News
Mariners lose four-run lead vs. Tampa Bay
Bullpen surrenders three runs in final three innings
By Zach Schonbrun / MLB.com
09/24/09 12:12 AM ET
ST. PETERSBURG -- The ball jumped off Bill Hall's bat and spun Rays center fielder B.J. Upton abruptly around, and the pursuit was on.The ball carried on a straight line toward the 404-foot marker in center field, where Upton stopped, adjusted and sized it up. As soon as Hall saw Upton slow down at the warning track, his heart sank.
Hall figured then, Upton had it under control. He watched just long enough to see the center fielder leap and make the catch to end the game, leaving the Mariners inches away from a miraculous tie with two strikes and two outs in the last at-bat.
Instead, Upton's rob snapped a two-game winning streak for Seattle with a 5-4 loss in front of 13,009 at Tropicana Field on Wednesday. The loss is just the Mariners' second in seven games.
"I thought we battled the whole game," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said.
It was Upton's go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning that helped the Rays sneak ahead, after they'd fallen behind, 4-0, in the sixth. Mark Lowe took the loss after allowing Upton's hit.
It's the eighth blown save of the season for Lowe, who earned his third save the night before in shutting down Tampa Bay in the ninth for the 4-3 win. He couldn't garner the same magic two games in a row, though.
Lowe loaded the bases with one out in the inning and delivered an 86-mph slider to Upton, who lined it into left field to bring two runs around.
Wakamatsu said the situation should never have gotten that tight. The Mariners had jumped out to an early lead and had situations -- including stranding Michael Saunders after a leadoff double in the seventh -- they should've better seized.
"Early in ballgame, I thought we did a nice job getting ahead and manufacturing," Wakamatsu said. "Obviously, stranding Saunders at third base was big in this game. We had a one-run lead and could've tacked on another one. We didn't capitalize on it."
The blown save spoiled an opportunity for a win for Brandon Morrow, who pitched decently in his third start since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma. Morrow worked out of trouble in the second inning and settled into a groove until the sixth, when he was replaced after walking the first two batters.
The right-hander gave up two runs on three hits, three walks and three strikeouts in five-plus innings. It was enough to leave him encouraged about his progress.
"I felt really good mechanically, I felt good commanding all my pitches, and I did what I wanted to do for the five innings that I pitched well," Morrow said.
Morrow, who is 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA since the recall, felt he had his best command of the season, and Wakamatsu echoed that his stuff looked good. But the 25-year-old right-hander seemed to hit a wall in the sixth.
"He walked two guys in the sixth on nine pitches, and you start to feel like he's putting too much pressure on himself," Wakamatsu said. "He lost his release point a little bit and we got him out of there."
The Mariners jumped out to the early lead thanks to two unearned runs, one on a passed ball by Rays catcher Dioner Navarro, the other on an overthrow of third base by Upton. Seattle tagged Rays rookie right-hander Wade Davis for seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Saunders ended up 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, but he was thrown out at home plate by right fielder Ben Zobrist to end the seventh on what turned out to be a crucial play.
The game's final play was a heart-stopper and, very nearly, a magical moment for the Mariners. Hall, pinch-hitting for Saunders, worked the count against Rays reliever Randy Choate to 2-2 before drilling the pitch to dead center field.
"I hit it pretty good, I thought it had a chance," Hall said. "But once he got back there and put his hand on the wall I was thinking, 'Please don't rob this, please don't rob this.'"
Seattle nearly snuck into Tropicana Field and took an abbreviated two-game midweek series -- a noteworthy feat, considering the travel it took to get here and the quick turnaround afterward.
The Rays were saved by a great defensive effort by Upton. The Mariners can take heart that they battled until the bitter end.
"This team is still fighting," Hall said. "They're searching for something to fight for. If it's catching Texas and getting into second place, it's definitely a feat, especially coming off the year they had before. It definitely gives motivation for the upcoming season. These guys don't give up."
Zach Schonbrun is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
