Tigers Rookie Moehler Chews Up Mariners But Seattle Maintains 5-1/2-Game Lead Over Angels
The Detroit Tigers admitted they spent too much of the game dwelling on Ken Griffey Jr. But how can you not do that?
“It’s amazing what a guy like that does to your thinking,” manager Buddy Bell said after the Tigers’ 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night. “It seems like he’s up every inning.”
Rookie Brian Moehler allowed three hits in seven innings and held Griffey homerless. Griffey went 1 for 3, but failed to hit his 51st homer for the fourth game in a row. He is 2 for 16 since slugging his 50th homer in Minnesota on Sunday.
Moehler got Griffey to fly out three times. He said Griffey just missed making solid contact on two of the fly balls and they could have ended up being home runs.
“I just got away with murder,” Moehler said. “I got lucky. Luck is a big part of this game and tonight it was on my side.”
Despite the loss, the Mariners’ magic number to win the A.L. West was reduced to 11 games after Anaheim lost to Kansas City 4-2. Seattle has 15 games left, including two with the Angels here, while Anaheim has 16 remaining.
“You still want to go out there and win,” losing pitcher Jeff Fassero said. “I’d rather we do it by us winning instead of them losing.”
Moehler improved to 11-10, the most victories by a Detroit rookie since Dave Rozema won 15 and the A.L. rookie of the year award in 1977.
Moehler didn’t walk a batter and had two strikeouts in outdueling Fassero (15-9), who went 7-2/3 innings. Doug Brocail pitched the eighth inning and Todd Jones the ninth for his 20th consecutive save and 28th of the season.
Jones struck out Edgar Martinez with runners on first and third to end the game after an infield single by pinch-hitter Brent Gates and Griffey’s line-drive single to right.
“We didn’t swing the bats very well tonight,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. “We didn’t generate much. In the ninth inning, we had a chance there and just didn’t get it done.”
Detroit’s Phil Nevin ended a 3-for-33 slump with a homer in the second inning that tied it 1-1. It was his seventh of the season and first since Aug. 13.
The Tigers went ahead to stay in the third on a single by Brian Hunter and a line-drive double by Damion Easley that went over Griffey’s head in center. Detroit made it 3-1 in the fourth on a double by Travis Fryman, Nevin’s flyout and Bubba Trammell’s sacrifice fly.
Griffey drove in Seattle’s only run in the first with a sacrifice fly to increase his major league-leading RBI total to 135. Joey Cora opened the game with a double and moved to third on Rob Ducey’s infield out.
Fassero gave up five hits, four of them for extra bases. He walked two and had six strike-outs.
“I didn’t have very good location tonight and I struggled pretty much near the whole game,” Fassero said. “I just didn’t have good location of my fastball tonight.”
Notes
Cora, Seattle’s leadoff hitter, was caught stealing for the seventh time this season. He has six stolen bases… . Nevin’s homer broke a string of 23 scoreless innings by Seattle pitchers against the Tigers… . Detroit left fielder Bobby Higginson threw Ducey out at third base for his 19th assist, most by a major league outfielder this year…. Seattle won the season series from Detroit 7-4, but the Tigers were 3-2 in the Kingdome.
Andy Sheets, filling in for the injured Russ Davis at third for the Mariners, committed two errors. He’s made four errors in 18 games for Seattle this year…. Hunter stole his 67th base, tops in the majors. Ty Cobb holds the Detroit single-season basestealing record of 96 in 1915… . Brocail has allowed one run in his last 29 appearances and 34-1/3 innings - a 0.36 ERA - since July 4.
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xxxx On deck Today: Probable Amrican League Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens (21-5, 1.85 ERA) of Toronto faces the Mariners and Omar Olivares (6-10, 5.11) at 7:05 p.m. in the Kingdome. The game will be televised on FSN.