The Mariners had four home runs Monday night – 17 of their 25 runs this season have come via long balls – but the Nelson Cruz-inspired power show failed to thwart the Los Angeles Dodgers. They rallied from a four-run deficit and won on Alex Guerrero‘s walk-off hit in the 10th inning off rookie Tyler Olson. He couldn’t bail out Dominic Leone, who began the inning by yielding a double and two walks.
The Mariners joined the 1970 San Diego Padres and 1994 San Francisco Giants as the only teams – of 41 — teams to have four homers at Dodger Stadium and lose. Cruz ripped a pair and has four homers in the past three days. Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley also homered as the Mariners assumed a 4-0 lead that didn’t last.
“We wasted a lot of good performances,” manager Lloyd McClendon said.
The game was unusual in a couple of respects. Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy became the 11th pitcher since 1914 – and the first since Milwaukee’s Mike Fiers Sept. 30, 2012 vs. Houston – to allow four homers and strike out at least 10 in a game. And the Dodgers became only the fifth team in more than 100 years to win when its starting pitcher yielded four or more long balls and fanned 10 or more hitters.
The Mariners, meanwhile, have lost 31 games in franchise history in which they hit four or more home runs (they twice hit five homers in a game and lost, on May 13, 1988 vs. Boston and May 3, 1995 vs. Toronto), but in only five games did they pull off the unusual dual feat of banging four or more homers while striking out 10 or more times. Monday’s game set a record for most whiffs in those contests:
| Year | Date | Opponent | W-L | HR | SO | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | April 13 | Dodgers | L 6-5 | 4 | 15 | Cruz 2 HR, Zunino 3 K’s |
| 1997 | Sept. 19 | Athletics | W 9-4 | 4 | 13 | Buhner 1 HR, 3 K’s |
| 1986 | May 10 | Blue Jays | W 8-7 | 4 | 12 | Pete Ladd collected win |
| 2004 | Sept. 8 | Indians | L 9-5 | 4 | 12 | E. Martinez hit 2 HRs |
| 2011 | Sept. 25 | Rangers | L 12-5 | 4 | 12 | DH Wily Mo Pena 3 K’s |
“I didn’t feel I pitched terrible, but balls just kept leaving the yard,” said McCarthy. “They’re an extremely aggressive team, and anything that gets left out there they’re going to hit.”
Extra, extra
If the Mariners go into extra innings Tuesday night, they will match the franchise record of four consecutive bonus-panel contests. Seattle and Texas played four extra-inning games in a row from Sept. 16-19, 2002. Seattle won the first three on a walk-off walk by Ichiro, a walk-off single by Carlos Guillen and a walk-off single by Ruben Sierra.
Hisashi Iwakuma, who allowed five runs (four earned) in his season debut against the Angels, will start for the Mariners opposite LHP David Huff.
2 Comments
Another chapter in the myth, the magic, and the mystery of the Mariners Baseball Club.
Rodney should donate that game check to charity because no way did he
earn it last night. In fact he didn’t earn the win the night Felix
pitched. I suppose up is his only path at present. The Dodgers meanwhile
seem to have what it takes to get to the world series. I would be very
excited about these last two games if I were their fans.