Mariners Give Up Another 12 Runs And Lose

The only pitching staff in baseball that seems capable of beating the Seattle Mariners consistently is their own.

And they were at it again Saturday, when the Kansas City Royals pounded what passed for Seattle pitching and built leads of 4-1, 6-1, 9-5 and 12-6 - only to watch Seattle’s lineup peck away at each.

Eventually, the Royals used 15 hits, six stolen bases and a couple of Mariners errors to construct a lead that held, producing a 12-8 victory that continued to show a Mariners team with a widening split personality.

“When our guys bust their butts to score six, seven runs against a quality pitcher and this staff can’t hold them, what kind of message does that send?” asked Norm Charlton. “This team is playing just like last year - coming back and coming back and coming back. The only difference is pitching. We’re getting the runs. We’re not getting the outs you need to win.”

In an office where he has held court on the topic too many times to suit him, manager Lou Piniella threw up his hands Saturday.

“Too many games where you give up five, six runs early, this team battles back - and the pitching has given up two, three, four more runs,” Piniella said. “I keep telling these kids, hold it here, we can win this game …”

If they listen, it hasn’t shown.

Bob Milacki started and was gone after three innings, down 6-1.

Reliever Salomon Torres had one job - hold the Royals there, let his team climb back into the game - and failed.

So did Lee Guetterman.

Seattle’s hitters did their part, banging away at Kevin Appier for 12 hits and six runs. Yet by the time they finally chased Appier after six innings, the Royals were sitting on nine runs.

And they weren’t finished.

For those too fearful to check the box score, the damage broke down this way. Milacki gave up six runs. Torres gave up three more. Guetterman allowed three more.

That same boxscore will show that Seattle’s offense erupted for 17 hits - four by Joey Cora, three more by Darren Bragg, with three RBI for each of them.

A case could even be made that Seattle could easily have scored more runs: Ken Griffey Jr., for instance, had a first-inning RBI single but then went 0 for 3 in at-bats with men in scoring position.

Still, eight runs ought to be enough. Mariners hitters know that. Mariners pitchers know that.

“We score a bunch of runs, we give up four or five more, and no team can keep coming back unless you stop the other guys,” Charlton said.

Asked if the pitching is going to cost pitchers their jobs, Charlton shook his head.

“That’s logical, but where are you going to find better pitching? Teams who have it ain’t gonna give it up, and teams that will give you what they have don’t have pitching,” he said. “What do you think - is Detroit going to give us a 20-game winner?

“The guys on this staff have the stuff to win games. They’re just not using it.”

Sheets called up

Seattle placed third baseman Russ Davis on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left fibula and recalled infielder Andy Sheets from Triple-A Tacoma.

Ump gives his side

Seven days after umpire Joe Brinkman was body-slammed by Cleveland pitcher Julian Tavarez during a players’ brawl in Milwaukee, the 52-year-old crew chief was called an “embarrassment to his profession” by Kansas City pitcher Tim Belcher, who Brinkman tossed.

Brinkman said the problem began when Belcher started directing obscenities at him.

“That’s why I went out to the mound. I said, ‘That’s your break right there. Clean it up. I’m giving you a chance to stay in the game,”’ he said.

Brinkman said Belcher then repeated his obscenity.

“That’s when I ran him. There isn’t an umpire in the world who wouldn’t run him in that situation,” Brinkman said. “If there’s any embarrassment, I’d be embarrassed if I didn’t run him.”

Royals 12, Mariners 8

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Cora 2b 5 1 4 3 0 0 .250 ARodriguez ss 5 0 1 0 0 0 .360 Griffey Jr cf 5 0 1 1 0 0 .302 EMartinez dh 5 2 2 0 0 0 .346 Sorrento 1b 5 2 2 0 0 0 .285 Strange lf 4 1 2 1 1 0 .218 Bragg rf 5 2 3 3 0 1 .286 Sojo 3b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .237 Marzano c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .226 Totals 43 8 17 8 1 1 Kansas City AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Roberts 2b 6 1 3 4 0 0 .305 TGoodwin lf 5 1 1 0 0 1 .269 Lockhart 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .315 a-Randa ph-3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 .295 Hamelin dh 2 2 2 0 2 0 .221 b-Vitiello ph-dh 1 0 1 2 0 0 .258 Offerman 1b 5 1 1 0 0 2 .287 Damon cf 5 1 2 0 0 0 .288 Nunnally rf 3 2 1 2 2 1 .273 Fasano c 4 2 2 2 1 0 .180 DHoward ss 3 2 2 2 1 0 .259 Totals 38 12 15 12 7 4

Seattle 100 401 101 - 8 17 2

Kansas City 042 030 30x - 12 15 1

a-was intentionally walked for Lockhart in the 7th. b-singled for Hamelin in the 7th.

E-ARodriguez (5), Marzano (2), Roberts (4). LOBSeattle 9, Kansas City 10. 2B-Cora 2 (10), EMartinez (32), Sorrento (8), Strange (2), Roberts 2 (16), Hamelin (6), Nunnally (1), Fasano (2). RBIsCora 3 (16), Griffey Jr (51), Strange (7), Bragg 3 (12), Roberts 4 (34), Vitiello 2 (21), Nunnally 2 (6), Fasano 2 (13), DHoward 2 (23). SB-TGoodwin (25), Lockhart (8), Hamelin (3), Offerman (6), Damon (9), DHoward (5). S-DHoward. GIDPSorrento, Sojo, TGoodwin.

Runners left in scoring position-Seattle 6 (Griffey Jr 3, Sorrento, Sojo 2); Kansas City 7 (Roberts, TGoodwin, Offerman 3, Damon, Fasano).

Runners moved up-ARodriguez, Sorrento, Marzano, Roberts.

DP-Seattle 1 (Cora, ARodriguez and Sorrento); Kansas City 2 (Roberts, DHoward and Offerman), (DHoward, Roberts and Offerman).

Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Milacki L,1-4 3 7 6 6 1 1 50 8.31 Torres 2-2/3 4 3 3 3 2 47 8.56 Guetterman 1 2 3 1 2 0 27 8.31 Carmona 1-1/3 2 0 0 1 1 29 3.64 Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Appier W,5-6 6 12 6 5 0 1 95 3.51 Linton 2-1/3 5 2 2 1 0 31 4.94 Montgomery S,16 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 5 2.80 Inherited runners-scored-Guetterman 1-0, Carmona 3-2, Montgomery 1-0.

IBBoff Guetterman (Randa) 1.

T-3:03. A-30,022 (40,625).