M’S Wake Up In Time To Roll Over For Dodgers

All one needs to know about the American League West can be taught with one fact.

On Aug. 1, Seattle led the division by a half-game over the Anaheim Angels. Since then, the Mariners have struggled and stumbled, faltered and gone 14-15.

And gained a half-game in the standings.

Their 29th game of August came Saturday in Dodger Stadium, where they sleep-walked - literally and figuratively - through an 11-2 loss that cost the team a little pride and one man his job.

But in the standings, in the race for a postseason berth, Seattle lost no ground in the A.L. West.

“It’s kind of amazing,” manager Lou Piniella said.

After losing a gut-tightening game in the ninth inning Friday night, Seattle had flown from Denver to Los Angeles. Most players checked into their hotel rooms a little before 3 a.m. Saturday. Ten hours later, they were playing the N.L. West-leading Dodgers.

A few minutes after this game started, it was over - Bob Wolcott, making what likely could have been his last start with Seattle this year, simply couldn’t stop Los Angeles hitters.

Two runs in the first inning, three more in the second, another pair in the fourth and Seattle was trailing 7-2 and showing no signs of life.

“We knew weeks ago looking at this trip that this was a little bit of an unfair test, traveling after a night game to get to a day game,” Piniella said. “And then we lost a tough game in Denver, and there was a little carryover today.

“We were out of it by the second inning.”

Home runs by Jay Buhner in the second inning and Andy Sheets in the ninth didn’t do much to offset a solo shot by Eric Karros and a three-run homer by Mike Piazza. By the seventh inning, Piniella had stars Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez and Dan Wilson sitting on his bench. He was thinking ahead.

“What we’ve got to do now is regroup,” Piniella said. “Struggling isn’t fun, but it’s part of the game. We’ve had some injuries that have hurt us and our pitching just hasn’t done the job the last week or so.”

Part of the regrouping will come today when ace Randy Johnson throws on the sideline to determine when - or if - he can return to the rotation after missing his last two starts with tendinitis of the middle finger on his left hand.

Postseason rosters must be set by today. The Mariners juggled their roster Saturday by sending rookie Ken Cloude to Memphis and bringing up Brian Raabe from Tacoma.

Today, the team will option Wolcott out and activate Raul Ibanez, a reserve who could be used as an outfielder, a first baseman or as a third-string catcher in October.

“We’re trying to give ourselves as flexible a team as we can for the postseason,” Piniella said.

Of course, they must get there. And if they do, it likely won’t be with Wolcott. Now 4-6 with a 6.03 earned-run average, the righthander was touched for eight hits and seven runs in four innings.

Whatever promise Wolcott once had, it has been diminished in the last two years.

He was 7-10 with a 5.73 ERA last year - and 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA in seven starts for the Rainiers.

“When he’s been good, he’s been a five- or six-inning pitcher and more often than that he’s been mediocre or worse,” one Seattle coach said Saturday. “It’s like he doesn’t get it. He seems satisfied with five innings and five runs allowed.”

If talent was judged by what happened on the field in this one, Wolcott might have company as he leaves the 25-man roster today.

Bob Wells pitched two innings and gave up four runs.

Griffey went 0 for 3, striking out twice, and is 2 for 10 on this trip.

What’s worse, the M’s have yet to win this season in an N.L. park.

“We got one month left,” Griffey said afterward. “We can do a lot with a month.”

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This sidebar appeared with the story: Dodgers 11, Mariners 2 Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg. RKelly lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .288 Raabe 2b 3 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Griffey Jr cf 3 0 0 0 0 2 .304 Sheets 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 .250 Sorrento 1b 3 0 0 0 1 2 .273 ARodrgz ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 .302 e-EMrtinz ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .326 Buhner rf 4 1 1 1 0 1 .240 Blowers 3b 2 0 0 0 0 2 .302 Amaral 2b-cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 .272 Marzano c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .311 Wolcott p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Ducey ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .275 BWells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Charlton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — c-Cora ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .309 Slocumb p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Totals 31 2 5 2 2 12 Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. EcYoung 2b 3 3 2 2 0 1 .289 d-Liriano 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 .229 Nixon cf 4 1 3 3 0 0 .254 Piazza c 4 1 1 3 0 1 .354 Dreifort p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .143 Karros 1b 5 1 2 1 0 0 .266 Mondesi rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .311 Ingram lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .600 Zeile 3b 2 1 1 0 2 0 .251 Gagne ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .266 Castro ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133 Butler lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .291 Prince c 1 0 0 0 0 0 .207 RMartinez p 2 2 2 0 0 0 .200 b-DLewis rf 2 1 1 1 0 1 .333 Totals 35 11 14 10 2 6

Seattle 010 000 001 2 Los Angeles 230 204 00x 11 a-flied out for Wolcott in the 5th. b-singled for Martinez in the 6th. c-flied out for Charlton in the 8th. d-singled for Young in the 8th. e-lined out for Rodriguez in the 9th. LOB-Seattle 4, Los Angeles 5. 2B-EcYoung 2 (33). HR- Sheets (2) off Dreifort; Piazza (32) off BWells; Buhner (32) off RMartinez; Karros (27) off Wolcott. RBIs-Sheets (4), Buhner (91), EcYoung 2 (50), Nixon 3 (8), Piazza 3 (97), Karros (90), DLewis (1). SB-EcYoung (39). CS-Amaral (8), Nixon (2). S-Nixon. GIDP-Zeile. Runners left in scoring position-Seattle 1 (ARodriguez); Los Angeles 2 (Piazza, Karros). Runners moved up-Raabe, Butler. DP-Seattle 1 (ARodriguez, Amaral and Sorrento); Los Angeles 1 (Prince and Gagne).

Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Wolcott L,5-6 4 8 7 7 1 3 79 6.03 BWells 2 4 4 4 0 1 45 6.09 Charlton 1 0 0 0 1 0 17 7.43 Slocumb 1 2 0 0 0 2 19 5.81 Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA RMartinez W,8-3 6 3 1 1 2 7 92 3.24 Dreifort S, 3 3 2 1 1 0 5 42 2.04 HBP-by BWells (Butler), by Wolcott (EcYoung). PB- Marzano. T-2:40. A-53,638 (56,000).