Angels' 5-3 victory over M's is smash-and-grab job

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Two teams with ostensibly nothing to play for played an awfully intense game on Friday at Angel Stadium.

The Angels, who have already clinched the AL West title, prevailed over the Mariners 5-3 on catcher Mike Napoli's two-out, two-run homer off Miguel Batista in the ninth inning.

The outcome meant the difference between 30 ½ games and 32 ½ games out of first place for the Mariners, long ago cemented into last place in the division. But Seattle manager Jim Riggleman followed the walkoff loss with a brief pep talk to his ballclub on their effort.

"I'm proud to be associated with them," Riggleman said. "If there's someone in this league 30 games better than us, I'll kiss your behind on Main Street and give you half an hour to draw a crowd."

As unsettling as that image might be, the Mariners came away with another positive outing from starter Ryan Rowland-Smith in the defeat.

Rowland-Smith limited the Angels to four hits over 6-1/3 innings. He left with a 3-2 lead and a runner on third that came in to score the tying run on a sacrifice fly off reliever Roy Corcoran.

In nine starts this year, Rowland-Smith has a 3.96 earned-run-average. This was the fifth straight start he has worked into the seventh inning. And if he had his druthers, he would have tried to work out of his own mess in the seventh.

"I'm just trying to be consistent and go as deep as I can," he said. "It's tough to come out, especially in a situation like that. I really wanted to stay in."

The 3-3 tie held into the ninth, in which Batista got two quick outs. But his first big mistake was walking Robb Quinlan, who was replaced by pinch-runner Chone Figgins.

Finally, on a 3-1 pitch, Figgins took off -- but his sprint turned into a jog when Napoli crushed a fastball over the left-field fence.

"We had to challenge him in that situation with his best pitch," Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima said through an interpreter. "We both had in mind to keep the ball down. He did, but he caught too much of the plate."

Johjima had taken a wicked shot earlier in the game on a foul ball off his knee, and Rowland-Smith had a smash by Mark Teixeira carom off his left leg.

"Physically, it hurts, but mentally what hurts most is the walkoff home run," Johjima said.

Both Johjima and Rowland-Smith stayed in the game, but both were sore.

"It hurt a little, but no way I was coming out," Rowland-Smith said.

Angels starter Joe Saunders, meanwhile, had his own "holy, er, cow" moment on the mound. In the fifth inning, when the Mariners took a 3-2 lead with two runs, Saunders had given up three straight hits when Jose Lopez stepped up with runners on first and third.

Lopez connected with everything he had, sending a scorching line drive up the middle. Luckily for Saunders, the ball somehow found his glove and not his body, or it could have been ugly.

A stunned Saunders stood on the mound for a long while before departing, muttering and shaking his head.

"Pure luck," Saunders said. "I'm just happy I'm alive right now. He squared it up. It's tough to remember, actually. It's more of a blur than anything. My glove didn't find the ball; the ball found my glove. Scary. Thank God that was the third out, because I was out of it."

The squandered rally was typical for the Mariners.

"It's so repetitive," Riggleman said. "We've had so many games like that where we didn't break the game open when we had a chance, and it comes back to haunt us."

Ominously for the Angels, who are gearing up for the postseason while fighting to gain home-field advantage, outfielder Vlad Guerrero departed the game in the fourth inning with right knee irritation.

Notes

• Beltre still hasn't made a decision on when to have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. He was in the Mariners' lineup for the second straight game.

"I'll put him in there while he's here," Riggleman said. "If he decides to shut it down, then that's what we'll do."

Riggleman added, "I think he's getting close to nailing down a date" for surgery.

Riggleman called Beltre, who will also undergo shoulder surgery, "physically tough and mentally tough."

He added, "Another tough player is Ichiro. Knock on wood, but he never gets injured. These guys that play 160, 162 games are tough."

• Matt Tuiasosopo was the designated hitter on Friday -- the 15th Mariner to play DH this year.

• Beltre extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two hits, while Raul Ibanez, also with two hits, has now reached base in 30 straight games, the longest active streak in the American League.

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

For the record

Streak: L2

Home: 31-43

Road: 26-46

vs. AL West: 18-27

vs. L.A.: 4-9

vs. Oakland: 6-7

vs. Texas: 8-11

vs. AL East: 15-29

vs. AL Cent.: 15-24

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 19-29

vs. RHP: 38-60

Day: 18-30

Night: 39-59

One-run: 17-26

Extra inn.: 5-7