Homer makes M’s comeback meaningless

TORONTO – When the Blue Jays scored five times against Joel Piñeiro in the first inning Thursday, it didn’t seem likely his 117th pitch of the night would beat him.

It did.

Rocked early, Piñeiro worked into the eighth inning while the Seattle Mariners rallied behind him and tied the game – only to see Alex Rios hit a two-run home run that beat the right-hander and the Mariners 7-5.

An illustration of tenacity, it was also a reminder that this season the Mariners just lack the subtle difference between winning and losing close games.

A seven-hit first inning by the Jays had Piñeiro staggered, and by the time he got the third out – facing his 10th batter – Seattle was in a formidable hole.

“I didn’t think I’d get out of the first inning,” Piñeiro said. “My slider was flat, everything they hit they hit hard and it found a hole. Bryan Price came out to tell me we needed some innings from me, and I tried to just hold it there.”

What happened from then on was a game reversal that quieted 23,118 Toronto fans for most of the night. The Mariners pecked away at that lead, scoring three times in the fourth inning, two more in the fifth.

Piñeiro pitched as if the first never happened.

“My slider probably was the pitch I gave up most of those hits on in the first inning with, so I went to my curve, my change, and that made my fastball even better,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever made a bigger adjustment in one game. After the first, I just wanted to give us a chance to come back.”

Jeremy Reed got the Mariners on the board with his 32nd double of the season – two short of Alvin Davis’ rookie team record – and Jose Lopez followed with a two-run double in the fourth inning.

An inning later, Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre had back-to-back doubles and Seattle got even with the Jays.

From there, it was anyone’s game to win.

“Once Joel adjusted, he pitched outstanding,” manager Mike Hargrove said.

Piñeiro got two outs in the Toronto eighth, sandwiching them around a walk to Corey Koskie. That got him to Rios – a batter with 10 hits in his last 67 at-bats. Rios fell behind in the count 0-1, then knocked a high change-up down the line and over the wall in left field, just inside the foul pole.

“I hung it,” Piñeiro said. “The change was probably my best pitch all night, and it was the one I wanted to throw him there. I just put it in the wrong place.”