Mariners end road losing streak
ANAHEIM – They had a pregame clubhouse meeting to hash out some team issues.
They took a 5-0 lead and then didn’t walk 14 batters, as they had a few nights earlier in Oakland. They even got a lead to Eddie Guardado in the ninth inning. And still, the Seattle Mariners couldn’t do what they haven’t done in more than a month – win a game on the road – until they scored in the 13th inning Thursday to beat the Anaheim Angels, 6-5.
The victory snapped a franchise-record 15-game road losing streak and gave them their 40th victory of the season. A two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning wasn’t enough, and when Anaheim rallied to tie against Guardado, the Mariners looked good to extend the team record to 16 consecutive losses away from home.
Then Ichiro Suzuki doubled – his career-best fifth hit of the game – in the 13th and Bret Boone singled him home with his third hit of the night.
Instead of handing the game over to one of his veteran relievers, manager Bob Melvin stuck with rookie left-hander Bobby Madritsch, who had shut the Angels out in the 10th, 11th and 12th innings. Madritsch got through the 13th as easily – and in two major league appearances, is now 2-0.
It has been that kind of season for the Mariners, when good things have been surprising and tough times perpetual.
The season has cost players jobs, and will likely take more of a toll before it ends. Freddy Garcia, Ben Davis, John Olerud and Rich Aurilia have been shown the door, and the next man out in Seattle is most likely Ron Villone - the left-hander who has been a remarkably consistent pitcher all season.
Villone has pitched out of the bullpen and into the rotation, and for the second game in a row, Phillies executive Bob Boone sat behind home plate and watched every pitch. Villone threw 105 of them, got through six innings allowing only one earned run. That gave him an 2.86 earned-run average for the season, and a probable ticket out of last place.
The Phillies are contending and need pitching. The Mariners aren’t, and if they get an offer that makes sense to them, Villone is gone. Villone got run support, but could have been handed far more to work with. Seattle had 18 hits against the Angels, and left 13 runners on base.
The runs stopped at five for Villone, and when the defense stumbled – and Guardado blew his sixth save opportunity of the season – the Angels shrugged and nearly stole a game.
Every Mariners starter had at least one hit.