positive signs tonight. "A loss is a loss, let's be honest. But there were a few games when we didn't have anything. We didn't have any fire or anything. There was nothing there. Tonight I could tell there was something there." The hitting wasn't solely responsible for this one. The Mariners finished with nine hits and didn't commit any errors, but they were hurt by plays they didn't make. Among them was a dropped fly by Raul Ibanez that extended the White Sox' rally in the second inning, then a backfired baserunning play in the seventh that ended their final decent threat. The Mariners had scored three times in the sixth to pull within three runs at 7-4 and had Willie Bloomquist on first base and Ichiro Suzuki on third with two outs. Adrian Beltre, who'd homered in the fourth inning for the Mariners' first run, worked a 3-1 count from White Sox reliever Octavio Dotel. Beltre dug in for a pitch he could drive. Instead, a little baserunning chess came broke out _ despite the three-run deficit _ and it backfired on the Mariners. Bloomquist broke from first base, but Dotel seemed ready for it. He faked a move to third, then stepped off the rubber as Bloomquist continued toward second. Dotel's throw to second baseman Juan Uribe in the dirt and late, but so was Suzuki's break off third base. Uribe threw to catcher Toby Hall, who tagged out Suzuki on a close play at the plate to end the inning. McLaren said there was no double steal call from the dugout _ certainly not while behind by three runs. But Dotel wasn't holding Bloomquist on base, so he took off. "Then Dotel gave the first-to-third move," McLaren said. "Ichiro saw the ball in the dirt, and the ball just came right up to Uribe." Suzuki explained it this way: "There's a high probability that the last out was going to be made at second base. That's something that must not happen. If there was an out to be made in that situation, it should be at home plate, not at second base." The White Sox manufactured a run in the eighth to make it 8-4 _ Hall led off with a double, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Carlos Quentin's single. The Mariners, meanwhile, did nothing with their two hits in the eighth and ninth. That's not where it was lost. That happened in the second inning when the White Sox cracked five of their eight hits and scored six times off M's starter Jarrod Washburn. Brian Anderson hit a three-run homer with one out and Washburn walked the next hitter, but he appeared to limit the damage to that. Hall grounded out and Orlando Cabrera lifted a high fly to deep left-center field. Ibanez made a long run to the ball and appeared to get to it, but it glanced off his glove as he reached to catch it. Cabrera was safe with an RBI double, making the score 4-0. Quentin followed with a two-run homer off Washburn, making it 6-0. "We got behind early but we came back," McLaren said. "We've been sluggish, but it looked like different hitters up there tonight." Read Kirby Arnold's blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com

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