Mariners Use The Long Ball To Produce 3rd Win In Row
They are not as hot as their designated hitter, nor their third baseman, nor their first baseman - but the Seattle Mariners are working up to it.
A team that hasn’t won four games in a row since the last four days of May, the Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox on Monday, 6-4, to run their string of victories to three.
Look out above.
Collectively and individually, the Mariners are showing signs of awakening from a season of one-step-forward, one-step-back marches.
Even in this shortened season, Edgar Martinez is on pace to shatter the franchise records for batting average, doubles, runs scored and walks - and he added to his total in all departments Monday.
Mike Blowers continued one of the most torrid streaks of productivity in the game with a home run and a pair of RBIs, running his pinball-machine total to 17 in the past five games.
And Tino Martinez, who had never hit more than 20 home runs in a season, or driven in more than 66, hit No. 26 into the Kingdome’s seats beyond the wall in right field, picking up RBI No. 83.
On Night One of a three-game home stand, a crowd of 18,852 watched the three hottest Mariners produce again and saw pitchers Tim Belcher and Norm Charlton hold Chicago without an earned run as Seattle continued to sneak into the American League wild card race.
Four days ago, this team was three games under .500 and sitting in Oakland - where it had the worst winning percentage in franchise history. Today, the Mariners are at .500 and trying to fan a spark into something more. They are, almost, hot.
“We’ve won three in a row, four of five, and it would be nice to win eight of 10, keep this going,” said Jay Buhner, who also contributed a home run. “The guys are starting to get a little taste of what a race could be like, and there’s no reason we can’t make up ground now instead of in September.
“We’re hitting the ball, we’ve got our pitching pretty well set,” said Buhner, whose two-run shot in the first inning got Seattle’s offense started. “What would be nice would be to get on top of that wild card spot and run with it.”
For most of the night, Belcher was working without a net, aware that a tired bullpen would be no help if he needed it early. After Blowers’ three-run mistake in the first inning - a wild, bases-loaded throw that let in three runs - the right-hander settled in and dominated the White Sox until the sixth.
“That play in the first inning was as much my fault as anyone’s,” Belcher said. “I loaded the bases, and Blowers made a good play to flag that ball. I knew we’d come back if I held them. I just wasn’t sure I could hold them. I only needed about a million pitches.”
Two outs into the seventh, Belcher ran out of arm, leaving the bases loaded for reliever Charlton, who promptly wild-pitched home the run that brought Chicago to within 5-4.
Charlton then retired the last seven White Sox batters he faced, earning his second save of the season and extending a personal scoreless streak to 11-1/3 innings.
“Buhner, Blowers, Tino, Edgar, they’re all producing,” Piniella said. “You look at the teams in this league that are successful … they’ve got three, four, five guys producing, not just one or two.”