SEATTLE — The biggest cheer Saturday from the crowd of 33,801 came when Jay Buhner took the mound to make the ceremonial first pitch on a night that saw 20,000 Buhner bobblehead dolls handed out.
No surprise there. Buhner is an eternal fan favorite at Safeco Field.
The second biggest ovation came when Chooch Ruiz scored from third base in the sixth inning on a Jean Segura grounder to shortstop. This had a Bronx cheer quality. The Seattle Mariners trailed at the time by 10 runs.
This was a disaster from the beginning.
The Chicago White Sox whacked Yovani Gallardo for four runs in the first inning and rolled from there in administering a 16-1 flogging. It was the Mariners’ most-lopsided loss of the year, and it dropped them into last place.
“The ball was up in the zone from the start of the game,” Gallardo said. “The most frustrating part is I never gave the guys a chance to come back and battle.”
Gallardo (2-4) gave up 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings. Dillon Overton permitted two inherited runners to score and gave up five runs of his own in 4 1/3 wear-it-and-save-the-bullpen innings.
Then came the ninth inning.
Infielder Mike Freeman replaced Overton in another bullpen-saving move. The Mariners also put catcher Tuffy Gosewisch at first base. Freeman gave up three hits and one run.
“I don’t want to be in that situation,” Freeman said. “It means that we’re behind by a significant amount when you throw somebody like me out there. I tried to save our bullpen an inning. I was able to do that.”
Avisail Garcia led the Chicago assault with four hits, including two homers, and a career-high six RBI. Matt Davidson and Willy Garcia also contributed homers to the 19-hit shellacking.
Mike Pelfrey (1-4) pitched the first six innings before Gregory Infante, Dan Jennings and Chris Beck closed out the victory.
It was sucko from the start for the Mariners and the big crowd.
Gallardo began the game by walking Yolmer Sanchez but induced a potential double-play grounder from Melky Cabrera, but Freeman boxed the ball and then stumbled.
The error put runners at first and second with no outs, and the White Sox capitalized. Jose Abreu lashed an RBI double to left, and Avisail Garcia followed with a three-run homer for a 4-0 lead.
Garcia homered again with two outs and nobody on base in the third inning.
“The first one was as curveball that caught too much of the plate,” Gallardo said. “The second one, I threw some pretty good fastballs in that he kept fouling off. Then I tried to throw a changeup, and it stayed up in the zone.
“Another mistake.”
Chicago knocked out Gallardo in a five-run fourth inning that extended the lead to 10-0. Cabrera’s two-run single came before Avisail Garica, after Gallardo departed, drove a two-run double to center against Overton.
When the Mariners scored in the sixth, it only seemed to annoy the White Sox, who responded with a five-run seventh inning that included homers by Davidson and Willy Garcia.
“Not our night,” manager Scott Servais said. “Not a good start at all. Fortunately, it counts as (only) one loss. From the get-go, Gallardo, as sharp as he was in his last outing, couldn’t get any rhythm in that first inning.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
