Don’t look now, but M’s are out

CHICAGO – In front of family and friends, pitching as close to home as a major league team will get him, Bobby Madritsch looked like a nervous rookie Friday.

And then a five-run second inning beat him.

The Seattle Mariners had no such explanation for the way they played, except perhaps it’s the best they can do.

It wasn’t very good, and by virtue of Seattle’s 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox, the Mariners were officially eliminated from contention in the American League West.

Don’t even try to look surprised.

Ichiro Suzuki had another hit in his run at George Sisler and with 28 games remaining, he has 218 hits and needs 40 to break the single-season majorleague record.

No other Mariner has much to play for, except respectability – and that didn’t seem to get them far.

Madritsch, born in nearby Oak Lawn, entered the game with a 2.93 earned-run average and a reputation for being unshakeable on the mound.

Then came that second inning.

In the course of a few moments, Madritsch allowed a single to Paul Konerko, watched Juan Uribe bunt him to second base and then …

For the first time as a starting pitcher, Madritsch lost his poise.

“I won’t lie, I lost my composure,” Madritsch said later. “I had my mind on too many things – all those people in the stands for me, how much it all meant. I let it get away from me.”

The 28-year-old left-hander balked Konerko to third base – then wild-pitched him home, and Chicago led, 1-0.

Whether it was that run or not, what followed were four more White Sox runs before Madritsch could end the rally. The Mariners never caught up.

“Put this one on me,” Madritsch said. “Five runs in an inning? I’ve got to be better than that. It’s tough to swallow, but this loss was mine.”

It was Seattle’s third consecutive loss after a season-best five-game winning streak, and with 83 losses and 28 games remaining, the team most go 12-16 to avoid losing 100 games.

Given the current winning percentage – .381 – that doesn’t seem likely.