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Mariners vs. Yankees |
Mets vs. Cardinals
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Thursday, October 12
Mariners' bullpen finally blows up
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Seattle might very well go sleepless over this
loss.
The Mariners had the New York Yankees right where they wanted
them before some shoddy defense and suddenly suspect relief
pitching conspired to toss away Game 2 of the American League
Championship Series.
Leading 1-0 going into the bottom of the eighth inning
Wednesday, Seattle was six outs away from heading home to Safeco
Field needing two victories for its first World Series berth.
|  | | Jose Mesa was roughed up for four runs in two-thirds of an inning in Game 2. |
And then it all fell apart.
Relievers Arthur Rhodes and Jose Mesa combined to give up seven
runs on eight hits in the eighth, allowing the Yankees to win 7-1
and tie series at 1-1.
"It's a shame," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said, "because
we had seven good innings of baseball, and in the eighth they
exploded on us."
"Down 2-0 going into Seattle would have been devastating,"
said Yankees designated hitter Chuck Knoblauch, who chipped in with
an RBI single.
"And right now we're riding a high."
The eighth inning was a stunning pratfall for a relief corps
that had been masterful in the playoffs.
Entering that inning, Seattle's bullpen had worked 15 scoreless
postseason innings, stranding all 10 of the runners it had
inherited and converting all three of its save chances.
But a solid start Wednesday by John Halama was wasted. He gave
up five hits in six shutout innings and did not allow a runner to
get past second base. Jose Paniagua came on for a scoreless seventh
inning, before Piniella turned the 1-0 lead over to Rhodes.
The left-hander gave up three runs on four hits while getting
just one out, before Mesa -- who lost the closer's job to Japanese
import Kazuhiro Sasaki in spring training -- allowed four runs on
four hits.
"The bullpen doesn't go in there with the intention of blowing
the game -- they had 15 scoreless innings," said Halama, who made
his first postseason start.
"It's bound to happen sooner or later."
Perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising the collapse finally
came.
Mesa has had his postseason problems in the past, while Rhodes
has not been superb against the Yankees.
While with the Cleveland Indians, Mesa blew save opportunities
in Games 3 and 4 of the 1997 ALCS against Baltimore. Then, in that
year's World Series, he blew a ninth-inning lead in Game 7, which
Florida went on to win in 11 innings.
Rhodes had a 7.71 ERA in four appearances against the Yankees
during the regular season, and had a 3-5 career record against them
before Wednesday.
With Rhodes on in relief to start the eighth, David Justice led
off with a double. Bernie Williams followed with an RBI single on
an eight-pitch at-bat to tie it at 1-1.
Tino Martinez followed with a liner that went off the glove of
charging left fielder Al Martin. The next batter, Jorge Posada, hit
a shot that went off second baseman Mark McLemore's glove and
dribbled slowly into short right field, allowing another runner to
score.
After Paul O'Neill's sacrifice fly drove in another run, Rhodes
gave way to Mesa, who was ineffective to say the least.
When it was all over, the Yankees had racked up seven runs on
eight hits -- two more hits than they had all game before the big
inning.
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