Greenwell Drives Mariners Into The Ground Bats In Nine Runs With Four Hits As Red Sox Rally For Wild 9-8 Victory
A multitude of “ifs” cost the Seattle Mariners a game they thought they’d won Monday, though in truth most of them came off the bat of Mike Greenwell.
If Norm Charlton’s eighth inning fastball had been called strike three … if Seattle hadn’t made so many base-running mistakes … if Rafael Carmona hadn’t walked Jeff Manto with two outs …
Bottom line? If Boston had traded Greenwell - who gave them permission to do so in July - his career-best nine RBIs Monday wouldn’t have beaten the Mariners 9-8 in 10 innings.
If, if, if …
On a night when the Mariners were in position to beat nemisis Roger Clemens, the Seattle bullpen blew leads of 5-2 and 8-6, and each time the bat that did the most damage was in the hands of Greenwell.
A 33-year-old in his 10th full season with Boston, Greenwell had fought injuries and a benching this season and began the night with 25 RBIs in his first 53 games.
No one on the Seattle staff could stop him - and it cost the Mariners the chance to gain ground in the American League West and in the wild-card race.
Against Bob Wolcott in the fifth inning, Greenwell’s two-run home run cut Seattle’s lead to 5-2.
Against Bobby Ayala in the seventh inning, Greenwell hit a grand slam home run to put the Red Sox ahead, 6-5.
Against Charlton in the eighth inning, an opposite-field bloop double landed just inside the foul line, rolled into the Mariners bullpen and scored two runs to tie the game at 8.
And then his night got better: Greenwell’s two-out, opposite-field double to left field off Carmona produced the game-winning run.
The Mariners tried hard to offset Boston’s one-man band but couldn’t outdistance him.
Alex Rodriguez extended his career-best hitting streak to 18 games - fourth longest in franchise history - with a two-run home run that put Seattle ahead in the seventh inning, 7-6.
Yet in the 10th, with runners on first and second base and one out, it was Rodriguez who grounded back to the pitcher and into a game-ending double play.
Ken Griffey Jr. singled, walked, scored two runs - just missing a pitch in the eighth inning with two on and two out, popping up to the pitcher.
And then there was Charlton, who came into his 59th game of the year with a 14-1/3-inning scoreless streak.
With two outs and one man on in the eighth inning, Seattle was ahead 8-6, and Charlton had a 2-2 count on Boston’s Tim Naehring. He threw a fastball precisely where his catcher called for it inner half of the plate, waist high and Naehring took it.
Dan Wilson started off the field. Charlton started off the field. Naehring dropped his head.
Reed called the pitch inside, and when Charlton missed with a 3-2 pitch, the Sox had two on for Greenwell, who promptly tied the game.
The game went into extra innings but Piniella never saw the regulation nine - at least not from the dugout. For the fourth time this season, and the third time in less than two weeks, Piniella was ejected during a short but pointed discussion with an umpire.
This time it was with second base umpire Larry Young, though it could have been with plate ump Rick Reed. By the time he was tossed in the eighth inning, Piniella was none to pleased with either of them.
Piniella had three arguments and lost each. He thought the pitch to Naehring had been a strike. He thought Greenwell’s ball should have been a ground rule double as it banged around in the Mariners bullpen - and had it been, only one run would have scored.
And he thought third base coach Dave Oliver had touched pinch base-runner Lee Tinsley just before Tinsley scored the tying run.
After listening awhile, Young ejected Piniella.
Oddly enough, had the Sox lost this game they’d have had nearly as many ‘ifs’ to haunt them.
Clemens had a four-game winning streak in which he’d been almost untouchable, and trailed Wolcott 1-0 into the fourth inning. Then he fell apart - defensively.
On consecutive plays, Clemens fielded comebackers to the mound and tried to start double plays. On the first one, a one-hopper by Mark Whiten, Clemens bounced his throw to shortstop for an error. One run scored.
The next batter, Wilson, hit another ball to Clemens, who wheeled and threw the ball into center field for another run. By the time Clemens got out of the inning he trailed, 5-0.
And the Mariners didn’t beat him.
They ran into outs, caught stealing twice, doubled off second base once on a routine fly ball to center field. They left nine more runners on base. And three of the five relievers Seattle used gave up runs.
Notes
Recalled from Tacoma on Monday were pitchers Bob Wolcott, Rusty Meacham, and Salomon Torres, outfielder Alex Diaz and catcher Chris Widger. Added to big-league roster Tuesday will be pitchers Matt Wagner and Bob Milacki. To make room for Milacki on the 40-man major-league roster, the team will first recall pitcher Scott Davison - who has had right shoulder surgery - and put him on the 60-day disabled list, thus clearing a spot for Milacki.
Here’s a memory that might show your age: Roger Clemens struck out 20 Mariners in a game to set the major-league record on April 29 - 1986.
Former M’s pitching coach Sammy Ellis, now filling that role with Boston, said he had no hard feelings over his 1994 dismissal here. “I’ve been fired before,” he said. “But I see it wasn’t all my fault.” It is not lost upon Ellis that the Seattle staff ERA is 5.36 - higher than the 4.99 ERA that got him fired after ‘94.