SEATTLE — An ill chill swept through Safeco Field, and it wasn’t just the frigid temperature Wednesday night.
Tampa Bay beat the Seattle Mariners in every way in a 9-3 victory, scoring in each of the first six innings while feasting on poor pitching and defense by the M’s.
“Our team revolves around pitching and defense, and tonight we weren’t very good at either,” manager Don Wakamatsu said.
The Mariners made two errors and could have been charged with two more. And, from starter Chris Jakubauskas to Mark Lowe, there wasn’t a Mariners pitcher who worked a clean inning.
Jakubauskas, the feel-good story of the early season because of his rise to the big leagues from independent ball, gave up 10 hits and six runs in 31/3 innings before being pulled.
“Jakabauskas was rushing a little bit and got a lot of balls up and never got into a groove,” Wakamatsu said. “That’s one of the things with young pitching, sometimes you see it.”
With an offense that’s struggling to score runs — the Mariners have averaged less than three runs in their past four games — Wakamatsu said he left Jakubauskas in the game longer than he might normally in order to keep from wearing down the bullpen.
Sean White, Roy Corcoran, Miguel Batista and Lowe finished, and it wasn’t until Batista got out of the seventh after allowing a leadoff single that the Rays were held scoreless in an inning. M’s pitchers gave up a season-high 15 hits.
It didn’t help that the 48-degree temperature at first pitch, along with a game that got away early, turned the announced crowd of 16,476 to only a couple of thousand by the finish. The temperature was 43 by the seventh-inning stretch, which nobody should have approached too vigorously for fear of pulling something.
Injury already had felled one Mariner early in the game.
Mike Sweeney, who had replaced injured Russell Branyan at first base this week, awkwardly tried to check his swing in the second inning and suffered spasms in his upper back. Sweeney twisted, turned and grimaced outside the batter’s box, then was led gingerly off the field by trainer Rick Griffin. He will be re-evaluated today.
“It shouldn’t be long-term,” Wakamatsu said.
It’s been a double-whammy homestand for the Mariners’ first basemen.
Branyan hurt his back on Friday while running the bases and, while the team hopes he’ll be able to play this afternoon’s series finale, there’s a good chance he won’t see the field again until this weekend in Anaheim.
Jose Lopez played the final six innings at second base Wednesday and Ronny Cedeno played second.
It was Lopez who broke up a no-hitter by Rays starter Jeff Niemann, hitting a three-run home run in the fifth. That blow, making the score 7-3 at the time, was the first home run by a Mariners first baseman since Branyan hit one April 11 at Oakland.
Neimann finished that inning but was chased one out into the sixth after Ichiro Suzuki hit a leadoff single and Endy Chavez walked.
Suzuki, involved in a curious bunt play the previous night, raised more questions with his baserunning after his sixth-inning single. Despite a five-run deficit, Suzuki tried to steal second and was thrown out by a wide margin by catcher Dioner Navarro.
That wasn’t the only questionable play by the Mariners.
Jakubauskas easily could have gotten out of the first inning without a run, but Sweeney booted a high chop by Carl Crawford with one out. It was ruled a hit. Evan Longoria, the next hitter, hit a similar bouncer that found the hole between third and shortstop for a single before Carlos Pena doubled to right-center field to score two runs.
Jakubauskas threw two wild pitches and walked two before getting out of the inning.
Mariners pitchers threw three more wild pitches, and both shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and third baseman Adrian Beltre were charged with errors before it was over. The Mariners also let a pop foul drop near the Rays dugout in the second inning when Beltre, Jakubauskas and catcher Rob Johnson looked at the ball, looked at each other, and then let it fall.
The Mariners, 9-6, have lost four of their past six games and are 4-4 on their first homestand going into today’s finale against the Rays.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com\marinersblog
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