You’ll have to forgive Seattle baseball fans for getting a little excited about their team after the Mariners rallied for a 7-4 victory against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday (6-4-07).
The score and the win seem pretty pedestrian until you learn the Mariners trailed 4-3 with two outs in the eighth inning. It looked a lot like Mudville with Casey coming up to bat. Only once in the previous 53 games has Seattle rallied after trailing in the eighth inning.
Then it was like the heavens opened up in a night game and some great power from above said, “Swing the bat and I’ll give the ball eyes to see a friendly place to land.”
Before long, five straight two-out hits had the Mariners leading 7-4 leading into the ninth inning.
The rally began with singles by shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and all-purpose Willie Bloomquist, who played third base for starter Adrián Beltré and then moved to center field.
Then regular designated hitter José Vitro, who was taking the night off with a bruised finger, was pinch chosen and grounded out off the glove of second baseman Brian Roberts and to center field to tie the game 4–4.
Seattle’s superstar center fielder Ichiro, the designated hitter in place of Vitro, had his third hit of the night, a solid single to left field that made it 5-4. By now, Mariner fans were on the verge of mixed emotions: joy and happiness.
The leadoff and breakout hit came from second baseman José López, who delivered useful insurance with a two-run double to right field to make it 7-4.
In came Seattle light closer JJ Putz, who recorded his 14th save in 14 tries. Game over. Lights out and the Mariners left Safeco Field with a 29-25 mark, the first time they’ve been 4 games over .500 in three years.
So what’s the problem in Seattle? Two things:
1) Maybe the major league franchise team in your hometown is trailing five straight two-out hits in the eighth inning to win. This has NOT been happening in Seattle in at least 4 years, and maybe never. I am not sure if statistics are kept on this fact.
I’ve watched over 1,000 baseball games and never, ever have I seen a team come back from getting five straight two-out hits in the eighth inning to win. Usually, there is a walk, a balk, a hit batter, or an error combined with fewer hits that allows a team to pull off a come-from-behind win so late in the game.
2) Despite Seattle’s rainy history, it’s been a long time between rainouts when it comes to a winning Mariner team.
After a miraculous 1995 season in which the Mariners won their first AL Division Series against the New York Yankees in another miraculous 3-2 comeback (losing the first two games and winning the last three), Seattle supported the construction of Safeco Field, a state-of-the-art ballpark.
Local fans remember the Mariners winning the 1997 AL West title, 2000 AL West title and 2001 AL West title with a record 116-46 finish.
Then Seattle had identical 93-69 seasons in 2002 and 2003, and continued to suck water from the pond with three straight losing seasons, failing to even break .500. So Monday’s “miraculous” finish brought back memories and hope that the Mariners are once again on the rise back to the top of the heap.
Seattle is catching some wind in its sails on Puget Sound, and the blue skies of summer remind us why baseball is, and always will be, the summertime pastime.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley