Mariners Use Long Ball Often To Stay On Rangers’ Heels

Scrambling to return to the second postseason in franchise history, the Seattle Mariners find themselves walking a path few teams have traveled.

Each victory keeps that playoff flame alive, and for a time Saturday it seemed that each swing of the bat pushed them deeper into major league history as one of the most powerful offenses ever.

Five home runs - including three in a row in the third inning - led the Mariners to their 10th consecutive victory as Jamie Moyer beat Oakland, 9-2.

Playing in front of their seventh sellout crowd of the season, a Kingdome gathering of 56,103, the Mariners kept pace with the leaders in the American League West and the wild-card race.

Along the way, they flashed unprecedented power that has put their season in the record books - whether they get to October or not.

No team in baseball history has had as many extra-base hits (583).

No Seattle team has ever won more games in a season (83).

No team in baseball history has hit consecutive home runs more times in a season (18).

No Seattle team had ever hit more home runs in an inning (4).

No Seattle team had ever won more games in a row.

“Winning is what’s fun in this business,” manager Lou Piniella said, “and you never get tired of it. I hope we can keep this streak going - because we’re going to need it.”

In a thunder-and-lightening third inning, the Mariners turned a 2-0 duel between Moyer and Oakland rookie Dave Telegheder into a race for the record books.

Three consecutive home runs - by Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez - were followed one out later by a fourth off the bat of Paul Sorrento.

How fast did that Mariners attack bury the Athletics?

“I got back to the dugout and looked at the scoreboard because I wanted to see the replay of my home run,” Rodriguez said, all smiles. “Before they could show it, Junior hit his. Before they could show his home run, Edgar hit his. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Had Piniella?

“Yeah, in spring training with the wind blowing out,” he said. “Never in a major league game.”

Impressive as those four home runs were, they weren’t the longest of the night.

That had come an inning earlier, when Jay Buhner hit a two-run bolt - his 43rd of the year - into the second deck in left field. Only six other baseballs had reached that level in the history of the Kingdome.

All that offense rewarded another strong effort by Moyer, the 33-year-old left-hander who has made his 10 starts as a Mariner remarkable with his consistency.

When he pitched into the seventh inning without giving up a run Saturday, it stretched a personal scoreless streak to 14 innings - and not even a two-run home run by Tony Batista could mar this start.

Moyer is 13-3 this season, 6-2 for Seattle. For a man pitching for his sixth major league team, those numbers are remarkable.

“I can’t tell you why he’s been with so many teams,” Piniella said. “I can tell you that since he’s been here, he’s pitched well, period. Every time out.”

As for that winning streak, it has taken a toll in the Seattle clubhouse.

Third base coach John McLaren was goaded into a wager last week - if the team won 10 consecutive games, players got to shave his head.

“I know this,” Piniella said, watching McLaren paying off under a pair of electric shears, “I’m not making any bets.”

Instead, he compared September 1996 against September of a year ago, when the Mariners came from behind to catch the California Angels and win their first division championship.

“Last year we started playing well a little earlier, and it gave us a little margin for error,” Piniella said. “We don’t have any margin this season. Every win makes the next game even bigger, and I’m hoping by the end of next week the games are huge.

“We can’t control Baltimore or Texas, all we can do is control the games we play. Win and we keep the pressure on. It’s the only thing we can do. We pushed ourselves against a wall, and the only possibility was to get a streak like this.

“The only chance we have now is to keep it going.” Oakland hasn’t been able to slow the Mariners any more than the Royals, Twins or Rangers had before them. In two games, the A’s have used 10 pitchers - and none has lasted longer than 22/3 innings.

When this game began, the 1936 Yankees owned the record for the most extra base hits in a season (580). By the end of the third inning, that record belonged to the ‘96 Mariners.

“We’ve been hitting like this all season,” Rodriguez said. “It’s just highlighted now because we’re getting great pitching. Put them together, you get a streak.”

The longest in Mariners history.