Mariners' pen still leaking as Orioles complete sweep

BALTIMORE — Eric O'Flaherty, the first casualty of an early-season Mariners swoon, looked on disconsolately in the eighth inning as the latest ball ripped off him by a left-hander disappeared against a cold afternoon sky.

The Mariners relief pitcher saw his job as the team's situational left-hander vanish along with Monday's home-run blast by Baltimore Orioles slugger Aubrey Huff. Another late loss by the Mariners had been sealed, along with O'Flaherty's fate, by the tiebreaking shot to right center in a 5-4 series finale and four-game sweep by the home side.

O'Flaherty may yet live to pitch another day late in a game. But for now, the high-pressure, late situations will be passed on to fellow lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith and most likely Arthur Rhodes, once he's healthy enough to be called up.

"I can't explain it," Mariners manager John McLaren said after his team's second straight one-run defeat, in front of 10,774 fans at Camden Yards. "Eric was a big part of our bullpen. I don't know if he's lost his confidence."

The Mariners have had their confidence shaken somewhat by this 2-5 start, having scored four runs or less in all but their season opener. Seattle grabbed a 2-0, first-inning lead in this one on a leadoff homer by Ichiro off Daniel Cabrera, followed by a Raul Ibanez solo shot two batters later.

But Cabrera stuck around for six innings while the visiting hitters struggled once again. Brad Wilkerson, hitting just .059, was finally lifted for pinch-hitter Mike Morse with two on in the seventh in a rally that fizzled on an ensuing strikeout.

Mariners starter Carlos Silva yielded a two-run, go-ahead homer to Melvin Mora in the third and a tying single to Brian Roberts in the fifth. But Silva also struck out dangerous lefty Nick Markakis with two on in the seventh to keep the score 4-4 and turn things over to his bullpen.

O'Flaherty seems to have lost something from a year ago, when he held lefties to 17 hits in 93 at-bats for a .183 average and no home runs. After one week this season he's already given up seven hits — including Huff's home run and three doubles — along with a walk and a hit batsman to the 13 hitters he's faced.

The Walla Walla native had already pitched two straight days. McLaren had Rowland-Smith fresh in the bullpen but opted to get O'Flaherty "back on the horse" after a tough outing Sunday.

"It's a twofold thing for me," McLaren said. "We're trying to get Eric going. And two, Rowland-Smith has not been in that situation. So, if we bring him in today in that situation ... we've been using him in long relief, and that's been his mind-set. It's long relief.

"Now, we might give him a heads-up tomorrow and say, 'Hey, we're using you late in the game against left-handers' so his mind-set will be there."

McLaren discussed O'Flaherty's situation beforehand with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, and both agreed he was strong enough to go again.

"We tried it; it didn't work," McLaren said.

Rowland-Smith pitched in the late innings in a handful of games for the team last September. He said he doesn't really need to be told in advance what his role will be.

"You just go out and pitch," he said. "It doesn't matter when it is, you just want to pitch. Anytime the [bullpen] phone rings, you hope it's you they're calling for. It's not like because the seventh inning's gone by, that I'm sitting there, chilling out, not watching the game."

Rhodes is still on the minor-league disabled list and won't be eligible to be called up until Thursday at the earliest. He has already thrown in back-to-back simulated games, but the club might try to get him some real action first at Class AA West Tennessee.

Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima said he should have called for O'Flaherty to throw Huff a first-pitch slider, instead of the fastball away that got belted deep. Johjima was asked about the location of the pitch.

"Usually, when you give up a home run, the location is pretty bad," he quipped.

Johjima also saw his own bat shattered twice by Cabrera on a hitless afternoon that lowered his average to just .095. He said all the struggling hitters and pitchers have to stop worrying about the team-wide malaise and get their own house in order.

"We have a great team," he said. "We have to do what we can individually and not worry too much about the team. Because if you do perform great individually, that means the team will."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.