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

Seattle Downed In 10th Charlton, Ayala Fail To Stop Giants 8-6 Interleague Loss

Larry Larue Tacoma News Tribune

A day after proving himself capable of the nearly impossible - pitching out of a bases-loaded, no one out jam in the ninth inning - Bobby Ayala was reminded Monday that no one is perfect.

Handed a second late-inning crisis in as many days by Norm Charlton, Ayala got two outs in the 10th inning against San Francisco, but not before allowing both of Charlton’s runners to score in what then became the Giants 8-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

For the second consecutive game, the Mariners had worked a little ninth-inning magic in the Kingdome, this time rallying for a game-tying run on Edgar Martinez’ fourth hit of the game - an RBI single off Giants closer Rod Beck.

Seattle had won the game in the ninth inning Sunday, when Ayala bailed out Charlton and Jose Cruz Jr. hit a home run to beat Anaheim.

But that was the American League West. Monday, the Mariners faced the National League West, and for the third time in as many interleague meetings with San Francisco, Seattle lost.

They lost because starter Bob Wolcott gave up five runs in six innings and Charlton stumbled in the 10th, walking Jeff Kent and giving up a single to J.T. Snow with one out. Ayala was asked to get Seattle out of it and couldn’t - tagging Charlton (2-5) with a loss that brought a close to the first half of the 1997 season.

“That’s a good team and they kept scoring runs,” manager Lou Piniella said of the Giants. “We came back, but we fell short. We’ve played three good games against San Francisco and haven’t beaten them yet.”

So the Mariners reach the halfway point of their season, 81 games deep, with a 47-34 record, thanks to a 20-7 mark in June, the best month in franchise history.

“I’ll take another one like it in July,” Piniella said.

Bob Wolcott had another of what could be termed signature Wolcott games. In 49 career appearances, he has compiled a 5.44 ERA. This season, in his first 13 games, the 23-year-old had a 5.34 ERA.

He has pitched superbly at times and he has had a few imminently forgettable games. Most often, his starts reflect that career ERA - if Wolcott is pitching, the other team is going to get about five runs.

Against the Giants, Wolcott got out of the first inning when left fielder Cruz Jr. threw out Jose Vizcaino at second base, then was given a 1-0 lead when Alex Rodriguez hit his 11th home run. The lead lasted about seven pitches.

Wolcott allowed a single, double and two-run single to the first three Giants he faced in the second inning, with J.T. Snow’s two-run single putting San Francisco on top 2-1.

A Mark Lewis home run in the fourth made it 3-1, and in the sixth inning Wolcott gave up back-to-back homers to Jeff Kent and Snow.

And there it was - six innings pitched, five runs allowed. Wolcott walked off the mound trailing 5-1, his 1997 ERA now up to 5.53.

He didn’t lose because the Mariners offense didn’t let him.

Ken Griffey Jr., who has spent most of the first half of the year in pursuit of Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, opened the Seattle sixth with an infield single. Martinez followed with his 13th home run. Jay Buhner singled and Paul Sorrento hit his 15th home run of the year.

Wolcott was off the hook and the game was tied at five.

But the M’s just couldn’t win it.