M’S Run Piniella Ragged In 3-2 Win Cruz Homers In 9th To Avoid Wasting Johnson’s Efforts

It doesn’t take long for Lou Piniella’s temper to erupt, but in the seconds it took for him to move from pleased to peeved to enraged Sunday, rookie Jose Cruz Jr. won a game - giving the manager time to forgive, if not forget.

And for anyone who has trouble understanding that lightning-bolt swing in emotions, consider only the ninth inning of the Seattle Mariners’ 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Angels.

Want angst?

After eight brilliant innings from Randy Johnson, Piniella brought Norm Charlton into a tie game, and Charlton promptly put the first three batters he faced on base.

Want elation?

Bobby Ayala was brought into the classic plight - bases loaded, ninth inning, tie game, no one out - and retired the heart of the Angels lineup without giving up a run.

Want hope?

Russ Davis singled with one out in the ninth inning. Want joy?

As Piniella sat in the dugout, wondering how to get baserunner Davis into scoring position, reliever Rich DeLucia threw a wild pitch that sent Davis to second base.

Want disbelief?

Davis didn’t stop at second base, and when he tried to scramble all the way to third base, he was out by 10 feet.

About that time, Piniella’s rage began to build.

“It was a hustle play,” he said of Davis, “but it wasn’t the smartest hustle play.”

Davis stormed off the field and into a small hallway between the Mariners dugout and their clubhouse - where he commenced throwing his helmet and screaming things you won’t see quoted in the morning newspaper.

“I was in there throwing my little fit when I heard the crack of the bat and a lot of cheering,” Davis said. “That’s when I knew Jose had gone deep.”

On the first pitch after Davis was thrown out, Cruz Jr. hit his sixth homer of the year, a game-winner that pushed the Angels 5 1/2 games back in the American League West.

Mariners 3, Angels 2

Anaheim AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Phillips cf-lf 4 0 2 1 1 1 .290 Alicea 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .285 Hollins 3b 4 0 0 0 1 1 .294 Salmon rf 4 0 0 0 1 3 .282 Leyritz 1b 2 0 0 0 2 0 .288 Erstad dh 4 0 2 0 0 1 .296 Kreuter c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .229 Grebeck lf 3 2 1 0 1 0 .317 1-OPalmeiro pr-cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243 DiSarcina ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .251 Totals 32 2 6 1 7 8 Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cora 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .330 ARodriguez ss 3 1 1 0 1 1 .321 Griffey Jr cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .311 EMartinez dh 3 0 0 0 1 2 .333 Buhner rf 3 0 0 0 1 1 .239 Sorrento 1b 3 1 1 2 1 0 .284 DaWilson c 3 0 0 0 0 0 .270 RDavis 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .308 Cruz Jr lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 .239 Totals 31 3 6 3 4 5

Anaheim 001 000 100 - 2

Seattle 100 001 001 - 3

Two outs when winning run scored.

1-ran for Grebeck in the 9th.

E-Cora 2 (14). LOB-Anaheim 11, Seattle 7. 2B-ARodriguez (23). HR-Cruz Jr (6) off DeLucia; Sorrento (14) off DSpringer. RBIs- Phillips (20), Sorrento 2 (38), Cruz Jr (14). CS-Salmon (5).

Runners left in scoring position-Anaheim 5 (Salmon 4, Kreuter); Seattle 4 (Buhner 2, DaWilson 2).

Runners moved up-DiSarcina, Griffey Jr.

DP-Seattle 1 (ARodriguez, Cora, Sorrento, ARodriguez and Sorrento).

Anaheim IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA DSpringer 8 4 2 2 4 5 145 5.51 DeLucia L,6-3 2/3 2 1 1 0 0 9 2.20 Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA RaJohnson 8 5 2 0 5 7 128 2.18 Charlton 0 1 0 0 2 0 12 6.81 Ayala W,5-2 1 0 0 0 0 1 12 4.27 Charlton pitched to 3 batters in the 9th.

Inherited runners-scored-Ayala 3-0.

HBP-by RaJohnson (Alicea), by DSpringer (DaWilson). WP-DSpringer, DeLucia.

T-2:54. A-42,760 (59,084).