Frustration boils over as Dan Wilson ejected in Mariners’ loss to Rays

All the frustration built up from a season gone awry, all the anger about the failures to get hits, score runs and win games, all the disappointment of the current status of the Seattle Mariners came to a tipping point.

What followed was booing at levels reserved for the players in the Houston Astros cheating scandal and for Alex Rodriguez during his playing days after leaving the Mariners.

Of course, it wasn’t directed at the Mariners, who eventually lost for the fourth time in five games, falling 3-2 to the Rays.

Though those boos may come in the days ahead if Seattle continues to fall out of the division and postseason race.

The booing started when Julio Rodríguez was rung up by home-plate umpire Emil Jimenez on a called strike three on a pitch up in the zone.

Disgusted with the call, Rodríguez shook his head and tapped his helmet for a challenge. Jimenez, who was wrapping up an emphatic third-strike punchout motion, never looked at Rodríguez after the pitch. He didn’t see the helmet tap. And would not grant a challenge to Rodríguez.

At first confused and then irritated, Rodríguez shared words with Jimenez before manager Dan Wilson came jogging out of the dugout to protect his player. Perhaps it was having his former manager Lou Piniella in the house, Wilson grew quickly heated with Jimenez and wouldn’t let the argument go. He was eventually ejected. When bench coach Manny Acta came out to get Wilson, Jimenez said something to both men that restarted the argument as they left the field.

For the remainder of the game, the crowd booed every call that Jimenez made at the plate and went wild when two of his calls were overturned by ABS challenges. But Jimenez also earned the ire of the Rays in the seventh inning when Jonathan Aranda challenged a pitch from Seranthony Dominguez and Jimenez didn’t see it. Earlier this season in a game in Tampa, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for a similar situation.

And while Wilson’s ejection and the booing of Jimenez seemed to galvanize the crowd, it couldn’t lead the Mariners to a win. Josh Naylor did provide some hope, smashing his second homer of the game – a solo blast to right-center to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

But the Mariners couldn’t scratch out a run in their final two innings of at-bats.

Naylor’s solo homer in the second inning – a solo blast to right field – gave the Mariners an early lead. It was his first homer since June 12.

The Rays answered with a solo homer off George Kirby in the fourth inning to tie the game.

With Gabe Speier serving a suspension that was appealed down to two games, the Mariners went to Michael Rucker in the sixth inning of a 1-1 game.

An error by Brendan Donovan to lead off the inning put Rucker in trouble. The Rays eventually loaded the bases with two outs and Cedric Mullins delivered with a single to right to score a pair of runs.

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Starting pitchers (16): Floyd Bannister, Jim Beattie, Luis Castillo, Freddy Garcia, Logan Gilbert, Erik Hanson, Félix Hernández, Hisashi Iwakuma, Randy Johnson, George Kirby, Mark Langston, Mike Moore, Jamie Moyer, James Paxton, Joel Piñiero, Bryan Woo.

Relievers (6): Norm Charlton, Mike Jackson, Andrés Muñoz, JJ Putz, Arthur Rhodes, Kazuhiro Sasaki.

Catcher (3): Cal Raleigh, Dave Valle, Dan Wilson.

First base (2): Alvin Davis, John Olerud,

Second base (4): Robinson Canó, Julio Cruz, Harold Reynolds, Bret Boone.

Third base (2): Adrian Beltre, Kyle Seager.

Shortstop (2): J.P. Crawford, Alex Rodriguez.

Left field (2): Phil Bradley, Raul Ibanez.

Center field (6): Mike Cameron, Ken Griffey Jr., Dave Henderson, Franklin Gutierrez, Ruppert Jones, Julio Rodríguez.

Right field (3): Ichiro, Jay Buhner, Mitch Haniger

DH (2): Nelson Cruz, Edgar Martinez.

Utility (2): Bruce Bochte, Mark McLemore.