News
Mariners walk off to sweep D-backs
Ninth-inning error helps propel Seattle to victory
By Christian Caple / MLB.com
06/21/09 9:01 PM ET
SEATTLE -- It was no secret that anything short of another magnificent effort on the mound by Seattle ace Felix Hernandez against the D-backs on Sunday afternoon might not be enough to buoy the Mariners' patchwork lineup, which was missing top slugger Russell Branyan, starting second baseman Jose Lopez and starting third baseman Adrian Beltre.And again, Hernandez was as good as advertised. He allowed only two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings while striking out eight.
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But it was that increasingly scrappy, shorthanded lineup that once again got it done late, this time when it looked as if Hernandez's lone mistake was going to be a backbreaker.
Instead, it was an even bigger mistake, this one by Arizona first baseman Tony Clark, that allowed the Mariners to prevail. Clark dropped a fairly routine throw that would have retired the side in the bottom of the ninth inning following a grounder to third base by Franklin Gutierrez, allowing Ronny Cedeno to score from third base to give the Mariners a 3-2 win and a sweep of the three-game series in front of 37,251 at Safeco Field.
"I was trying to run hard and see what happens," said Gutierrez of the game-ending play. "If I run hard, maybe he will make a bad throw or something. He made a good throw, but [Clark] didn't catch it. I was surprised. When I saw the ball on the ground, I realized the game was over. It was exciting at that moment."
All that happened after a two-run homer by Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds in the top of the eighth appeared to seal it. Reynolds put an 0-1 Hernandez offering over the center-field wall with one out in the inning, and all of the ace right-hander's efforts seemed as if they'd been erased with one swing of the bat.
"I missed the location," Hernandez said. "And when I saw him hit it, I said, 'That's gone. For sure that's gone.'"
Sticking to recent form regarding late-game heroics, the Mariners went back to work in the bottom half of the frame. Mike Carp singled and took second on a throwing error to start things off, and scored two batters later when a chopper by Gutierrez was deflected by D-backs pitcher Scott Schoeneweis, giving Arizona no play at the plate.
Perhaps appropriately, given the way they've been rising to the occasion recently, the win moves Seattle above .500 for the first time since May 7, and the Mariners pulled to within 2 1/2 games of the AL West lead.
And the fact that they're doing it with the lineup they're putting on the field is somewhat remarkable. Ken Griffey Jr. sat again after having fluid drained from a sore knee on Friday. Branyan was nursing a sore forearm after being beaned with a pitch on Saturday. Lopez is still on bereavement leave. And Beltre, one day after requiring a pinch-hitter due to a sore shoulder, was out of the lineup for the same reason.
Even Chris Woodward, who was recently called up to fill Lopez's roster spot, pulled his groin early in the game and played through it.
But as the injuries and absences keep piling up, the Mariners keep finding ways to get it done.
Hernandez didn't sail smoothly through this one, either. He ran into trouble in the second inning when three consecutive singles loaded the bases, but the ace managed to wiggle out of it by coaxing a unique 5-2 double play, then struck out Augie Ojeda to retire the side.
Hernandez, who continues to make his case as a potential All-Star selection with every start, hadn't allowed a run in 20 consecutive innings until Reynolds' blast.
"To me, it was probably his best overall performance as far as just competing and battling," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "I don't think he had his best stuff or his best command, but he gave us a chance to win."
Lately, that's all this team seems to need. This was the Mariners' 20th come-from-behind win of the season, and each win in this series came in that fashion.
Not bad for playing with spare parts.
"With all the things we've got going on right now," Wakamatsu said, "these guys just keep pulling together."
The Mariners (35-34) got on the board first in the fourth inning, when they took advantage of two walks by Arizona starter Doug Davis -- he ended up walking five over seven innings --and used an RBI single by Yuniesky Betancourt to take a 1-0 lead.
Clay Zavada took the loss for Arizona.
Mark Lowe (1-4) got the win in relief, pitching a scoreless ninth to preserve what at that point was a 2-2 tie.
"It feels different, because the past 2-3 weeks, we've been struggling," Hernandez said. "But now we're fine. We're going to be better."
Christian Caple is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
