Originally published July 14, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 19, 2007 at 4:08 PM
Mariners manage one win, one loss against Tigers
One swing was all it took to bury the Mariners on a night their bats were once again silenced. The mighty stroke in question came from Gary...
Seattle Times staff reporter
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."
With Ichiro's signing of a contract extension Friday, the Mariners have invested $241.5 million in four players (the richest contracts in team history) since December 2004. A look at the four players and their contracts:
$90M
Ichiro, CF: Five-year deal through the 2012 season.
$64M
Adrian Beltre, 3B: Five-year deal through the 2009 season.
$50M
Richie Sexson, 1B: Four-year deal through the 2008 season.
$37.5M
Jarrod Washburn, SP: Four-year deal through the 2009 season.
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
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 09:20 PM
Former NFL MVP McNair killed
Rob Johnson's double in 11th powers Mariners past Red Sox, 7-6
Packed field awaiting Lance Armstrong in Tour de France
Nick Taylor putts his way to victory in Sahalee Players Championship
NBA | Phil Jackson returning to L.A.

Tribal Fireworks Rivalry
The Fourth of July marks a long-standing fireworks rivalry between two clans of a Native-American family in Suquamish.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
shopping

events for Saturday, Jul. 4th
- Kuhlman Summer Sale
- Alhambra July Sale
- Seattle Premium Outlets July 4th Summ...
- Evo Independence Sale
editors' picks
More shopping guides- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling'
- Yakima teacher reprimanded for sending 5-year-old student home with bag of feces in backpack
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- 6 jurors swear a cop's wife swayed panel in Kent civil rights case
- Fire sends service providers scrambling
- Going to Gas Works Park? Good luck
- Fourth of July festivals and fireworks in Seattle, the suburbs and beyond
- Woman accuses Sounders FC player Nate Jaqua of sexual assault, seeks more than $10 million
- More than 1 million seek tix for Jackson memorial
- Rob Johnson's double in 11th powers Mariners past Red Sox, 7-6
- Palin resigning as Alaska governor
746 - Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/04 game thread
244 - Woman accuses Sounders FC player Nate Jaqua of sexual assault, seeks more than $10 million
99 - Reports: NKorean missile arrives at launch site
96 - Palin's Declaration of Independence
73 - Mariners score unlikely win over Red Sox in battle of bullpens
58 - Rob Johnson ties a club record as Mariners win 7-6 in 11 innings
54 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
52 - Man pistol-whipped after argument at nightclub
40 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
39
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Going to Gas Works Park? Good luck
- Liven up Fremont's attempt to break a world record for a 'zombie walk'
- Merchant Marine veterans fight for recognition
- Lynnwood's City Bank gets tighter scrutiny
- Yakima teacher reprimanded for sending 5-year-old student home with bag of feces in backpack
- Retail Report | Pet-supply shops grow while other retailers fade
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling'
- Fire sends service providers scrambling
- Oregon woman obsessed with rabbits back in jail




