NewsVargas strong before Seattle wins in 12
Lopez cracks bases-loaded single for walk-off victory
By Jim Street / MLB.com
05/23/09 3:25 AM ET
SEATTLE -- It was just like old times in the Emerald City on Friday night as the left-hander struck out at least one opposing batter in each of the first five innings and fanned all three in the third.Jason Vargas was impressive, all right.
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But the pitcher he shared the mound with in the Mariners' series opener against the Giants was a tad better -- until the sixth inning. That's when a stifled Seattle offense scored a run and deprived Randy Johnson of his 299th career victory.
The win went to Mariners reliever Sean White, the pitcher of record in the bottom of the 12th inning when second baseman Jose Lopez lifted Seattle to a 2-1 victory with his third walk-off hit of the season, a single off the left-field fence with the bases loaded and nobody out.
Many of the 38,520 fans were lured to the game to witness what might be the Big Unit's final performance in the city where he became a household name. This is the city where he pitched his first no-hitter, won his first Cy Young Award and pitched in the postseason for the first time.
The radar gun never reached 95 the way it used to do regularly, but he took a shutout and a one-run lead into the sixth inning before yielding a run. He departed later in the inning assured of being stuck on 298 wins.
As he walked off the field toward the third-base dugout, he stopped, removed his cap and waved it to the fans, who were giving him a standing ovation
Across the field in the first-base dugout, Vargas was applauding internally.
"What he means to the city of Seattle and all that he's done here and done for the game, it's a pretty special thing," said Vargas. "I don't think we play them here again this year so this might be the last time he walks off this field.
"Whenever you get a chance to be a part of something like that, it's pretty special. He is one of the greatest and there is a lot of respect there."
And it didn't bother Vargas one bit that the Big Unit never reached the 299-win mark.
"Not on my night," he said.
And what a night it was for the 26-year-old lefty acquired from the Mets last December, sent to the Minor Leagues out of Spring Training and now an integral part of the starting rotation.
He held the Giants to two hits over seven innings, struck out seven and walked one.
But, like Johnson, Vargas received a no-decision as the teams battled past 11 o'clock. The Mariners bullpen took over in the eighth inning and retired 13 consecutive batters before Aaron Rowand singled with one out in the 12th inning. A stolen base and two-out error by shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt put the go-ahead run on third base, but White retired Bengie Molina on a fly ball to left field.
Then came the bottom of the 12th.
Wladimir Balentien walked leading off and, after a pitching change, Russell Branyan singled into right field off lefty Pat Misch. When the throw went to third, Branyan went to second. The Giants huddled on the mound and decided to pitch to catcher Rob Johnson, hoping he would chase something out of the strike zone.
"I knew what they were doing and I wasn't going to bite," said Johnson, who walked on five pitches.
Up came Lopez.
"I told Endy [Chavez] at the beginning of the inning that if I got a chance to bat, I would win the game," he said. "I was going to take the first pitch and then try to hit a ball in the air far enough to score the run."
The ball was hit far enough that even if it had been caught, Balentien would have been able to trot home with the winning run.
It would have been another tough loss for the Mariners because they had so many more chances to score than did the Giants. Seattle stranded 17 runners compared to San Francisco's three.
The bases were left loaded in the sixth inning when Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a brilliant play to rob Ichiro Suzuki of an infield hit and the Mariners of a go-ahead run when he leaped into the air to catch the ball and then made an off-balance throw to home plate for an inning-ending forceout on catcher Kenji Johjima.
The sacks were loaded again in the ninth when Ken Griffey Jr. came out of the dugout to hit for Johjima. He hit a towering drive to right-center, sending Rowand to the warning track to make the catch.
"In warmer weather, that ball is out," manager Don Wakamatsu said.
"I missed it about half an inch," Griffey said.
Other than the fourth pitch Vargas threw in the game, which became a solo home run to Rowand, he battled on even terms with Johnson, who still needs two wins to become the Major League's 24th 300-game winner.
"You know with what he has at stake out there, he's going to be dialed in every outing," Vargas said of his counterpart, "so I was just trying to keep our team in the ballgame and keep executing. I tried to stay out there as long as I could."
Vargas was long gone long before Lopez sent everyone home, but he also was in the dugout watching the end.
"I knew we had a chance to pull it out and I wanted to be there to see it," he said. "It has been a rough couple of weeks and I felt going out there was a good thing to do."
Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
