Mariners let victory slip away in ninth inning

In the end, it was a rare blown save by J.J. Putz that did in the Mariners on Tuesday night in their 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.

But before the end, it was their grave lack of clutch hitting that un-did a brilliant effort by Felix Hernandez, who was effective with his pitches and at times dazzling with his glove.

The result was the first defeat — and the first gut-wrencher — of the Mariners' 2008 season.

There were multiple twists and turns on a frigid night for 25,204 at Safeco Field, but the story of the game might have been written in one statistic in the Seattle column: Left on Base, 15.

"We had some things going," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "It was just one of those games we didn't get runs across. They were out there; we just didn't get them in."

After rallying for three in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead, helped greatly by two Texas errors, the Mariners watched Putz give up a two-run homer to Josh Hamilton in the ninth.

In the eighth, reliever Eric O'Flaherty had given up two runs after Hernandez limited the Rangers to only an unearned run on five hits over seven innings.

"Eric and J.J. didn't have their better stuff," McLaren said. "It's early in the year, and we're using them back-to-back for the first time. In Arizona, where it was nice and warm, they could get loose real easy."

It was only fitting that Yuniesky Betancourt, after his fourth hit of the game, a double, died at second base in the ninth.

It was a particularly tough game for Richie Sexson, who committed an error at first and struck out three times, most glaringly against Texas reliever Joaquin Benoit with the bases loaded and the score tied in the eighth.

Sexson had heard his first wave of boos (interrupted by robust cheering when he singled in the fifth). But during this at-bat, they were roaring in seeming encouragement until he waved at a 3-2 pitch out of the strike zone.

"I got too excited," Sexson said. "I just got into the moment and swung at a bad pitch. I wanted to do something great instead of just relaxing and chilling out."

Of the crowd reaction, he said, "I always said they boo me because they want me to do good. Down deep, they want me to be successful. This is just two games. I'm going to have a big year. This is not a major setback."

Dubbed "King Felix" before he had thrown his first major-league pitch, Hernandez had a new handle hung on him before his 2008 debut by McLaren: "Big Dog."

Hernandez was both regal and fierce in seven impressive innings. Hernandez, a week shy of his 22nd birthday, was locked in a tight duel with Rangers starter Vicente Padilla, both pitchers deftly working out of jams throughout the frigid night.

"Felix showed a lot of grit out there," McLaren said. "I was really proud of him. He responded so well when he got in jams. He got some big, tough outs."

Hernandez had three strikeouts — two fewer than the number of assists he logged as he speared grounders, snared line drives and was, except for one key throwing error that led to an unearned run, a defensive force.

"He looked like a shortstop out there, didn't he?" McLaren said.

Hernandez's most impressive escape came in the sixth, when the Rangers loaded the bases with one out on two hits and a walk. David Murphy hit the ball sharply up the middle, but Hernandez stretched to knock the ball down, scrambled to pick it up, and threw home barely in time to get the force as catcher Kenji Johjima stretched for the throw. A popup by Gerald Laird ended the threat.

Hernandez said his teammates ribbed him about his propensity in the game for knocking down balls up the middle, forcing him to scramble to finish the play.

"They said, 'Catch the ball!' I said, 'I'm trying,' " he related. "Lopez and Yuni told me, 'Catch the ball or let it go. Don't do stupid stuff.' "

In the ninth, Putz gave up a leadoff single to Ian Kinsler on a 3-2 pitch. He struck out Michael Young looking, but Hamilton hit the first pitch he saw over the fence in right.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Mariners had used errors by Young and Kinsler, an RBI single by Betancourt, and a two-out wild pitch by Benoit to take their short-lived lead.

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