Mariners’ last-gasp postseason hopes finally strike 12
SEATTLE – Even math eliminated the Mariners from postseason consideration on Tuesday night. The slim remaining mathematical chance that the Mariners could make the playoffs slipped down the drain officially at 11 p.m. PDT exactly, when Raul Ibanez whiffed at strike three and the 12th inning ended.
That’s when the Indians polished off the Mariners 4-3 at Safeco Field, and the not-so magic number fell to 0. Even six wins in their last six games – and five New York Yankees losses – won’t get the Mariners in the playoffs.
Their season ends Sunday. After today’s doubleheader and one more game against the Indians. After one last series, this weekend against Texas. This Mariners season will be marked for its improvement, but it won’t last any longer than any season since that magical 2001 campaign.
Unless longer refers to how long they hung around on Tuesday night.
The Mariners trailed the Indians 3-1 heading into the ninth inning. The crowd trickled toward the exits. But Raul Ibanez poked a broken-bat single, and Adrian Beltre cracked a home run into the bullpen in left field, and suddenly, the score was tied at 3.
The Mariners’ postseason hopes hung around for a couple of extra innings. The electricity in the ballpark rose from Amish living room to high voltage. The teams swapped out relievers, and the game wore on, nine innings, 10, 11, 12.
Didn’t the teams realize they have enough baseball to play today? The second doubleheader in the history of Safeco Field, two games almost back to back, and still, here they went, running through both bullpens. In each extra-innings frame, the Mariners had chances. They stranded Ichiro Suzuki on first in the 10th, and left two runners in scoring position in the 11th.
This allowed the Indians to strike in the 12th. With former Mariners farmhand Asdrubal Cabrera on third base, Kenny Lofton lofted, appropriately enough, a fly ball to center field. Ichiro’s throw never really had a chance, and the Indians took a 4-3 lead. Brandon Morrow took the loss.
The game’s ending seems so far away from its beginning, when the small crowd of 22,200 kept one eye on this game and the other on the out-of-town scoreboard.
Felix Hernandez took the mound to start the game, cap typically tipped sideways, winner of seven of his last eight decisions. He stared down the mound at the winners of the American League Central, the team with the best record in baseball Tuesday morning.
Evidence of why came early. Hernandez allowed consecutive singles with one out, then watched Victor Martinez club a drive so straight it appeared headed down a fairway, instead of out of the ballpark. It landed behind the fence for Martinez’s 25th home run and a 3-0 Cleveland lead.