Mariners are playing small ball to score runs

They ran and hit and hit and ran. They worked long counts and coaxed seven walks out of three Texas pitchers.

On an opening day that was more suited for linebackers than line drives, the Mariners' offense was economical, if not explosive. It scored five runs on just six hits.

In the biting cold, the Mariners played smart and clean. They turned a gloomy afternoon into a satisfying 5-2 win.

This is the way the Mariners have to win this season. This is Mac Ball.

They aren't going to wow teams with their power. They aren't going to dent outfield walls with a string of lasered line drives.

The Mariners of 2008 are going to pick and peck like magpies. They aren't going to hack at the first near-strike they see. Hitters aren't going to stay away from walks as if they were admissions of defeat.

The game plan is to work the count, get guys on base and move them with walks, and bunts and hit-and-runs. The idea is to score runs, not light up the scoreboard with meaningless two-hit, no-run innings.

The plan is to put bodies in motion.

"To go where we want to go, I think we're going to have to [manufacture runs]," John McLaren said after winning his first opening day as manager. "I've been around a long time, and it's hard to try and outslug people every night. We tried to do that in the old days in Toronto and we had some firepower.

"We'd lose games 9-7, and that takes something out of you. Our strategy is to get leads and add on to it. Whatever it takes to add on runs. Hittin'-and-runnin', stealin', buntin', squeezin', whatever. That's what we're striving for every night."

You might not recognize these Mariners. They don't swing from the heels. They don't take bad hacks on two-strike pitches. They aren't laid-back. McLaren wants his hitters aggressive. But they are coming to the plate with a plan.

"We're definitely aware of being patient at the plate," said left fielder Raul Ibanez, who drove in the Mariners' first run with a game-tying single in the sixth. "They definitely brought that to our attention in spring training. You can't go up there looking for walks, but I loved the patience we displayed. I'd like to see us do that more.

"Mac likes to put the game in motion. And we have guys who can do it. We're not set up here to score 20 runs every night, or 10 runs every night. And the nights you don't do it and you're facing somebody's ace, it sure is nice to be able to set the game in motion and do some little things to aggravate the other team a little bit and put pressure on them."

Pressure a team and holes magically open. Take the Mariners' sixth inning.

Ichiro drilled a leadoff liner to short that Texas' Michael Young couldn't handle. It was scored an error. Then, on a hit-and-run, Jose Lopez dribbled a grounder into the hole that second baseman Ian Kinsler vacated.

"It didn't look beautiful, but it was great execution," Ibanez said.

Ibanez followed with a run-scoring single off Kevin Millwood. Then after Richie Sexson popped to center with Lopez on third, the Mariners took a 2-1 lead when Adrian Beltre outran a potential 5-4-3 double play.

The Go-Go M's.

"All we want to do is use the count to our advantage," McLaren said. "We're a slashing type of team. All we want to do is swing at good pitches and work the count in our favor. I thought last year, at times, we didn't do that."

Last year, the Mariners walked 389 times, the worst in the American League. The next most impatient team was Kansas City, which drew 428 walks. In contrast, the New York Yankees worked pitchers for 637 walks.

Patience is rewarded in baseball.

"We want them to them to be aggressive," McLaren said, "but it doesn't make any sense in a two-ball, no-strike count to swing at a ball over your head, or in the dirt. You're not accomplishing anything. So we just want to get a pitch in their area to hit.

"I think we're making strides in that direction and I think it's going to be something that's going to be ongoing every day. It's something we're going to work on every day in the batting cage."

This is the Mariners' way. It's their pathway to challenging the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West. Like a basketball team using a press to generate offense, the Mariners have to play small to score big.

They have to be creative scoring runs and win games with their legs as much as their lumber.

And on the frozen tundra at Safeco Field, on the first day of the long, long season, they played Mac Ball the way it was drawn up six weeks ago in the warm desert sun in Peoria.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists