Aye-Yi-Yi Ayala! Reliever’s Bad Pitching Dooms Seattle In Opener Despite Griffey’s Heroics

The first playoff game in franchise history cost the Seattle Mariners a little pride Tuesday, and cost Bobby Ayala his job.

Dead-even with New York ace David Cone after the top of the seventh inning - riding the second of two home runs by Ken Griffey Jr. to a 4-4 deadlock - the Mariners turned the game over to reliever Ayala and asked him to hold off the Yankees.

He couldn’t, and New York rallied to win Game 1 of the American League Division Series, 9-6.

The Yankees may go on to pound Seattle right out of this best-of-five series, and if they do, they won’t have Ayala to kick around again.

Not in a meaningful situation.

“We’re going to make some adjustments,” manager Lou Piniella said. “We came to New York wanting a split in the two games here and nothing has changed. We still want a split. We scored enough runs tonight, we just didn’t hold them.”

Call it the lasting impact of that one-game tie-breaker with California in the Kingdome on Monday, when Seattle was forced to use Randy Johnson to win the A.L. West title.

That victory changed the way Seattle matched up with New York on Tuesday. Instead of starting the Big Unit, their Cy Young Award candidate, the Mariners had to go with Chris Bosio - a veteran right-hander who won 10 games this season but also allowed American League hitters a .313 batting average.

In front of the largest Yankee Stadium crowd since the park was renovated in 1976, Bosio saw his job as keeping his team in the game, and did it the best he could.

What beat the Mariners wasn’t Bosio. It wasn’t reliever Jeff Nelson, who started the seventh inning by hitting Randy Velarde with a fastball.

It was Ayala’s inability to get an out that didn’t hurt him that cost Seattle any chance of winning this one - and will force Piniella to switch his bullpen around for the rest of the series.

“If we get a lead, we’ll go to Norm Charlton earlier,” Piniella said.

With the game tied in the seventh, that wasn’t an option Tuesday, and with a Yankees lineup stocked with left-handed batters, Piniella went with what he thought was his next best reliever for the situation.

Ayala, who throws a wicked forkball when he’s on, held left-handed hitters to a .229 average this season.

This, however, is the postseason.

Trying to hold on to a tie Griffey’s second long home run had given Seattle, Ayala faced five Yankees in the seventh inning - and by the time he departed, New York led, 8-4.

Wade Boggs singled. Bernie Williams doubled. Paul O’Neill hit a long sacrifice fly. Ruben Sierra hit a home run. Don Mattingly doubled.

“We had a couple of chances to do more against Cone and didn’t, then the game just got away,” Piniella said.

In the end, the Mariners tried another trademark rally, scoring two runs in the ninth inning and bringing the tying run to the plate twice against closer John Wetteland.

With Edgar and Tino Martinez on base and two runs in, Wetteland got Jay Buhner to pop up to Wade Boggs, then struck out Mike Blowers - and New York led the series, 1-0.

“We played a good game, the Yankees played a better one,” Tino said. “We’re still in position to do what we came here to do, which is go home even.”

“Simple plan,” Junior said. “Win one of two here, win two of three at home - or stay home.”

Aside from Ayala, who declined to talk about his game, about his future or his post-game meal, the Mariners took the defeat in stride, following the orders, Griffey said, of team veterans.

“We didn’t show up thinking this was going to be easy,” Bosio said. “Wade Boggs had a great night tonight. He’s a great hitter. David Cone is David Cone, one of the best pitchers in baseball. Ask them if they thought beating us was easy.”

The Yankees didn’t.

Mattingly, in the first playoff game of his career, singled home a run against Bosio, then doubled to chase Ayala. He was delighted with the victory, but hardly over-confident about the series.

“Bosio is a kitchen-sink pitcher, he throws a little of everything up there at you,” Mattingly said. “We had our ace going. This was a game we had to have and they still scored six runs. You don’t relax against the Mariners. We beat them with our best, and we haven’t had to face their best yet.”

Not Johnson. Not Charlton.

The problem confronting Seattle is whether the Mariners can score enough runs and get enough pitching to get this series into the hands of their best starting pitcher and their best reliever.

“When the phone rings in the pen, I’m ready,” Charlton said. “If Lou wants me in the second inning, I’ll come in. This time of year, everybody is available every day, every inning.”

Except, at the moment, Ayala. On the bullpen depth chart, he has probably dropped below Tim Belcher, who Piniella said would be ready to relieve tonight if needed.

“We don’t have the luxury of helping anybody work through anything right now,” Piniella said. “I’ve got to go with the players who give this team the best chance to win. So I’m going to make some adjustments.”

Notes

Shagging fly balls during batting practice, reliever Bill Risley was injured in a fluke play and had to be helped off the field. Risley was waiting to catch a fly ball when teammate Bob Wells raced by, trying to make a catch on the run - and missed. Screened out, Risley took the ball off his left ear and was on the ground for nearly 5 minutes. End result? A headache but nothing that would keep him out of a game… . The Mariners are leaning toward a rotation in Games 2-3-4 of Andy Benes, Tim Belcher and Johnson, although if the team should come home 0-2, the Big Unit might come back for Game 3 in the Kingdome on Friday… . Mariners with postseason experience opening this series: Belcher, Vince Coleman, Norm Charlton, Warren Newson and Joey Cora.