Mariners manage one win, one loss against Tigers

A reflective-sounding Richie Sexson nodded his head in agreement after another tough night at the plate.

This latest opponent for the Mariners does indeed represent a huge test for any squad hoping to contend for the postseason. The margin for error the first two games of this series against a Detroit Tigers squad that could return to a second straight World Series has been as thin as the Mariners have seen all season.

That's why the home team found itself on the losing end of a 6-3 game on Friday night at Safeco Field. One bad pitch by starter Jarrod Washburn to Gary Sheffield and a muffed throw by Yuniesky Betancourt led to five runs by the visitors in the first home defeat for Seattle since June 22.

"It's a big test," Sexson said. "They've been there. They're pretty much the same team that went to the World Series last year. They've got a great club over there."

Sexson heard boos from some of the 37,393 fans as he grounded out on another hitless night to extend his current batting slump to 0 for 16. But he was simply the lightning rod for fan frustration on a night Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman handcuffed the home side by scattering six hits over seven innings.

Sean Casey provided a big insurance run for the Tigers in the seventh with a solo homer to right field after Brandon Morrow took over from Washburn to start the inning.

Jose Guillen and Adrian Beltre hit solo homers off Bonderman in the second and sixth innings. Jose Vidro added a run-scoring double off Bonderman in the fourth.

But none of it was going to erase the 12th grand slam of Sheffield's career, a third-inning rocket into the left-field stands. A lineup with Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez at its heart, hitting .290 for the season and sitting atop the leaderboard in most power categories, makes it very dangerous to put runners on ahead of them.

But that's just what Washburn did after sailing through the first two innings with four strikeouts.

Washburn began the third by hitting No. 8 batter Brandon Inge with a pitch, then gave up a walk and a single to load the bases.

After battling Sheffield to a 2-2 count, the lefty threw a changeup that didn't break the right way.

"He's one of the greatest hitters ever, in my opinion," Washburn said. "And if you make a mistake like that, he's going to hurt you."

Sheffield's 22nd home run of the season put Detroit up 4-1 and helped spell the end of Seattle's four-game winning streak. The Mariners also dropped three games behind the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West and two back of the Cleveland Indians in the wild-card standings on a night both those teams were victorious.

The night began with the crowd in a far more festive mood, giving Ichiro a loud pregame ovation to celebrate a five-year contract extension that was this city's sports story of the day. Over in the opposing dugout, Sheffield was making news of a very different kind in multiple cities across the country after news leaked of a television interview he had given.

In the interview, to be aired next Tuesday on HBO's "Real Sports," Sheffield states New York Yankees manager Joe Torre treated black players differently from whites when he was there. Sheffield didn't back off from those comments before Friday's game.

The rest of the night also went in decidedly different directions for the two newsmakers.

While Sheffield's bat turned in the game's decisive blow, Ichiro struck out against Bonderman his first two times up and didn't get a hit until singling off reliever Bobby Seay in the eighth. Ichiro ended the game looking on from the on-deck circle, as pinch-hitter Ben Broussard swung and missed at a full-count fastball from closer Todd Jones with two men on.

Seattle had taken a series opener on Thursday night in which there had been even less room for mistakes. That game wound up decided by umpire Bruce Froemming's ruling — what many say was incorrectly — that shortstop Carlos Guillen failed to tag base runner Beltre out on a wacky fifth-inning scamper.

Sexson wound up scoring the decisive run all the way from third in that contest. But he and his teammates just couldn't get it done against Bonderman, who improved to 10-1 with a 3.50 earned-run average.

"He's got a sinker and a great slider," Sexson said. "He located it just off [the plate]. He's good, one of the really good ones. You know we've got our work cut out for us there."

Washburn did what he could to keep his team close, retiring Ordonez on a 4-6-3 double play to end the fifth inning after intentionally walking Sheffield to load the bases. But the throwing error by Betancourt to lead off the sixth led to an unearned insurance marker that made it a 5-2 game and dug too big a hole for the Mariners to climb out of.

"Good teams capitalize on mistakes," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "We did last night and they did tonight. Two very good ballclubs, two very good ballgames."

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

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