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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A’S Leave Mariners Hanging

Rob Gloster Associated Press

Norm Charlton sat sullenly in a corner of the clubhouse, nursing a beer and staring into space. He spoke softly as somber Seattle teammates whispered a few feet away.

The Mariners’ playoff hopes dimmed Thursday as the Oakland Athletics scored four runs in the eighth inning, three off Charlton, to win 7-5 and deepen Seattle’s late-season stumble.

“We had the game won right there. I came in and screwed it up,” Charlton said. “I didn’t do my job, and we lost the game.”

The Mariners, who have lost four of five after going on a 10-game winning streak to pull back into playoff contention, are 3-1/2 games behind Texas in the A.L. West following the Rangers’ 6-5 win over California Thursday night.

Seattle, which has four games left, trails Baltimore by 2-1/2 games in the wildcard race.

After scoring three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 5-3 lead, the Mariners gave the lead right back. Mike Jackson opened the inning by walking Mark McGwire and striking out Terry Steinbach. Charlton (4-7) walked left-handed pinch-hitter Matt Stairs and Scott Spiezio loaded the bases with an infield single off the glove of third baseman Dave Hollins.

Charlton then struck out Ernie Young, but forced in a run by walking Mike Bordick. Tony Batista followed with a two-run single to right on an 0-an-2 count to knock out Charlton and give Oakland the lead.

Only 10 of the 22 pitches Charlton threw were for strikes.

“I walk a lefty and I walk a guy like Bordick, that’s absolutely ridiculous. And when I go 0 and 2 on somebody, they should be a strikeout, not just an out,” Charlton said. “It wasn’t the hit that killed me, it was the walks before.”

Rafael Carmona came in and threw a pitch behind the head of Scott Brosius for a wild pitch and the seventh Oakland run.

“It’s real tough any time you have a seesaw loss,” said Ken Griffey Jr., whose 49th homer leading off the top of the eighth inning began a three-run Seattle rally. “It’s tough any time, but especially now because it’s the last four games.”

Bill Taylor (6-3) got the final six outs for the A’s.

Terry Steinbach’s 34th home run, his first career inside-the-park homer, had given the A’s a 3-2 lead in the sixth.

The homer gave the A’s 241 homers, making them the third team this year to surpass the old mark of 240 homers set by the 1961 New York Yankees. The Mariners and Orioles earlier broke the record.

It also was Steinbach’s 33rd homer this season as a catcher, tying the league record set by Carlton Fisk for the Chicago White Sox in 1985.

Athletics 7, Mariners 5

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cora 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .289 ARodrigez ss 5 0 1 0 0 1 .360 Griffey Jr cf 4 1 3 1 1 0 .309 EMartinz dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .333 1-ADiaz pr-dh 1 1 1 0 0 0 .230 Buhner rf 3 1 1 0 2 1 .273 3-Amaral pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292 Sorrento 1b 5 0 0 0 0 1 .289 Whiten lf 3 2 3 1 1 0 .302 DHollins 3b 3 0 2 2 1 0 .266 DWilson c 4 0 0 1 0 1 .283 Totals 37 5 12 5 5 4 Oakland AB R H BI BB SO Avg. TBatista 2b 5 0 2 2 0 0 .298 Brosius 3b 3 0 0 0 2 0 .306 Berroa rf 3 1 0 1 1 2 .292 Herrera rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .272 McGwire 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0 .316 Steinbach c 4 1 2 1 0 1 .267 Lesher lf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .225 a-Stairs ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .277 2-KeMoor pr-cf 0 1 0 0 0 0 .067 CSpiezio dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 .316 Young cf-lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .244 Bordick ss 3 1 0 1 1 0 .236 Totals 32 7 9 6 6 4 Seattle 010 100 030 - 5 Oakland 000 111 04x - 7 a-walked for Lesher in the 8th.

1-ran for Martinez in the 8th. 2-ran for Stairs in the 8th. 3-ran for Buhner in the 9th.

E-DHollins (18). LOBSeattle 10, Oakland 8. 2B-ARodriguez (54), Whiten (6), CSpiezio (2). HR- Steinbach (34) off Moyer; Griffey Jr (49) off Mohler; Whiten (11) off Wengert. RBIsGriffey Jr (139), Whiten (31), DHollins 2 (78), DWilson (82), TBatista 2 (24), Berroa (103), Steinbach (98), Lesher (14), Bordick (53). SB- ADiaz (6), TBatista (7), Young (7). SF-Berroa.

Runners left in scoring position-Seattle 5 (Cora 2, EMartinez, Sorrento, DHollins); Oakland 4 (Berroa, McGwire 2, Bordick).

Runners moved up-DWilson, Lesher.

DP-Oakland 1 (McGwire).

Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Moyer 5 5 3 2 2 0 72 3.98 Ayala 2 2 0 0 0 1 31 5.29 MJackson 0 1 1 1 1 11 3.64 Chrlton L,4-7 2 3 3 2 1 22 4.08 Carmona 0 0 0 1 1 12 4.33 Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Wengert 6 8 2 2 2 3 93 5.58 Corsi 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 4.11 Mohler 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 3.73 Taylor W, 6-3 2 3 2 2 3 1 44 4.53 Moyer pitched to 1 batter in the 6th, Mohler pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Inherited runners-scored-Charlton 1-1, Carmona 2-1.

IBBoff Moyer (Brosius) 1, off Wengert (Griffey Jr) 1, off Taylor (Whiten) 1. WP-Carmona. PB-Steinbach.

T-3:14. A-11,141 (43,012).