Mariners vs. Yankees | Mets vs. Cardinals
Thursday, October 12
Mariners' bullpen finally blows up
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Seattle might very well go sleepless over this loss.

The Mariners had the New York Yankees right where they wanted them before some shoddy defense and suddenly suspect relief pitching conspired to toss away Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.

Leading 1-0 going into the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday, Seattle was six outs away from heading home to Safeco Field needing two victories for its first World Series berth.

Jose Mesa
Jose Mesa was roughed up for four runs in two-thirds of an inning in Game 2.

And then it all fell apart.

Relievers Arthur Rhodes and Jose Mesa combined to give up seven runs on eight hits in the eighth, allowing the Yankees to win 7-1 and tie series at 1-1.

"It's a shame," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said, "because we had seven good innings of baseball, and in the eighth they exploded on us."

"Down 2-0 going into Seattle would have been devastating," said Yankees designated hitter Chuck Knoblauch, who chipped in with an RBI single.

"And right now we're riding a high."

The eighth inning was a stunning pratfall for a relief corps that had been masterful in the playoffs.

Entering that inning, Seattle's bullpen had worked 15 scoreless postseason innings, stranding all 10 of the runners it had inherited and converting all three of its save chances.

But a solid start Wednesday by John Halama was wasted. He gave up five hits in six shutout innings and did not allow a runner to get past second base. Jose Paniagua came on for a scoreless seventh inning, before Piniella turned the 1-0 lead over to Rhodes.

The left-hander gave up three runs on four hits while getting just one out, before Mesa -- who lost the closer's job to Japanese import Kazuhiro Sasaki in spring training -- allowed four runs on four hits.

"The bullpen doesn't go in there with the intention of blowing the game -- they had 15 scoreless innings," said Halama, who made his first postseason start.

"It's bound to happen sooner or later."

Perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising the collapse finally came.

Mesa has had his postseason problems in the past, while Rhodes has not been superb against the Yankees.

While with the Cleveland Indians, Mesa blew save opportunities in Games 3 and 4 of the 1997 ALCS against Baltimore. Then, in that year's World Series, he blew a ninth-inning lead in Game 7, which Florida went on to win in 11 innings.

Rhodes had a 7.71 ERA in four appearances against the Yankees during the regular season, and had a 3-5 career record against them before Wednesday.

With Rhodes on in relief to start the eighth, David Justice led off with a double. Bernie Williams followed with an RBI single on an eight-pitch at-bat to tie it at 1-1.

Tino Martinez followed with a liner that went off the glove of charging left fielder Al Martin. The next batter, Jorge Posada, hit a shot that went off second baseman Mark McLemore's glove and dribbled slowly into short right field, allowing another runner to score.

After Paul O'Neill's sacrifice fly drove in another run, Rhodes gave way to Mesa, who was ineffective to say the least.

When it was all over, the Yankees had racked up seven runs on eight hits -- two more hits than they had all game before the big inning.



ESPN.com:HELP | ADVERTISER INFO | CONTACT US | TOOLS | SITE MAP | JOBS AT ESPN.COM
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Ventures. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Click here for a list of employment opportunities at ESPN.com.



CLUBHOUSES
Mariners
Yankees

ALSO SEE
Yankees' crazy eighth evens ALCS at 1-1