The Mariners lost their second in a row in Chicago 5-4 on Saturday afternoon, in the exact same walk-off fashion from the night before. Today’s hero for the White Sox was Alex Rios, who finished the game with a two-out blast into right center with Carlos Quentin on first.
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The only notable play of the game prior to the ninth inning occurred in the bottom of the fifth, where the M’s were maintaining a 1-0 lead. CWS short stop Alexei Ramirez sent a double into deep left field off of RHP Doug Fister, that should have been a 3-run home run.
Instead, outfielder Eric Byrnes positioned himself ON THE WALL to attempt a remarkable catch to rob Ramirez and the Sox. What ended up was the ball deflecting Byrnes’ glove, hitting the top of the wall before bouncing back into play. Two runs would score as a result of what was destined to be a 3-run homer.
With the game tied at 2 heading into the 9th, the Mariners regained the lead with two outs against Chicago closer Bobby Jenks. Jose Lopez roped a single into left field, and Junior earned a walk directly afterwards.
With runners now on second and third, Casey Kotchman swung on the first pitch and pulled a ball down the right field line, heading towards the corner. Before making it that far, a fan in the front row leaned over the rail and picked up the quintessential double.
As Jack Wilson was pinch running for Griffey during the play, the third base umpire rewarded Seattle with a second run, as his judgment was that Wilson would have earned the run regardless of the fan interference.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was irate that the officials of the game allowed the insurance run in for the Mariners, pleading that the play should have been ruled as a ground-rule double, leaving Wilson on third. The umps were reluctant to change and silently ejected Guillen as a result.
The extra run ended up being a moot point; David Aardsma blew his first save of 2010 in the bottom of the ninth. After allowing only a solo shot to Paul Konerko, Aardsma failed to maintain the 4-3 lead by giving up a walk to a struggling Carlos Quentin, and an eventual walk-off blast to Alex Rios on a high fastball down the middle of the plate.
After throwing the pitch that lost the game, both Aardsma and catcher Rob Johnson both headed for the dugout with their heads hanging, completely ignoring the ball flying into the right-center field seats.
The result ends up in a loss to David Aarsdma, which is primarily a shame due to another astounding performance from starter Doug Fister. The Iron Fist went 8.0 strong innings, only giving up two runs on the freak play by Byrnes in the outfield, and allowing only one walk in the process. The performance should give hope to a lot of Mariner fans proving that young Fister can be effective on the road and not only at Safeco.
The M’s (now 9-9) will try to bounce back on Sunday, concluding this nightmare of a trip to Chicago (7-11) with first pitch scheduled for 11:05am local time.
Reach Jacob Kehle at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
