By Larry LaRue
The News Tribune
DETROIT – In his first start this year, Joel Pineiro was so nervous he couldn’t find the strike zone, and in his second he was certain he was being showcased for a trade.
On Thursday, all Pineiro had to deal with was the Detroit Tigers – and he made that look easy in a 2-1 victory for the Seattle Mariners that ended with closer Kazuhiro Sasaki racking up a major milestone.
Pineiro’s third major league victory was earned with the help of Sasaki’s 300th career save, and the fact that the first 229 of them came in Japan couldn’t diminish the number.
“A lot of closers have one or two great years,” catcher Dan Wilson said, “but to save 300 games, you’ve got to be consistent over a long period of time. Consistent and dominant.”
Sasaki has been all that this season, following up his Rookie of the Year of 2000.
“You don’t like to say anyone is automatic, because anything can happen in this game,” Bret Boone said. “But Kazu is close to automatic.”
His 34th save gave him the second highest single-season total in franchise history -behind only his own team record of 37 saves set last year. It was also the first time Sasaki had pitched in seven days.
“I knew I had 299,” Sasaki said, beaming. “Knowing every game I could get the next one, there was a lot of anticipation.”
Seattle’s 78th victory of the year was another reminder of how they’ve won so many of the others – superb starting pitching, domination by the bullpen and just enough offense to make it stand up.
“The Tigers had a rookie out there tonight, too, and Adam Pettyjohn pitched very, very well,” manager Lou Piniella said. “Joel pitched a little better, that’s all. Two runs doesn’t win many games in this league.”
On another hot, muggy night in Michigan – with large bugs sweating heavily as they flew through the air – hitting was not the primary weapon of either team.
Ed Sprague beat out an infield single and scored on Stan Javier’s two-out single in the second inning. Boone doubled in the third inning, the second of his three hits, and came home on Mike Cameron’s short sacrifice fly.
That was that for Seattle.
For Pineiro, it was enough. For the second consecutive start, the 22-year-old right-hander didn’t walk a batter, and in his seven innings the Tigers managed all of four hits – one of them Jose Macias’s seventh home run.
“All four of my pitches were working tonight, and that made it more fun,” Pineiro said. “In the month I’ve been here, I see why this team has won so many games. They pitch great, the hit in the clutch and they play great defense.
“I’m glad to be part of it. A lot of years, rookies only get a chance when a team is struggling. This team isn’t struggling.”
Mariners fans – or starting pitchers – don’t need to look too far back in franchise history to find seasons where handing off a 2-1 lead late in the game to anyone in the bullpen would not have been a good idea.
These days, you can’t find a Mariners pitcher who isn’t willing to do so – or a Seattle reliever who won’t finish up a game nicely.
Take Sasaki, Jeff Nelson and Arthur Rhodes. In their last 39 innings, combined, they have not allowed a run.
Nelson worked a 1-2-3 inning that seemed to unnerve the Tigers. He threw 11 pitches, and three Tigers hitters swung and missed at nine of them. Not a foul ball in the bunch.
“You start an inning like that, you want to finish and get out before your luck changes,” Nelson said. “You strike the first guy out, you feel pretty good. You get the second guy swinging, you’re feeling real good. I wanted that third hitter.”
And got him.
From there, it was Sasaki-time. The Tigers went meekly: strikeout, ground ball, fly ball to Ichiro Suzuki in right field.
“I had to ask him for the ball,” Sasaki said. “I think he wanted to keep it.”
It was the rarest of Mariners victories this season – the low-scoring variety. Seattle has scored three runs or less 32 times this year and won just nine of those.
“It wasn’t that we stopped trying to score,” Piniella said. “This was just a well-pitched game for both teams. We just hung on tonight.”
In his corner of the clubhouse, Boone was only grudgingly willing to give Detroit pitchers their due, and small wonder. He had three hits Thursday, six hits in the three-game series.
When he awakens in Cleveland today, Boone will lead the Mariners triple crown categories – he’s hitting .334 with 24 home runs and 100 RBI.
“Great pitching is great, but you don’t win without runs,” Boone said.
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