You can’t quite say the Mariners found another way to lose in an 8-3 clunker to the Tampa Bay, a game that wasn’t decided until the Rays scored three runs in the eighth and three in the ninth.
The Mariners did finally get a home run, Franklin Gutierrez’s two-run opposite-field drive in the fourth inning to break a 76-inning skid without a homer.
This loss contained not only bruised egos, but also a bad hamstring by shortstop Jack Wilson and a sore finger by catcher Rob Johnson that depletes an already thin roster.
Manager Don Wakamatsu didn’t think Wilson’s injury was serious, although a similar problem at spring training cost him three days. Wakamatsu said the Mariners may need to make a roster move today.
Johnson was hit on the index finger of his right (throwing) hand by a foul tip in the eighth inning. He was in pain as trainers checked him but he refused to come out of the game. When he batted in the bottom of the inning, Johnson struggled to maintain his grip on the bat in his follow-through.
The Mariners already were operating with essentially a 24-man roster because Milton Bradley remained active despite being out indefinitely because of mental stress.
Through it all, the Mariners accomplished something rare: a lead.
Gutierez’s homer gave them a 2-0 lead in the fourth, but after the Rays scored twice in the top of the fifth off Cliff Lee, Wakamatsu sensed something troubling on the Seattle bench — some serious puckering by his hitters.
“Once he gave up those two, you could feel it in the dugout a little bit,” Wakamatsu said. “The way we’ve been going, the offense has not done anything. I think it puts so much pressure on a pitcher to be perfect.”
Lee was far from perfect, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs in eight innings. But he kept the Mariners in the game through seven before a misplayed bunt and an error led to the Rays’ three runs.
Carl Crawford was on first base after a one-out single when Ben Zobrist dropped a nice bunt between the mound and third base. Lee and third baseman Jose Lopez converged on it, too late to get Zobrist. Evan Longoria followed with an RBI single to give the Rays a 3-2 lead, and the Mariners fell apart.
Carlos Pena hit a line drive to shortstop Josh Wilson — in the game after Jack Wilson suffered a tight right hamstring in the third inning — and tried to throw on the run in an attempt to double off Longoria. Wilson’s throw sailed over first baseman Casey Kotchman and out of play, allowing Zobrist to score. Longoria scored on B.J. Upton’s single.
Mariners reliever Sean White couldn’t find the plate in the ninth, walking three and allowing a hit and a sacrifice fly as the Rays scored three more times.
Positives?
Ken Griffey Jr. squared up a ball for the first time this season, driving a ground-rule double to the right-center field gap. Gutierrez went 2-for-4 and is batting .333 in the homestand after slumping on the recent road trip.
“For me, when a guy hits a home run opposite field, you know he’s staying on it,” Wakamatsu said of Gutierrez.
If the Mariners hope to break their five-game losing streak, it’ll take more than Gutierrez.
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