Did The ‘Big Unit’ Hype Disrespect Orioles Ace?

The other guy pitched a gem.

In the days leading up to Wednesday night’s A.L. division series opener between the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles, the big story was the Big Unit. Randy Johnson was supposed to lead the Mariners to victory, as he had all season en route to a 20-4 record and 2.28 ERA.

So Mike Mussina, the overlooked ace, outpitched Johnson as Baltimore won 9-3.

“I was happy the Big Unit was getting all the press and everybody was talking like Mike Mussina was chopped liver,” Orioles manager Davey Johnson said. “I said, ‘Man, I wouldn’t bet against Mike.’ I mean he’s been the best pitcher in baseball over the same period.

“I’d rather have everybody in the world thinking he has no chance to beat this guy pitching. I thought that was the greatest thing we had going for us, all the hype that Randy Johnson was getting,” he said.

Mussina’s numbers were not unlike those normally associated with Johnson. The Orioles’ right-hander struck out nine, didn’t walk a batter and allowed just five hits and two runs over seven innings.

Johnson, meanwhile, was chased after yielding seven hits and five runs in five innings. He started four games against Baltimore this season and the Mariners lost every one of them.

Mussina went 15-8 during the regular season and was 8-1 lifetime against Seattle, but he was virtually an afterthought compared to Johnson, the 6-foot-10 left-hander who limited A.L. hitters to a meager .193 batting average this season.

Mussina retired 11 of the first 12 batters Wednesday before Edgar Martinez homered in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1. Alex Rodriguez followed with a single, and Mussina didn’t allow another hit until the seventh inning.

Cora’s bat fells Hoiles

Baltimore catcher Chris Hoiles had to leave the game in the sixth inning after being hit on the side of the head by Joey Cora’s bat as the Mariners’ infielder completed his swing.

Hoiles lay on the ground for several minutes while trainer Richie Bancells attended to him. He walked off the field, his arms draped over the shoulders of Bancells and first base coach John Stearns, and was replaced by Lenny Webster. Bancells held a towel to Hoiles’ head.

Hoiles, who already has played with a variety of injuries, including a torn knee ligament and strained Achilles’ tendon, had homered off reliever Mike Timlin in the sixth.

Wells in, Olivares out

Loyalty overrode the concern over a fifth starting pitcher when Seattle finalized its 25-man roster for this five-game series - Bob Wells is on the team and Omar Olivares is not. The full roster includes 10 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and five outfielders.

Davis is done

Mariners third baseman Russ Davis took another Magnetic Resonance Image test Wednesday, and when it showed his right ankle is not much better than it was three weeks ago, he had to face the fact that his postseason playing hopes are over.

“I can’t do anything and if somehow I could suddenly run, what’s Lou going to do, put me out there when I haven’t faced a real pitcher in seven weeks?” Davis asked.

Financial losers again

The Mariners took it in the wallet.

Team president Chuck Armstrong said the club is projected to lose $6 million, $7 million less than the team lost in ‘96.

The Mariners’ player payroll this season was $45 million, Armstrong said.

“And we were only the 11th-highest payroll in the major leagues,” he added.

The Mariners drew a club-record 3,192,237 fans to the Kingdome this season, breaking their attendance record of 2,723,850 set last season.