July swoon continues for Mariners
LARRY LARUE; Staff writer
MINNEAPOLIS – It has been more than two months since Doug Fister won, and as he was making a case to stay in the Seattle Mariners’ rotation Friday, the defense rested.
Errors by second baseman Chone Figgins and third baseman Josh Wilson cost Fister three unearned runs that were the difference in the Mariners’ 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins – their fifth consecutive defeat.
“I felt great, I just didn’t make the pitches when I had to,” Fister said.
Which pitches were mistakes?
“Basically, any time they scored,” he said. “It’s a team sport, and I had to pick up my teammates. I didn’t.”
Another man might have said the exact opposite – and been just as right. Had the Mariners made two routine plays on ground balls …
“The difference tonight was probably the two-run home run by Jim Thome,” designated hitter Russell Branyan said. “We clean up that inning, that swing doesn’t take place.”
And, one inning later, with two outs and a man on third base, Fister got a ground ball to third. Wilson couldn’t come up with it, and the Twins were up, 3-0.
It wasn’t all about the defense. With Seattle, there’s always an arrow or two that can be pointed directly at the Mariners’ offense, too.
“The key to that game might have been our second inning,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “We got two men on, bunted them over, then loaded the bases with one out. We’ve got to manufacture something there.
“There’s no score. We put up a run or two, it gives us momentum. We didn’t get it done.”
If that sounds familiar, Branyan said, it’s not Wakamatsu’s fault, or that of hitting coach Alonzo Powell.
“They can’t hit for us,” said Branyan, who had a pair of doubles. “They had us bunt, put guys in position to hit with runners in scoring position. At that point, it’s up to us as hitters.
“Hitting with runners in scoring position is probably one of the toughest things to do in this game. It’s your chance to win the game with a big hit or even an out. We didn’t get that hit.”
Facing Scott Baker, now a nine-game winner with a 5.00 earned-run average, the Mariners scored three times in the sixth inning, but the Twins’ unearned runs were too many to overcome.
“The score doesn’t indicate how well Fister pitched,” Wakamatsu said. “That’s the best stuff and the best command he’s had since coming off the disabled list (June 26).”
The 26-year-old right-hander last won a game on May 14, when his record stood at 3-1. Since that time, he’s spent nearly a month on the disabled list with an inflamed shoulder, and lost six games.
During that span, he’s had six games he could easily have won:
• Against Toronto on May 19, Fister pitched eight innings and allowed three runs, losing 3-2.
• On May 25 against Detroit, he allowed three runs – two earned – in seven innings and earned no decision.
• On July 7 vs. Kansas City, Fister went six innings and allowed one run. He got no decision in a 7-3 loss.
• On July 20, against the White Sox, he went six innings and allowed three runs, losing in what was Chicago’s 6-3 win.
• On July 25 against Boston, Fister pitched five innings and allowed two runs in a no-decision after a 4-2 Seattle win.
Add Friday’s start to that scrap heap. Fister went five innings and allowed two earned runs and lost. His bullpen – Jamey Wright, Garrett Olson and Brian Sweeney – pitched scoreless baseball behind him.
Wasn’t enough.
The Mariners outhit the Twins, 9-8, and from the bench Wakamatsu had them playing aggressively with a bunt, stolen base, hit-and-run play. Still, as Branyan pointed out, at the key point in any rally, it comes down to the players performing.
Even in the one inning they did score, the Mariners came away frustrated. After Franklin Gutierrez singled Branyan home, and Wilson doubled home two more runs, Wilson was at second base with only one out.
Jack Wilson grounded out.
Ichiro Suzuki struck out.
“With guys in position to score with less than two outs, you’ve got to get ’em in if you want to win consistently,” Branyan said. “We didn’t, but it happens. It’s not the first time or the last. This isn’t an easy game.”
The Mariners lost for the 21st time this month and, with one game left in July, and one loss from matching their worst month – August 1977, when they lost 22 times.
“We’ve lost a lot of close games, and we could easily give up right now,” Branyan said. “Come out here at 2 o’clock, though, and you’ll see a bunch of guys working their butts off, trying to get better. Nobody’s taking time off.”
Except, occasionally, on defense.
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