Jones shoulders blame in loss to Jays

TORONTO – Rookie Adam Jones stood near the first-base coach’s box Saturday during Blue Jays batting practice, just watching.

“He’s taking it all in,” Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said, watching the 20-year-old. “He’s learning.”

The lessons continued once the game began, and after Seattle’s 14-inning, 7-6 loss to Toronto – a game filled with hung pitches and home runs, squandered opportunities and great relief pitching – Jones felt responsible.

Given the chance to beat 12-game winner Roy Halladay, the Mariners and Jamie Moyer took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, then saw two well-hit balls to center field become doubles.

Worse, after each, Moyer gave up a home run.

“I should have caught both those balls,” said Jones, who until last year was a shortstop. “Vernon Wells catches them both. I should have. I got good breaks on both of them, and the first one hit halfway up the fence. The second one landed on the warning track.

“I pulled up late. I can’t do that. The wall is padded, I’ve got to run through it for my pitcher, make those plays. I’ll learn.”

Those plays not made loomed large as the game went on, as the Mariners rallied to a 4-4 tie, fell behind 5-4 and then 6-4, and came back in the eighth with back-to-back home runs by Richie Sexson and Carl Everett.

Had Jones made those catches, the Mariners might have won this one in regulation and not used five relievers over the final seven innings.

“They were tough plays, balls hit right over his head, which can be the toughest play for any outfielder,” Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said. “We knew when we brought him up there were going to be mistakes, and we had to be willing to live with those mistakes.”

Jones took it far harder.

“I’ve got to just put my head down and run to the spot, make the play,” he said. “I come in much better still than I go back, and I have to work harder on going back. As a shortstop, your instinct is almost always to come in. I was really mad at myself out there.

“It’s bad enough to make those mistakes, but then to see both those guys score?

“Guys up here hit the ball harder. That’s not an excuse – I still should have caught the balls. I’ll be better.”

For a game started by two pitchers with sharp earned run averages, this one got wild quick and stayed there. Halladay went six innings and gave up four runs, pushing his ERA from 2.92 to 3.06. Moyer lasted 6 1/3 innings, gave up six runs and saw his ERA climb from 3.50 to 3.75.

From then on, it was a game of two bullpens – and two offenses that could match one another but never put the game away.

Until the 14th.

For Seattle, it was a game of big hits just to stay even. Raul Ibañez had a two-run home run in the fourth, then a two-out, two-run triple in the fifth.

Toronto used three homers off Moyer – by Bengie Molina, Troy Glaus and John McDonald – to trigger its offense.

Yet after the eighth, neither team scored until Toronto pushed home the winner against Emiliano Fruto in the 14th. The Mariners had chances. Hargrove still isn’t sure how they didn’t score in the 13th.

Kenji Johjima singled to open the 13th, then stole second base. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a ball into shallow right-center field, and right fielder Eric Hinske made a diving catch.

Greg Dobbs then hit a shot into center field and Wells made another diving catch.

The Blue Jays walked Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre to load the bases, and escaped the jam.

“Either of those balls falls, we win,” Hargrove said. “They made great plays.”