M's get slammed by A's

The Mariners had hoped that a return to Safeco Field would help fuel a revival after their disastrous stretch of recent losses.

Instead, all it did was reawaken the misery from their last home appearance, a three-game sweep by the Angels. Not to mention all the hope-shattering defeats that followed on what manager John McLaren called their "road trip from hell" -- and to pennant-race oblivion.

With starter Horacio Ramirez getting blasted out of the game in the second inning, and Oakland smashing two grand slams -- one early and one late -- the Mariners' slide out of playoff relevance continued Monday with a 9-3 loss to the Athletics.

The Mariners have now dropped 14 of their last 16 games to plummet 8 ½ games behind the Angels and 5 ½ behind the wild-card-leading Yankees.

The immediate result was yet another sullen postgame clubhouse as the Mariners try to figure out not only what's gone so drastically wrong, but also how to fix it.

"I probably have a lot to say, but I'm not going to," said outfielder Jose Guillen, who hit his 20th home run in the eighth. "It's not fun when you're losing, and it's fun when you're winning. I'll leave it at that."

Ichiro deflected a question about whether the team is pressing.

"I don't even comprehend that word," he said through his interpreter. "No one is trying to win two games in one game. If someone did 100 sprints before games, then maybe he'd be pressing, but there's no such idiots on this team."

One byproduct of this latest defeat might be a change in the rotation. Ramirez, after a 1-2-3 first, fell apart in the second inning, giving up five runs before McLaren pulled him to a robust chorus of boos. The big hit off Ramirez was the first career grand slam by rookie catcher Kurt Suzuki.

Ryan Feierabend, meanwhile, might have pitched well enough in relief of Ramirez to earn consideration for Ho-Ram's spot in the rotation. Feierabend blanked the A's on four hits over 5-1/3 innings, walking two and striking out five.

"I thought Feierabend did a tremendous job for us," McLaren said. "He kept us in the game."

Asked whether Feierabend had pitched well enough to earn a start, McLaren said he didn't know yet.

"It would be nice, but whatever they decide to do, I'll do," said Feierabend, who has seven starts for Seattle this season. "I'll keep going to the 'pen until I hear otherwise."

Ramirez saw his earned-run average rise to 6.80 (identical to Feierabend, who has 56 fewer innings). Ramirez shrugged when asked about his future in the rotation.

"That's not my job [to make the decision]," he said.

After the Mariners closed the gap to 5-3 on Guillen's homer, the A's added another grand slam in the ninth by Dan Johnson off Ryan Rowland-Smith. It came on Rowland-Smith's second pitch after relieving Brandon Morrow, who has now allowed 12 runs in his last 4-1/3 innings over six appearances. It was only the second time in franchise history the A's have had two slams in the same game.

"These guys care," McLaren said. "Ask them to a man, and they're not happy right now."

Oakland starter Joe Blanton blanked the Mariners for the first six innings and earned his 13th victory. Blanton, 0-2 in three previous starts against Seattle, was facing the Mariners for the first time since scuffling with since-departed M's outfielder Jason Ellison in Oakland on July 8.

The Mariners' only two wins in the last 16 games came over pitchers who both later admitted they were pitching while injured. The M's haven't beaten a healthy pitcher since Texas' Kevin Millwood on Aug. 24.

They ended their nine-game losing streak last Monday at Yankee Stadium, beating the Yankees 7-1. But losing pitcher Roger Clemens, who gave up five runs in four innings, admitted to elbow pain; he hasn't pitched since.

The Mariners' only other win in this disastrous 16-game span was 14-7 over the Tigers on Sunday, but again they feasted on a pitcher who said after the game he was experiencing sharp pain in his elbow. Jeremy Bonderman, touched for six runs in 1-1/3 innings, is likely out for the season.

Blanton got all the support he would need in the second. After Jack Cust struck out, Ramirez gave up a single to Mark Ellis, a walk, a run-scoring single by Jack Hannahan, and another walk before Suzuki blasted an 0-1 pitch over the left-field fence.

"No excuses, no nothing," said Ramirez. "I didn't make a pitch in a big situation, and he hit it out of the park."

The Mariners did set a dubious club record on Monday. When Blanton hit Guillen in the fourth, it was Guillen's 18th time being hit with a pitch, breaking Dave Valle's 1993 record of 17.

Just another painful outcome.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com