Johnson Slams Brakes On M’S Skid Throws Four Scoreless Innings In Relief In M’S 9-5 Win

The vision of Randy Johnson walking to the mound again Tuesday put the Kingdome into another decibel level - until his first pitch was hit for a double.

There was an audible gasp from 21,961 fans then.

And on the mound, a visible transformation.

“I think it made him mad,” catcher Dan Wilson said. “And we’ve all seen what Randy can do when he bears down … ” What he did Tuesday was help snap Seattle’s seven-game losing streak, pitching the final four innings for the save in the Mariners 9-5 victory over Kansas City - a win in which the Royals led 5-0.

After giving up that leadoff double in the sixth inning to Kevin Young, Johnson pitched with animation, confidence and velocity. It was a combination he used to strike out eight batters.

“You could feel the attitude change when he got it going,” starter Terry Mulholland said. “I’ll tell you what - I don’t mind being the Big Unit’s setup man.”

If the Mariners have their way, Mulholland won’t have to fill that role again. Johnson has now pitched three times since coming off the disabled list last week, and though he’s worked only nine innings since May 12, they have been nine impressive innings.

In them, he has allowed six hits, walked two and struck out … 15 batters.

“What’s the difference if he pitches four innings in the middle or five innings as a starter?” manager Lou Piniella asked afterward. “We’ll see how he feels (today), we’ll talk to him, but I’d like to see him start in New York on Monday.”

Before the game, Piniella had been asked what his team needed to break a losing streak that was their longest since 1992.

“What we need is to get a lead and have our pitching hold it,” Piniella said. “We need a game that isn’t in doubt up to the final out - and we haven’t had one in awhile.”

They got one Tuesday, though not quite the way Piniella had envisioned it.

From the outset, the Royals controlled the game.

After scoring three runs in the first inning off Mulholland - one of them unearned - Kansas City had Seattle in the uneviable position of playing its infield in before the second inning was two outs old.

That’s not what a team on a losing streak wants to see. Nor was the eventual 5-0 lead Kansas City staked starter Doug Linton to in the fourth inning.

“I wasn’t very happy,” Mulholland said.

What brought the Mariners back was something they’ve used all season - power - and the element of luck that has been missing in action throughout this homestand.

Jay Buhner erased the zero on the Seattle end of the scoreboard with a three-run home run in the fourth inning, a 437-foot birthday celebration that was his 34th homer this season.

In the fifth inning, signalling his return to the heart of the lineup, cleanup hitter Edgar Martinez lined his second single of the night into left field, good for his 83rd RBI and a 6-5 Seattle lead.

That inning put Mulholland in position to win. He’d pitched five innings and had a lead.

On came Johnson, making his third relief appearance of the homestand - and the fifth of his career. After Young’s double, he struck out two of the next three batters and five of the next seven he faced.