Mariners Win Interleague Brawl, 12-11 Rockies Smack Ball Around, But Make Big Mistakes
Argue the complexities of the double switch. Debate the use of a designated hitter. Wrestle with whether one league or the other has the best players.
About all the first interleague game in Kingdome history proved decisively Thursday was that a bad pitch - thrown by an American or a National League pitcher - gets crushed.
When the Colorado Rockies and the Seattle Mariners met for the first time, a lot of those pitches got thrown, and 37,948 fans had trouble keeping tab of the hits, let alone the runs they produced.
In a game that was offensive in more ways than one, the Mariners won the first I.L. game in Seattle history, 12-11.
“This was a good park to hit in when I played,” Colorado manager Don Baylor said before the game. “It doesn’t look like it’s changed.”
The two most productive lineups in the big leagues, tossed into a hitters ballpark and confronted with lessthan-dominant pitching? This was a game that could have gone either way until the last out, and both teams knew it.
By the sixth inning, the Rockies had batted around in an inning twice - the Mariners once - and Baylor still had Dante Bichette trying to steal a base with a 10-6 lead. Why? He didn’t think a four-run lead was enough.
Baylor was right.
And just when the Mariners thought they were safe, holding a two-run lead in the eighth inning, the Rockies rallied and then self-destructed on one of the most bizarre double plays in Kingdome history.
With one out and two men aboard, Quntin McCrackin singled home a run, then got lost in an interleague triangle. The throw from left fielder Rob Ducey to the plate was late, but as baserunner Walt Weiss rounded second and held there, McCrackin started toward second base from first.
Want weird? Try this. Wilson threw to Joey Cora and Weiss ran for third.
Cora threw to third, and Brent Gates tagged him out. McCracken, badly confused, wandered off second base - and Gates threw the ball to center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., who tagged McCracken out to end the inning.
For those scoring at home, the play went 7-2-4-6-8.
Good news
Alex Rodriguez will be lost to the Seattle Mariners for five to seven days because of a bruised chest but he won’t have to go on the disabled list.
Rodriguez was kneed by Toronto’s Roger Clemens while sliding at home plate in the first inning Wednesday.
Mariners 12, Rockies 11
Colorado AB R H BI BB SO Avg. EcYoung 2b 5 1 2 1 0 1 .312 Burks lf 5 1 1 1 1 1 .236 LWalker rf 6 0 2 1 0 0 .409 Galarraga 1b 5 2 4 1 0 0 .343 Bichette dh 5 2 3 0 0 0 .300 Castilla 3b 5 1 3 3 0 0 .304 JeReed c 3 2 0 0 1 0 .316 a-Pulliam ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 .000 Manwaring c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264 Weiss ss 2 1 0 0 3 1 .253 McCracken cf 5 0 3 3 0 0 .336 Totals 41 11 18 10 6 3 Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cora 2b 4 1 0 0 1 0 .344 Cruz Jr lf 4 0 0 0 1 2 .293 Ducey lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .208 Griffey Jr cf 4 1 2 3 1 0 .305 EMartinez dh 3 2 0 0 2 2 .325 Buhner rf 4 1 2 3 1 0 .234 Sorrento 1b 5 2 3 1 0 0 .288 DaWilson c 5 1 1 0 0 0 .297 RDavis 3b 4 2 2 2 1 0 .296 Gates ss 4 2 2 2 0 1 .282 Totals 37 12 12 11 7 5 Colorado 060 040 010 - 11 Seattle 010 502 40x - 12 a-walked for J.Reed in the 8th.
E-Galarraga (5), Castilla (6), DaWilson (3). LOB-Colorado 10, Seattle 8. 2B-Galarraga 2 (13), Castilla 2 (8), McCracken (5), Griffey Jr (11), Buhner (7), Sorrento (9), RDavis (17), Gates (5). RBIs-EcYoung (21), Burks (39), LWalker (54), Galarraga (69), Castilla 3 (52), McCracken 3 (18), Griffey Jr 3 (70), Buhner 3 (49), Sorrento (27), RDavis 2 (25), Gates 2 (9). SB-JeReed (1). GIDP- Burks.
Runners left in scoring position-Colorado 7 (Galarraga 2, Bichette 3, McCracken 2); Seattle 5 (EMartinez, Sorrento 2, DaWilson, Gates).
Runners moved up-JeReed 2, Cora, RDavis.
DP-Seattle 2 (Gates, Cora and Sorrento), (Ducey, DaWilson, Cora, Gates and Griffey Jr).
Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Holmes 3-1/3 5 6 5 3 3 70 4.17 Dipoto 2-2/3 4 2 2 2 1 58 7.49 DeJean 2/3 1 2 2 1 1 12 4.26 MMunoz L,1-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 6 5.14 SReed 1-1/3 1 1 1 1 0 11 4.34
Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Lowe 1-2/3 5 5 5 1 1 38 5.84 MMaddux 2-1/3 7 4 4 1 0 35 11.57 Charlton 2 3 1 1 2 0 48 7.96 BWells W,2-0 1-1/3 2 0 0 0 1 20 7.50 McCarthy 0 0 1 1 2 0 10 4.66 Ayala S, 4 1-2/3 1 0 0 0 1 13 4.54 MMunoz pitched to 1 batter in the 7th, MMaddux pitched to 3 batters in the 5th, McCarthy pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.
Inherited runners-scored-Dipoto 3-2, MMunoz 2-1, SReed 2-2, MMaddux 1-1, Charlton 2-1, Ayala 1-1.
HBP-by Charlton (EcYoung). WP-Holmes, Dipoto.
T-3:25. A-37,948 (58,879).