SEATTLE – Anyone who has squirmed with the Seattle Mariners this week understands why they have become so maddening.
A team built for situational hitting continued to create situations, but did little hitting.
It happened again Wednesday, when the Mariners made the least of their opportunities in a 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros at Safeco Field.
Since they last scored a run – in the fifth inning Monday when Scott Spiezio homered – the Mariners have stranded 22 runners.
They left seven on base Wednesday in a game that included the biggest stomach-punch of all to a queasy offense: The umpires couldn’t even get a call wrong.
Actually, they got it wrong in the beginning – to the apparent benefit of the Mariners when Rich Aurilia’s towering fly near the left field foul pole was ruled a two-run home run in the seventh inning by third-base umpire Dale Scott.
But, with Aurilia well into his home-run trot and the Safeco Field scoreboards ablaze in their celebratory light show, Scott fended off several angry Astros and huddled with the other three umpires.
Then he got the call right.
Scott waved off the homer, saying the ball dropped into the upper deck on the foul side of the pole. TV replays backed up the reversal.
Scott said a fair-foul decision is one of the few calls that umpires are allowed to reverse, and the others in his crew – plate umpire Ron Kulpa, first-base umpire Bill Miller and second-base umpire Brian Gorman – convinced him that the ball was foul.
“I saw what I thought was a fair ball,” Scott said. “I immediately saw the reaction not only from the Astros but, my partners. This is one of the few types of plays you can consult on and change.”
Mariners manager Bob Melvin sprinted straight into Scott’s face for an arm-flailing, finger-pointing argument that got him ejected for the third time this season. Melvin didn’t speak with the media after the game.
“He kept telling me that I called it fair and the call should stand, but he knows better,” Scott said. “That is one call we can change. A good umpire will change a call if it’s the wrong one. A bad umpire won’t change the call.”
Aurilia wasn’t happy with any part of the ruling, right or wrong.
“The problem I have with it is that the guy (Scott) who is 100 feet away can’t see it but the guys who are 350 feet away can see it?” Aurilia said. “I wish they’d have reversed me beating the ball to first base, because I was safe there.”
That happened on the next pitch, thrown by relief pitcher Dan Miceli, when Aurilia grounded into a double play.
A maddening week in an exasperating season had reached its low point.
Mariners starter Freddy Garcia pitched well again and wobbled only in the third inning, when the Astros did what the Mariners couldn’t. They strung together hits – doubles by Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman and a single by Richard Hidalgo – and scored all three of their runs.
Garcia pitched eight innings and allowed seven hits.
It could have been eight hits – and another run – except Randy Winn made one of the best defensive plays of the year when he leaped high against the center field wall and reached over it to pull back Hidalgo’s drive in the sixth inning.
Against Astros starter Wade Miller and relievers Miceli, Brad Lidge and closer Octavio Dotel, the Mariners got seven hits and had opportunities to score, but didn’t.
The Mariners haven’t scored in 21 innings, although they have put runners on base with less than two outs in 13 of those innings. Eleven times, they had the leadoff runner on.
The shutout was the Mariners’ seventh this season, second-most in the major leagues behind Montreal’s eight.
“We can’t win when we can’t score,” catcher Dan Wilson said.
The opportunities were almost too numerous to believe:
* The Mariners loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning, but Spiezio popped out.
* Winn started the third inning with a double but was thrown out at third when Edgar Martinez grounded to shortstop Adam Everett. John Olerud then hit into an inning-ending double play.
* Bret Boone started the fourth with a single but was stranded on first.
* Spiezio started the seventh with a walk and Aurilia appeared to have struck the blow that cut a 3-0 Astros’ lead to 3-2, based on the umpire’s call.
Then everything changed, except the Mariners’ season of misfortune.
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