After Pep Talk, Cloude Reigns As M’S Overshadow Athletics

The manager and the rookie met on the mound, and what was said changed the complexion of the game - no matter which version of the conversation you believe.

Lou Piniella’s recollection was rated PG: “I went out there and Ken (Cloude) said, ‘I’m nibbling,’ and I said, ‘You’re the only one who can un-nibble.”’

Rookie Cloude, laboring with every hitter, remembered the conversation differently.

“Lou came out and said ‘Get your head out of your backside and pitch,”’ Cloude said. “And I did.”

If one could chart the progress of a man from minor-league phenom to major-league pitcher, Cloude’s outing Sunday in Oakland might have hit a peak - rebounding from a wobbly start, he pitched well and hard in Seattle’s 9-2 victory over the Athletics.

“He’s got heart, he’s a pitcher,” Ken Griffey Jr. said of the 22-year-old right-hander. “He’s growing up fast.”

One day after a 15-inning loss here, the Mariners didn’t view this game as a must win.

Cloude, however, did.

“I put way too much pressure on myself today. I told myself I had to win, to help this team get closer to clinching, to get a win after a tough loss yesterday,” Cloude said. “I told myself I had to shut the team out early, get every hitter I faced.”

The result? Cloude tried to make every pitch perfect, and when the first batter of the game singled, the pitcher thought he had a problem.

“I thought, ‘That was a good pitch and he hit it. This next pitch better be even better…”’

As a result, after two innings the Mariners trailed 2-1, and Cloude had walked two batters, hit two and given up three hits.

When Cloude walked two more A’s in the third inning, Piniella strolled toward the mound, unhappiness apparent in his stride.

“Lou had his say,” catcher Dan Wilson said afterward, laughing. “I didn’t hear him talk about nibbling…”

The message delivered, Cloude became another pitcher on the mound - the kid Seattle has seen and liked since his arrival Aug. 15. Over the next 3-1/3 innings, Cloude didn’t allow a run and the Mariners’ offense broke loose.

Jay Buhner had a pair of home runs, his 38th and 39th of the year, Wilson had four hits, including his 15th home run and, between them, the outfield of Buhner, Griffey and Roberto Kelly accounted for seven RBI.

The victory was Seattle’s 87th of the year, cut the Mariners magic number to two and maintained a five-game lead in the American League West with six to play. And while the heart of the Mariners lineup pounded away, padding out a lead, the Seattle bullpen got in a little work - and Cloude probably cemented a spot on the postseason roster.

“Put it this way,” Piniella said. “He’s won three big games for us in September.”

Cloude’s record is 4-2, his earned-run average 4.68, but virtually everyone with the team says his impact has gone beyond the numbers.

“The toughest thing for any young pitcher to do is make adjustments during a game,” Wilson said. “Ken did that today.”

“You look at what he did in the minors this year, where he pitched about 135 innings, then add the 50 he’s pitched here, he’s thrown a lot of innings for a young pitcher,” pitching coach Nardi Contreras said. “The velocity on his fastball has dropped a little, he’s tried to be perfect to make up for that and you can’t do that.

“What you saw him do today was learn on the mound - and win while he was doing it.”

And the lessons were?

“I learned I can win in the big leagues without my best stuff,” Cloude said. “I learned how deep I can dig, how much heart I have, because the first couple innings I knew I was one pitch from coming out of the game. This time of year, you can’t go out there and get your butt kicked and expect not to come out. Games mean too much.”

In the end, Cloude threw 126 pitches in six innings, but left with his team leading, 6-2.

“I’ve thrown more innings than I ever have in my life, and today I threw more pitches than I ever have in my life,” Cloude said. “I didn’t realize how many pitches I’d thrown until after I came out, and it didn’t seem like that many because I didn’t really start pitching until about the third or fourth inning.”