M’S Save Worst For Bullpen Leading 4-1 In Eighth, Seattle Falls Victim To Salmon’s Home Run, Wild Ninth Inning

As a group, they have lost games individually, though on Saturday night the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen went down in tandem - blowing a three-run lead with six outs to go.

Greg McCarthy, Scott Sanders and Norm Charlton … None could stop the Anaheim Angels, and in one of the more bizarre games of the season, the Mariners blew a 4-1 eighth-inning lead to lose 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth.

“This one got away,” manager Lou Piniella said. “We just didn’t hold it.”

So many things happened before the lead slid away it was hard to know where to look for a turning point - Seattle lined into a triple play one inning and got out of another jam when Joey Cora dropped a pop fly and turned it into two outs.

Alex Rodriguez was inconsolable afterward, angry at his two errors, pained at being hit on the elbow by a 94 mph Troy Percival fastball.

“If you can’t play fundamental baseball, you can’t win and I played a terrible game,” said Rodriguez, who had two hits and two stolen bases.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 30th home run, a long opposite field blast that was his first since June 22, his sixth since May 30. It broke a tie and pushed the Mariners ahead, 3-1.

Into the eighth inning, that lead was 4-1 - for all the good it did Seattle.

On three days rest, starter Jamie Moyer deserved better.

Through seven innings, Moyer had scattered five hits and preserved the three-run lead. Opening the eighth inning, he walked Tony Phillips. Six outs from what would have been his ninth victory, he was clearly weary, and Piniella went to left-handed reliever Greg McCarthy.

“Moyer was only out there for one hitter - Phillips - and he walked him,” Piniella said. “He’d done all he could do.”

McCarthy allowed a single to left-handed hitting Darin Erstad.

“His job is to get left-handed hitters,” Piniella said. “I’d like to see him do it.” Piniella went to right-hander Sanders to face right-handed hitting Tim Salmon. Salmon crushed a fastball over the heart of the plate for the game-tying three-run homer.

The shot gave Salmon 14 homers this year - or two fewer than Sanders has allowed.

“It was the pitch I wanted, it wasn’t in the location I wanted,” Sanders said. “I think it was up and out over the plate …” Briefly. Salmon hit it 431 feet over the center field fence.

That tied it up and sent it into the ninth inning. Angels closer Troy Percival hit Rodriguez with one out and, with Junior at the plate, Piniella gave Rodriguez the option to run. Rodriguez stole second base - his 16th steal of the year - and the Angels promptly walked Griffey.

“You can’t always play for a two-run home run, so I was aggressive,” Rodriguez said. “If they pitch to Junior, I’m in scoring position. If they walk him, they’ve got to face Edgar (Martinez) with two men on. I’ll take my chances.”

Martinez lined out to center, Jay Buhner popped out and the inning was over.

Charlton, who’d closed the eighth inning with a strikeout, opened the ninth. On an excuse-me check swing, rookie Todd Greene rolled a ball to first baseman Paul Sorrento. Charlton covered but missed first base after catching the toss - and Greene was aboard.

The Angels bunted pinch-runner Orlando Palmeiro to second base.

Then, on the mound, the ball behind his back as he bent in to get Dan Wilson’s signs, Charlton dropped the baseball.

It was a balk, and Palmeiro was on third base.

Briefly. Gary DiSarcina singled and the Angels had won a game manager Terry Collins said they had to have. It was a game Piniella had tried to steal - and lost.

In the fourth inning with a 1-0 lead, Russ Davis walked and Dan Wilson singled. Twice, Piniella asked Rich Amaral to bunt the runners along. Twice, Amaral took called strikes. So Piniella gambled on a hit-and-run with Amaral - and Amaral lined the ball to center field.

As Garret Anderson caught it, both baserunners were far from the bags they had to return to. Anderson hit shortstop DiSarcina, who stepped on second and flipped to first base.

It was the sixth triple play in Angels history.

“We shouldn’t have lost this one,” Rodriguez said.

In a quiet Mariners clubhouse, no one argued the point.

Angels 5, Mariners 4

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cora 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 .331 ARodriguez ss 4 1 2 0 0 2 .315 Griffey Jr cf 4 1 1 2 1 0 .309 EMartinez dh 2 1 1 0 2 0 .346 Buhner rf 4 0 1 1 1 1 .238 Blowers 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .244 a-Sorrento ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .281 RDavis 3b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .309 DaWilson c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .271 Amaral lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 .255 b-Ducey ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .253 Totals 33 4 9 3 6 5 Anaheim AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Phillips lf 3 1 0 0 1 1 .293 Erstad 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .297 Hollins 3b 3 1 1 0 0 2 .293 Salmon rf 3 1 1 3 1 0 .282 Leyritz c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .282 GAnderson cf 4 0 2 1 0 1 .316 TdGreene dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .176 1-OPalmeiro pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .254 Alicea 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .288 Grebeck 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .307 DiSarcina ss 4 0 3 1 0 0 .255 Totals 32 5 9 5 2 5 Seattle 100 030 000 - 4 Anaheim 000 100 031 - 5 One out when winning run scored.

a-struck out for Blowers in the 7th. b-grounded out for Amaral in the 8th.

1-ran for Greene in the 9th.

E-ARodriguez 2 (15), Hollins (15). LOB-Seattle 10, Anaheim 6. 2B-GAnderson 2 (15). HR-Salmon (14) off SSanders; Griffey Jr (30) off Perisho. RBIs-Griffey Jr 2 (84), Buhner (64), Salmon 3 (59), GAnderson (47), DiSarcina (33). SB-ARodriguez 2 (16), EMartinez (2). CS-RDavis (2). S-Grebeck. GIDP-Blowers, Phillips.

Runners left in scoring position-Seattle 2 (Buhner, Blowers); Anaheim 3 (TdGreene 2, DiSarcina).

Runners moved up-Buhner, Salmon, Leyritz.

DP-Seattle 2 (RDavis, Cora and Blowers), (Cora, Sorrento and ARodriguez); Anaheim 1 (DiSarcina, Alicea and Erstad). TP-Anaheim 1 (GAnderson, DiSarcina and Erstad).

Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Moyer 7 5 2 2 2 3 110 4.34 McCarthy 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 4.50 SSanders 2/3 1 1 1 0 1 11 6.68 Charlton L,2-6 2/3 2 1 1 0 1 11 7.42 Anaheim IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Perisho 5 8 4 3 4 1 96 5.53 Gross 2 0 0 0 1 4 38 7.20 PHarris 1 1 0 0 d0 0 12 4.24 Percival W,3-4 1 0 0 0 1 0 18 3.24 Moyer pitched to 1 batter in the 8th, McCarthy pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Inherited runners-scored-McCarthy 1-0, SSanders 2-2.

IBB-off Percival (Griffey Jr) 1. HBP-by Percival (ARodriguez), by Gross (EMartinez), by Moyer (Hollins). WP-Perisho. Balk-Charlton.

T-3:17. A-26,031 (33,851).