Wolcott Comes Up Way Short For M’S Lasts Inning-And-A-Third As Brewers Rip Seattle Early
Closers, closers everywhere, and yet the Seattle Mariners were done in Friday by yet another hideous short performance - this time by starter Bob Wolcott.
A team that has seen far too many bad things happen in the last innings this season, the Mariners lost to Milwaukee, 8-3, because of what the Brewers did to Wolcott in the first 1-1/3 innings.
He got four outs, including the first three batters he faced, and then allowed six hits and six runs before manager Lou Piniella yanked him with only one out in the second inning.
“Bobby’s just so inconsistent,” Piniella said. “With one and a half years in the big leagues, he should have learned from his mistakes. He should stay away from those mistakes.
“He makes too many mistakes - and they leave the yard. They leave the yard in a hurry.”
Actually, only one of Wolcott’s mistakes left the ballpark, Jeromy Burnitz’s 17th home run, but Wolcott has allowed 10 home runs in his last five starts.
Shoved into that early 6-0 hole, the Mariners needed six innings against Cal Eldred to muster a hit. By the time Joey Cora nudged a single over the head of shortstop Jose Valentin two outs into the sixth inning, the Brewers were up 8-0 and well on their way to their ninth consecutive victory.
Not even three perfect innings of relief from Paul Spoljaric, Mike Timlin and Bobby Ayala could deflect the frustration of a fourth loss in a row for Seattle.
“Eldred pitched well,” Jay Buhner said, “but it’s about time we started getting some damned hits and stop saying how nasty all these pitchers are. Our offense has been there all year for us, but the last couple games we’ve been flat.
“We got embarrassed tonight.”
Now 5-5 on this 12-game trip, the Mariners have off-set a three-game sweep in New York by losing four in a row to Boston and Milwaukee - teams at or below .500 when Seattle got to town.
The only offense the Mariners mustered in this one came far too late to matter much, but Alex Rodriguez followed an eighth-inning single by Rob Ducey and a walk to Cora with his 16th home run of the year.
“We didn’t have many chances and when we did, Eldred stopped us,” Piniella said. “In the fifth inning he walked the first two men he faced, then got a pop fly and a double play. That’s limiting the damage.”
Which, he added, is what he would love to see Wolcott do.
“He’s either very, very good or very, very bad,” Piniella said. “In New York he had a 6-0 lead and looked great, then couldn’t get out of the fifth inning. He can’t seem to stop it once an inning turns bad. He’s going to have to learn.”
For Wolcott, the poor outing couldn’t have come at a worse time. Sitting on a 12-man pitching staff until Tuesday, the Mariners plan to move one pitcher off the roster and add outfielder Lee Tinsley to the mix.
With few candidates, Wolcott might have pitched himself into contention for another demotion.
Those who won’t be in the line of fire include Timlin and Spoljaric, who made the kind of debuts the Mariners might have drawn up in a dream factory. Spoljaric pitched the seventh inning, issued a one-out walk and promptly got a double-play grounder - three up, three down.
Timlin was in and out of the game so fast he was hardly there at all.
“He got out of the inning with six pitches,” Piniella said, a little wistfully.
“It was odd, every strike I threw up there they swung at and hit at somebody,” Timlin said. “I was just trying to do well, relax, fit in. It was a little weird seeing ‘Seattle’ across my chest, and a little odd looking behind me and seeing Joey Cora and Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.”
xxxx TODAY ON TV The game between Seattle and Milwaukee will be aired on TCI Cable channel 25 at 5 p.m.