By Bob Dutton The News Tribune
DETROIT — Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon was ejected in the second inning by home-plate umpire Tony Randazzo and, if anything, was more steamed after hearing Randazzo’s explanation.
The ejection came with McClendon on the bench, which brought him onto the field for a discussion that soon grew heated.
“He thought it was me (saying something from the bench),” McClendon said, “and it wasn’t me. That upset me more than anything.
“Then when I went out there to ask him why was I thrown out, he said, ‘Well, I’ve seen your act before.’ I don’t think that’s called for. That’s not fair.
“If you think I said something about a ball or strike, throw me out of the game. I get that. To talk about the past, that’s not fair.”
McClendon admitted he chirped at Randazzo over balls and strikes in the first inning but stopped after getting a warning. The complaints in the second inning, McClendon said, came from several points of the Mariners’ bench.
“It is what it is,” McClendon said. “It’s over with, and we’ll just move on.”
Cano is OK
Second baseman Robinson Cano flashed a thumbs-up sign when asked about his bruised foot as he walked into the clubhouse prior to the game. Not surprisingly, he was back in the starting lineup.
Cano exited Friday’s game in the eighth inning after noticeably limping to first on a ground ball in the seventh. He went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s loss with a run scored and an RBI.
Three or fewer
The 4-2 loss ended the Mariners’ franchise-record streak at 13 straight games of not allowing more than three runs. The last American League club to run off 13 in a row was the 2013 Royals.
The last AL team to go longer than 13 in a row was the 1991 Blue Jays, who had a 15-game run.
9 in a row
The loss also ended Felix Hernandez carried a personal nine-game winning streak against the Tigers.
The nine straight victories matched Randy Johnson’s 1993-97 run against Milwaukee as the second-longest streak in franchise history against a single opponent.
Jamie Moyer won 11 straight decisions against Baltimore from 1996-2003.
Short hops
The crowd of 43,833 was a sellout and the largest of the season at Comerica Park since opening day. … Hernandez’s ERA nudged up to 1.99 from 1.95 after giving up two runs in five innings. Nick Castellanos’ homer was the fifth yielded by Hernandez in 150 innings over his last 21 starts.
Looking back
It was 17 years ago Sunday — Aug. 17, 1997 — that Jay Buhner became the first Mariner to hit 30 homers in three consecutive seasons. It came in the eighth inning against Jaime Navarro in a 5-3 victory at Chicago.
Buhner finished that season with 40 homers, which made him the first player in franchise history to hit 40 or more in three straight seasons.
Ken Griffey Jr. later broke that record by hitting 40 or more homers in four straight seasons from 1996-99. Alex Rodriguez matched Buhner with three straight 40-homer seasons from 1998-2000.
Rodriguez’s 41 homers in 2000 remains the only 40-homer season by a Mariner in a full season of home games at Safeco Park, which opened July 15, 1999.
On tap
The Mariners and Tigers conclude their three-game series at 10:08 a.m. Pacific time Sunday at Comerica Park. Right-hander Chris Young (11-6 with a 3.20 ERA) will oppose Detroit lefty Robby Ray (1-2, 5.31).
Root Sports and TBS will each televise the game.
The Mariners then head to Philadelphia for three games. After an open date Thursday, they conclude their road trip with three games in Boston.
