ANAHEIM, Calif. – Until the eighth inning, the Seattle Mariners seemed primed to steal a one-hit victory with Charlie Furbush’s dominant pitching and Trayvon Robinson’s unlikely homer.
The Los Angeles Angels finally caught up to Furbush, but not before the rookie left-hander gained valuable experience to use in his next tight start.
Maicer Izturis hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Furbush in the eighth inning, rewarding Jerome Williams for pitching eight innings in the Angels’ 3-1 victory over the Mariners on Wednesday night.
Peter Bourjos added a run-scoring single in the eighth as Los Angeles trimmed the Texas Rangers’ American League West lead to 21/2 games with a dramatic rally. Williams (3-0) narrowly outdueled Furbush (3-8), but the Mariners say they won’t regret keeping the youngster in the game.
“I wanted to give him the opportunity,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. “I thought he earned it. … It’s a significant step for him, to be out there in that situation. It didn’t work out this time, but now he’s gone through it late in a ballgame, and he’ll be better for it next time.”
Both starters worked quickly and smoothly in the series finale on another uncomfortably warm night in Orange County until the big finish.
Furbush yielded five hits and one walk, throwing 100 pitches in the longest start of his career. The rookie has lost four straight starts with the club that acquired him from Detroit in late July, but he thoroughly dominated the Angels for seven innings.
“Until the eighth inning, I put the team in a position to win the game, and that’s all I can do as a starter – go as deep as I can,” Furbush said. “I felt good in the eighth. Maybe I got a little out of whack there at the end, but physically I felt fine.”
Despite his pedestrian record, Furbush has shown signs of dominance this season, notably his seven innings of one-run ball against Boston last month.
Robinson’s sixth-inning leadoff homer on a low pitch was the Mariners’ only hit off Williams, a journeyman who has made three strong starts for Los Angeles down the playoff stretch after beginning the season in the independent Atlantic League.
“It’s exciting to a point,” Williams said. “I can’t let all those emotions get to me when I go out there and pitch. We’re in the hunt for the playoffs, and I’ve got to focus on getting wins.”
Williams retired 15 of the Mariners’ first 16 hitters, yielding only Mike Carp’s leadoff walk in the second inning until the homer by Robinson.
“He goes out there and battles,” Robinson said of Williams. “He pounds the zone and he doesn’t give up.”
The Angels finally rallied when Erick Aybar reached on a one-out infield single in the eighth, advancing to second on a wild pitch. After pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo walked, Izturis put a drive into the left-center gap.
Bourjos then connected against reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, scoring Aybar.
The Mariners backed him with exceptional infield defense, including third baseman Alex Liddi’s difficult stop and throw to nip Torii Hunter in the seventh. Liddi went 0-for-2 in his big-league debut. The Italian-born infielder is the first graduate of the MLB European Academy to reach the majors.
ON TAP
The Mariners open a 10-game homestand at 7:10 p.m. today against the Kansas City Royals. Right-hander Luke Hochevar (10-10, 4.76 ERA) will face Seattle’s Jason Vargas (7-13, 4.59).
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