M’S Get Rude Awakening Seattle At Disadvantage In N.L. Park As Giants Pick Up 4-3 Victory

Jeff Fassero’s return to the National League was everything he remembered Tuesday - and he hated it.

There was the frustration of losing a tight game, the angst of a bad pitch at the worst possible time and there was a grim reminder of just how badly major league pitchers hit.

In the end, Fassero went the distance and he and the Seattle Mariners were beaten by the San Francisco Giants, 4-3, ending a five-game winning streak that had matched their longest of the year.

“It was a reminder of why the American League is at a disadvantage playing in National League parks,” manager Lou Piniella said. “Our pitchers don’t hit, they don’t take as much batting practice as N.L. pitchers - and subsequently, they don’t move runners over, they don’t get runners in.”

It was difficult to notice what bothered Fassero most, his sixth-inning at-bat or the pitch he threw pinch-hitter Stan Javier in the bottom half of the sixth.

Seattle had scrambled back from an ugly first inning to forge ahead in the sixth, 3-2, loading the bases with one out for Fassero. He walked to the plate 0-for-2 in the game - a career .077 hitter in his previous 262 major-league at-bats.

“If it’s the seventh inning, I probably pinch hit for him,” Piniella said. “But it was the sixth… .” Unspoken was Piniella’s reluctance to turn a one-run game over to his bullpen that early. So Fassero batted and struck out swinging weakly.

“Pretty typical at-bat,” he said of the effort.

Joey Cora followed by flying out, and Seattle left the bases loaded. The night then got worse in a hurry.

Damon Berryhill singled to open the San Francisco sixth inning, and Giants manager Dusty Baker - with the advantage of a deeper bullpen - went to his bench for pinch-hitter Javier.

“I got behind 1-0 in the count and I made a bad pitch,” Fassero said. “It was an inside fastball, and I almost shook it off. But I didn’t. I threw it and it beat me.”

It beat him in part because Javier turned it into his second home run of the year, San Francisco’s first pinchhit homer, and a 4-3 Giants lead.

And it beat him in part because San Francisco turned the game over to a rock-solid relief corps that has been the heart of its first-place run in the first 2-1/2 months of the season. Like a well-rehearsed relay team, the Giants ran through the final three innings against Seattle - Julian Tavarez-to-Doug Henry-to-Rod Beck.

Tavarez gave up a single but got out of the seventh inning with a double play ground ball.

Henry worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning in which he struck out Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson and Russ Davis.

Beck retired all three Mariners in the ninth inning, retiring pinch-hitters Brent Gates, Paul Sorrento and then getting a weak pop fly from Cora.

If the last three innings went by at a sprint, the first one seemed to last forever, and probably cost Seattle the game.

With one out and one man on, Barry Bonds grounded a ball into the hole between first and second base. Edgar Martinez, looking a bit rusty at first, couldn’t field it - and when Cora made a diving stop, Fassero didn’t get to the bag in time and Cora did not attempt a throw.

Infield single.

Glenallen Hill then grounded a ball to Cora, and when the second baseman double-clutched, starting his throw and then stopping, Hill beat the play.

Infield single.

Mark Lewis then singled into left field for a 2-0 lead.

“A flukish inning, they didn’t hit it hard but I didn’t help myself,” Fassero said.

Martinez got Seattle within one run with his 10th home run of the year in the fourth inning, and a close call at first base in the fifth inning kept the Mariners from tying the game.

The bases were loaded with two outs when Rich Amaral grounded to shortstop Jose Vizcaino. The throw and runner arrived as one, and N.L. ump Charlie Williams called Amaral out. Replays showed not only had Amaral beaten the throw but first baseman J.T. Snow had pulled his foot off the bag early.

“If you’re going to be wrong, you might as well be wrong twice,” Piniella said of the call. “I went out and argued and he said the throw beat Richie and Snow’s foot was on the bag.”

If not a victory, the Mariners got a taste of playing in an N.L. park for the first time in franchise history.

They also helped the Giants draw 40,024, the second-largest crowd of the season behind opening night.

Giants 4, Mariners 3

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cora 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 .343 Amaral lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .260 Ducey lf 1 0 1 0 0 0 .222 Griffey Jr cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .300 EMartinez 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .336 Buhner rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .230 DaWilson c 3 0 1 1 0 1 .288 RDavis 3b 3 0 1 0 1 2 .302 Espinoza ss 3 0 1 1 0 1 .231 c-Gates ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .278 Fassero p 3 0 0 0 0 2 .000 d-Sorrento ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .289 Totals 34 3 9 3 1 9

San Fran AB R H BI BB SO Avg. DHamilton cf 5 0 1 0 0 0 .277 Vizcaino ss 4 1 0 0 1 2 .253 Kent 2b 4 0 1 0 0 3 .263 Bonds lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .258 GHill rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .242 MLewis 3b 3 0 2 2 1 0 .278 Snow 1b 3 0 2 0 1 1 .286 Berryhill c 3 1 1 0 1 0 .318 Rueter p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .080 a-Javier ph 1 1 1 2 0 0 .299 Tavarez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 DHenry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-Mueller ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .265 Beck p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Totals 34 4 10 4 4 8

Seattle 000 102 000 - 3

San Fran 200 002 00x - 4

a-homered for Rueter in the 6th. b-grounded out for Henry in the 8th. c-grounded out for Espinoza in the 9th. d-fouled out for Fassero in the 9th. E-Cora (10), GHill (6). LOB-Seattle 7, San Francisco 10. 2B-Cora (21), DHamilton (6), Kent (17), Snow 2 (19). HR-Javier (2) off Fassero; EMartinez (10) off Rueter. RBIs-EMartinez (50), DaWilson (28), Espinoza (5), MLewis 2 (17), Javier 2 (11). CS-MLewis (1). S-Amaral. SF- DaWilson. GIDP-EMartinez. Runners left in scoring position-Seattle 4 (Cora 2, Amaral, EMartinez); San Francisco 7 (Bonds 2, Berryhill 4, Rueter). DP-San Francisco 1 (MLewis, Kent and Snow).

Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Fassero L,6-3 8 10 4 4 4 8 122 3.88

San Fran IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Rueter W,3-2 6 8 3 2 1 6 102 3.59 Tavarez 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 5.14 DHenry 1 0 0 0 0 3 16 2.83 Beck S, 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 2.63

T-2:37. A-40,024 (62,000).