17-2 loss puts M’s on the edge

By Kirby Arnold

Herald Writer

CLEVELAND – As the Seattle Mariners searched for answers to what hit them Saturday night and where they stand today, it was a nemesis who stated their case best.

“We know they have won 116 games,” said Cleveland Indians slugger Jim Thome. “They can win two more.”

If the Mariners don’t, then their history-making season will be finished before they have a chance to reach their ultimate goal of a championship.

The Indians pummeled Seattle pitchers in a 17-2 victory in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Jacobs Field, pushing the Mariners to within one loss of elimination.

Cleveland leads the best-of-five series 2-1, with Game 4 today at Jacobs Field. If the Mariners win, the fifth and deciding game will be played Monday at Safeco Field in Seattle.

Freddy Garcia, the right-handed pitcher who was the American League’s leader in earned run average, will start for the Mariners today against the Indians’ Bartolo Colon. It will be a repeat of the Game 1 matchup, in which Colon dominated the Mariners for a 5-0 Indians victory.

“We’ve got all the confidence in Freddy, that he will pitch a good ballgame for us,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said.

None of the Mariners’ four pitchers Saturday could slow the Indians, whose 19 hits set a franchise record. Omar Vizquel, a former Mariners shortstop who lives in Issaquah during the off-season, had four hits and drove in six runs to set an Indians record.

The Indians scored four runs off starter Aaron Sele in two innings, erasing a 1-0 lead the Mariners took in the top of the first. Paul Abbott allowed eight runs in the next three innings, and Jose Paniagua gave up five runs in the eighth. Only John Halama, who allowed two hits in the sixth and seventh innings, didn’t allow a run.

In addition, the Mariners made three errors, which accounted for two unearned runs.

“This was probably the worst game we played all year,” Piniella said. “Not because they scored 17 runs, but we were not sharp on the field.

“We’re going to come out and play a good ballgame. I’ve got all the confidence in the world. If we are good enough, we win. If not, we congratulate Cleveland and go home.”