It’s a game of pitches in M’s loss

CHICAGO – Of the 254 pitches thrown here Saturday, two in the first inning may have determined the outcome.

One was a Jamie Moyer breaking ball that stayed up and was hit out, becoming Paul Konerko’s 26th home run. The other was a back-door slider that struck out Richie Sexson with two men on.

Those two pitches, as much as anything, allowed the Chicago White Sox to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2.

After battling back problems since his last start on July 27, Moyer pitched a marvelous game, limiting Chicago to four hits – three of those singles – in 7 2/3 innings. By comparison, Chicago’s Mark Buehrle allowed seven hits in seven innings.

The difference?

“Their guys was awfully good tonight,” Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said. “When we got runners in scoring position, he got tougher.

“The key at-bat of the game was probably in the first inning for us. Richie is up there with two men on base and Buehrle throws him a slider that looked like a ball the whole way to the plate and then catches the corner. That’s a tough pitch to throw. It’s a tougher pitch to hit.”

It struck out Sexson.

“Blame it on me,” Sexson said. “He made a great pitch.”

A few minutes later, in the bottom of the first inning, Chicago rallied for three runs – an error by third baseman Adrian Beltre, and RBI single by Aaron Rowand and then Konerko’s home run.

For the rest of the night, the White Sox had two singles.

The Mariners?

They majored in threats that went nowhere, largely because every opportunity found Buehrle unwilling to give in. He kept Seattle off the scoreboard until the sixth inning and then used his glove as well as his arm to stop a rally.

The Mariners opened that sixth with a single by Ichiro Suzuki, who had two hits in snapping a 0-for-22 streak.

Willie Bloomquist singled Ichiro to third base and Raul Ibanez grounded out, pushing home a run. Bloomquist was on third base with one out and Sexson came up again. Buehrle threw him a pitch that caught more of the plate than he wanted to. Sexson lined a shot up the middle that literally knocked off Buehrle’s glove, but when the pitcher scrambled to his feet and, bare-handed, picked up the ball and threw Sexson out, Bloomquist was still at third base.

“Frustrating? Yeah, that’s an RBI and maybe a big inning,” Sexson said.

“I’m a pitcher, and what that’s called is ‘self defense,’ ” Moyer said. “I don’t know if Mark ever saw that ball, but he stopped it.”

Buehrle needed nearly two minutes before throwing another pitch.

The Mariners kept poking away, putting two men on base with two outs in the seventh, only to see Ichiro ground out to end the inning. In the eighth, they scored on back-to-back doubles by Sexson and Beltre, but rookie Mike Morse grounded out.

“Jamie pitched the way he always does. He was great,” Bloomquist said. “He gave us the chance to win, we just didn’t hit with guys on base. That’s every team’s Achilles’ heel – it’s easier to get men on than it is to get them in.”

Of Seattle’s nine hits, Ichiro had two and Bloomquist three. Between them, they scored one run.

Former Mariner Scott Podsednik, who went hitless, scored twice – after reaching base on a walk and an error and stealing his 53rd and 54th bases of the season. The Sox made the most of their speed.

“That’s the way games are supposed to be played,” Moyer said. “In the third, fourth, fifth, sixth innings, I had a nice tempo going. But the first inning was enough for them. In close games, that’s sometimes how it goes.”

After Moyer had answered questions, a late-arriving Chicago television crew asked him for a few more minutes.

Their first question? What was it like pitching against Buehrle?

“I wish he was in the lineup and not on the mound,” Moyer said.