M’S Best Yankees, Make Strides

Candor and a forkball have always been large parts of Norm Charlton’s game, and after sealing a victory with the latter on Monday he turned to the former.

“We’ve got 35 days left to this season, and if you’d asked in spring training where we wanted to be with 35 games, we’d have said ‘Ten games ahead,”’ Charlton said. “But if you’d told us we’d be two games out of the wild-card spot with 35 days left, I’d have said then what I say now.

“That’ll do.”

Back from self-exile - and an early August loss of confidence - Charlton earned his first save since June 29 as he got the final two outs of Seattle’s superbly pitched 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees.

There are 32 games remaining in a run for another postseason, and for a night at least, the Kingdome saw Seattle inch closer to the playoffs.

“There was a lot of intensity out there,” manager Lou Piniella said, though he watched the last five innings from his office. “And a lot of good pitching.”

Sterling Hitchcock, Bobby Ayala and Charlton held New York to five hits and a run, and when Jay Buhner sent a bouncing single up the middle to score Ken Griffey Jr. in the eighth inning, he snapped a 1-1 tie. Three outs from their 67th victory, Ayala struck out Cecil Fielder, and acting manager Lee Elia - subbing for the ejected Piniella - changed pitchers to get a lefty-vs.-lefty matchup of Charlton vs. Tino Martinez.

Martinez grounded out.

Now one out from a win, Elia left Charlton in to face the right-handed hitting Ruben Rivera. Why?

“If I bring in Mike Jackson, they send up Wade Boggs or Paul O’Neill, and I’d rather keep those guys sitting on the bench,” Elia said.

Charlton struck out Rivera and Seattle moved to within 7-1/2 games of Texas in the American League West, and just two games behind Baltimore in the run at a wild-card berth.

As Charlton said, that will do.

A team sifting through its system in search of an ace, the Mariners got a marvelous performance from Hitchcock against his former team.

Coming off a loss in Baltimore in which he’d given up eight hits and six runs in four innings, the left-hander shut out New York on three singles through six innings.

At that, he far outlasted New York starter Jimmy Key, knocked out of the game when the second man he faced, Alex Rodriguez, lined a triple off Key’s left elbow.

“That’s as hard as I’ve hit a ball all season,” Rodriguez said.

The Mariners nursed a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning and then Tino Martinez - the key player in the trade that made Hitchcock and Russ Davis Mariners - stole a run that evened the game.

Martinez opened the seventh inning with a double high off the wall in right field, and Darryl Strawberry followed with a looping single to left. Never known for his speed, Martinez was held at third base by coach Willie Randoph, well aware of the strength of outfielder Mark Whiten’s arm.

When Mariano Duncan popped a ball into short center, it didn’t seem much more than a wasted at-bat. Not deep enough for either Buhner or Griffey Jr. to catch, the ball was caught easily by second baseman Rich Amaral.

Amaral, however, was on his heels - his momentum carrying him toward the outfield - and at third base, Martinez tagged and went for the plate, easily beating Amaral’s one-hop throw to tie the game.

From Piniella’s perspective, that hustle play should have made the score 2-1 M’s. His opinion had gotten him ejected in the fourth inning.

Griffey doubled into the right field corner to open that third inning, and Edgar Martinez followed with a drive to the top of the wall in right field - where a fan leaned over the railing and gloved the ball as it came down.

Second base umpire Rocky Roe, running toward the play from the infield, lifted his first and signaled “home run.” New York manager Joe Torre came out of the dugout to argue the fan had interfered with a ball in play, and after conferring with the rest of the umpiring crew, the call was changed.

Martinez was sent back to second base with a double, which meant instead of being ahead 2-0, the Mariners led only 1-0.

Piniella took exception, continually asking why Roe - closest to the play - had been overruled. When the argument grew more heated, thirdbase ump Durwood Merrill ejected Piniella, who left kicking dirt to the delight of the crwod of 32,857.

“How can the third-base umpire have a better angle than the guy who is closest to the play?” Piniella asked after the game, still exasperated.

M’s wait for worst

Seattle is are ready to finish out the season without Randy Johnson.

“We’ve got to be prepared to play without him the rest of the year,” Piniella said.

“We’ve found out one thing with Randy,” Piniella added. “Pitching out of the bullpen isn’t going to work because of the ups and downs. I think we have to be fair.”

On Monday, Johnson, still bothered by a bulging disc, was in Anaheim, Calif., to have his ailing back re-examined by Dr. Robert Watkins, a back specialist.

Mariners moves

Rookie right-handed pitcher Matt Wagner, 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA since being recalled Aug. 20, was optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma and left-hander Tim Davis, a reliever, was recalled from the Triple-A team.