M’S Slug Five Homers In Win

Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove and Dave Winfield don’t think the Cleveland Indians’ three-game losing streak is any cause for alarm.

Of course, when you have baseball’s best record at 57-25, it’s easy to be confident.

“It was just one of those nights,” Hargrove said after watching Seattle hit a season-high five home runs, including a pair by Mike Blowers for five RBIs, to win 11-5 after trailing Cleveland 5-0 Thursday night.

“We haven’t played flat too many games,” Winfield said.

Jay Buhner, Warren Newson and Dan Wilson also homered for the Mariners, and Tim Belcher pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game of the season.

“When they weren’t hitting the ball out of the park, they were hitting it where we couldn’t get to it,” Hargrove said with a sigh.

Cleveland took a 4-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Carlos Baerga and a three-run homer by Manny Ramirez, his 23rd of the season. Winfield made it 5-0 for the Indians when he hit his 465th career homer - and second of the season - in the second.

It looked like the game was over, but the Mariners weren’t intimidated by Cleveland’s glossy record.

Seattle began its comeback with Blowers’ three-run homer off Chad Ogea (5-3) in the second. Tino Martinez’s double-play grounder in the Seattle third made the score 5-4.

Blowers hit a two-run homer, his ninth of the year, off Ogea in the fourth for a 6-5 Seattle lead.

“Cleveland has a hell of a ball club,” Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. “Offensively, if you look at the numbers they’ve put up, they can intimidate you. But they can be pitched to, too.”

“My first home run was big,” Blowers said. “It got us right back in the ball game.”

In the fifth, Buhner led off with his 16th homer and Newson followed with his first homer for the Mariners off Albie Lopez.

The Mariners added two runs in the sixth off Jim Poole, Cleveland’s third pitcher. Martinez singled in a run and Buhner got his second RBI with a sacrifice fly. Wilson homered off Poole in the seventh.

Belcher (7-5) overcame a shaky start for his third victory in a row, limiting the Indians to one hit and no runs after the second. He struck out seven, walking one.

Ogea lasted just 3-1/2 innings.