Mariners stage big rally but lose in 13 innings

Chone Figgins had stood in the Mariners' dugout for most of the first eight innings, failing to adjust to the idea of seeing his former teammate no-hitting the hometown side.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions Thursday night for a Mariners squad that came within four outs of being no-hit by Boston Red Sox hurler John Lackey, then staged an historic rally only to lose, 8-6, in 13 innings. But the emotions were especially bizarre for Figgins, who teamed for seven years in Anaheim with Lackey and in other seasons before that in the minor leagues.

Only when Lackey finally took a seat, after two-hitting the Mariners through eight, did Seattle finally come through with a team-record rally from five runs down in the ninth that still wound up not being enough.

"You really want to win those games," Figgins said afterwards. "We had a chance, when we put runners on at the end. But we just didn't get it done."

A nice bunt by Figgins had moved two runners into scoring position in the 12th inning and then an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. But Jose Lopez and Milton Bradley both hit infield popups to thwart the rally, much to the disgust of the majority of the 28,074 fans at Safeco Field, who groaned in unison.

Boston finally came through in the 13th as Eric Patterson drilled a two-out, two-run double to the gap in left-center off Mariners reliever Garrett Olson.

The Red Sox closed it out 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame to cap a night of ups and downs for Seattle that once again ended on the down side.

"Everybody was excited," Figgins said of the dugout mood in the bottom of the ninth. "We battled back to be in that position and give ourselves a chance."

Trailing 6-1, the Mariners drew closer when Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run homer off reliever Manny Delcarmen. Two more batters reached base and then, one out later, pinch-hitter Ryan Langerhans doubled down the right-field line off closer Jonathan Papelbon to make it a 6-4 game.

Josh Bard, who had ended Lackey's no-hit bid in the eighth with a single to center, drew a walk to load the bases. Jack Wilson then hit a potential game-ending double-play ball, but former Mariners infielder Bill Hall threw the back-end relay away at first base to bring the tying run home.

The crowd went wild and the Mariners had overcome their largest ninth-inning deficit in team history.

"We felt like, 'Hey, we're back in this game and it's ours!' " Olson said of the team's mood.

But the magic stopped there. Olson was into his second inning of relief in the 13th, following a scoreless frame by David Aardsma and three from Jamey Wright, when Patterson hit a pitch the pitcher said was the one he wanted to throw.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't finish it," Olson said. "When that rally happened, our team kind of came back to life. So, that's something positive we're going to take out of it."

There appeared to be few positives to take out of this one early on, as the Red Sox got a two-run homer from Hall in the third and a two-run shot in the sixth by J.D. Drew off Ryan Rowland-Smith. Ichiro had saved the Australian left-hander more damage in the first inning by crashing into the wall with a leaping catch in right to rob David Ortiz.

But after an unearned run in the second by Seattle, when Bradley walked, stole second, advanced on a groundout and scored on a passed ball, Rowland-Smith gave the lead right back on Hall's blast. Rowland-Smith was pulled after six innings, down 5-1 and a solo homer by Marco Scutaro off Brian Sweeney seemed to put things away.

Lackey had yet to allow a hit and had retired 16 in a row, striking out the side in the sixth, before Bard finally ended the no-hitter.

"It's strange, because you play with a guy like that for so many years and see what he can do," Figgins said. "Then, all of a sudden, you're seeing it from the other side as a hitter."

Figgins said Lackey was getting ahead in the count and making it tough for the Mariners to wait him out. But they finally did so by the eighth, with Lackey throwing his 116th and final pitch to end the inning.

And the end to the game itself could have been a lot more celebratory for the Mariners, had Lopez or Bradley come through.

"We battled and battled to tie it up in the ninth," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "And put ourselves in that situation in the 12th. We've got to get it done in that situation. Then it becomes a heck of a story instead of a heartbreak."

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

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners