Pineiro plods to another loss
SEATTLE – A month since Joel Pineiro looked like one of the best pitchers in the American League, he’s not close to being the master of his own staff anymore.
Pineiro again wobbled through a rugged start Thursday, losing 7-3 to the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field, with barely a hint of the dominance he showed in early May.
He has won just once – beating Kansas City last Friday – since May 6 when his four-hitter against Cleveland helped him win the American League award as player of the week.
The Twins roughed up Pineiro for seven runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings, sending his record to 5-6.
So why wasn’t anyone flinging the luggage as the Mariners packed for a six-game road trip to Los Angeles and Oakland?
The Mariners will be patient with Pineiro’s every-fifth-day uncertainty as long as they’re winning. They ended a seven-game homestand with five victories against the Twins and Royals, and they’re feeling better about themselves than after any other weeklong stretch this season.
They have won six of the past eight games.
“It was not one of my best starts, but the good thing about it is that we had a good series and a good homestand,” said Pineiro, who is 1-4 since winning the A.L. award.
The Mariners remained one-half game behind second-place Oakland in the West and know another good week can elevate them in the standings. They begin a three-game series tonight against the Angels.
“This is a big week for us,” center fielder Willie Bloomquist said. “Anaheim and Oakland are division teams we can make up some ground on. We had a good homestand and we need to keep building on it.”
Pineiro must look back and build on what he accomplished the first week of May, when he pitched a complete game against the Twins on May 1 and a four-hitter over eight innings against the Indians on May 6.
He didn’t walk a hitter in those two games. He walked six Twins (two of them intentionally) and also hit one.
“I didn’t have my best stuff,” Pineiro said. “You’ve got to work with what you have on a day like this, and it wasn’t enough today.”
Hargrove said Pineiro left too many pitches up in the strike zone and the Twins seemed to pound all of them.
“It’s hard to characterize his game,” Hargrove said. “He got too many pitches up at the wrong times. It wasn’t his best, it wasn’t his worst.”
Pineiro didn’t pitch a 1-2-3 inning the whole day, and he also became one of several M’s pitchers who couldn’t get out Twins catcher Joe Mauer.
Mauer had two doubles, a single and an intentional walk against Pineiro, and he finished the series 11 for 16. He leads the league with a .379 average.
“He’s amazing,” Pineiro said. “I threw him changeups, sliders, everything. Whatever I threw him, he hit.”
Mauer is hitting .733 in his career off Pineiro.
The Mariners had opportunities against Twins starter Johan Santana, who also struggled early and was finished after five innings when his pitch count climbed.
The Mariners scored in the first inning when Raul Ibanez, who finished with three hits, singled to drive in Adrian Beltre and tie the score at 1.
The M’s had runners in scoring position with less than two outs in three of the next four innings, but they couldn’t get a key hit off Santana.
Pitching swap
Through no fault of his own, Sean Green returned to the minor leagues.
Green pitched well in relief of starter Jamie Moyer on Wednesday, but the 11-inning game left the bullpen worn down and in need of a fresh arm. Julio Mateo, Rafael Soriano and J.J. Putz also weren’t available after getting considerable work earlier this week, forcing the Mariners to make a roster move.
They called up right-hander Emiliano Fruto from Triple-A Tacoma, and Green became the victim when he was optioned back to Tacoma.