Jarrod Washburn throws one-hitter for Mariners

On a night in which one pitch separated Jarrod Washburn from baseball immortality, the accolades were flowing in his direction with both accuracy and pace.

Sort of like Washburn's pinpoint pitches en route to the first one-hitter thrown by a Mariner in the nearly 10-year history of Safeco Field, and the 10th in team history.

The gem, which resulted in a 5-0 Mariners victory over Baltimore, was ever so close to being a perfect game.

Washburn faced just one batter over the minimum, the only blemish coming on a two-out, two-strike single by Nick Markakis in the fourth inning that left catcher Rob Johnson among those agonizing over what could have been.

"After the game, I said, 'Damn, I wish we had thrown a slider there,' " Johnson said. "He said, 'There's nothing to shake your head about.' I couldn't be happier for him."

Other than that Markakis single, Washburn was flawless. He didn't walk any, and in fact went to three balls on just four batters.

"He pitched one of the best games in major-league baseball all season," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "He completely dominated the game."

Said Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu: "I don't know if you can throw a better game than that. Coming off a tough road trip that taxed our bullpen, he stepped up and saved us big time.

"He's such a competitor. I don't know if I could even — I didn't go up and ask him if he could finish that game. You knew the answer."

It was the ninth complete game and fourth shutout of Washburn's career, and also the low-hit game of his career. He had two previous three-hitters. Washburn needed 110 pitches to complete the two-hour, nine-minute masterpiece, including a mere five pitches in the seventh inning.

"I knew early on I had good stuff and good command, and I was just concentrating on keeping it that way," he said. "The guys played great defense behind me tonight. Rob called a great game. I think I only shook him off five or six times the whole game."

Johnson spoke of a newly fashioned Washburn sinker "that starts out as a strike and ends up a ball. He started throwing it in New York, and he's gained a lot of confidence in that pitch. So have I. That really helped him out quite a bit."

Washburn, however, downplayed his repertoire.

"Fastball, that was it," he said. "We threw one changeup the whole game. The four-seam and two-seam were working great, both sides of the plate."

Markakis' hit came on an inside sinker, Johnson said, that slightly jammed him — and that the lefty hitter lined into left field for a clean hit.

Asked if he realized how close he came to the record book, Washburn said: "Not really. I'm sure it will sink in. He hit a good pitch, I haven't gone back and looked at it. Rob said it was a good pitch, and said it might have even been a ball. He did a good job of staying inside the ball and served it out to left."

Left fielder Ryan Langerhans said he had moved a few feet toward the line with two strikes, as is his custom.

"I don't know, that might have made the difference [in being able to catch the ball]," Langerhans said. "I've already caught a little ribbing from the guys."

Russ Branyan launched his 21st homer in the first inning, and Chris Woodward delivered a two-run, bases-loaded double in the sixth after Baltimore elected to walk Johnson intentionally.

Langerhans, in his Safeco Field debut as a Mariner, had a double off the left-field wall in the sixth, and a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Ichiro delivered a two-out single to drive in the other M's run.

Woodward, who has taken over for Adrian Beltre at third base, also contributed the defensive play of the game in the seventh. He charged and barehanded a slow roller by Adam Jones, gunning him out at first.

Washburn did the rest.

"He's just one of those guys, I feel comfortable against him every time I step into the box, and he just gets you out," said Baltimore's Aubrey Huff. "I never feel like I'm overmatched. He just gets me out every time."