August 12: Mariners 1, White Sox 0 (14 innings)
Note: k8t is pinch-hitting for this recap.
In the sprint to the finish line, it was the Seattle Mariners who arrived first. It was a game that started out in a typical Mark Buehrle speed, and ended 14 innings later on a walk off. Ken Griffey, Jr., in a pinch-hitting role, hit his two-out, RBI-single off of Tony Pena, and sent everybody home.
Before that fateful at-bat, it had been a pitcher’s duel between Buehrle and Felix Hernandez that had no end in sight until their managers pulled them out. Buehrle allowed six hits over eight innings while striking out three and walking one.
The game would have ended much sooner if it hadn’t been for Mark Kotsay in the bottom of the 12th. Kotsay dove to catch a fly ball from Rob Johnson, then scooted back to first base to send Jack Hannahan back to the bench and finish the solo double play. Carlos Quentin also made a sliding catch in left field to end the ninth inning.
In terms of offense, Kotsay, Jayson Nix and Scott Podsednik each had two hits, with Kotsay having the only extra base hit for the Sox (a double).
Podsednik nullified his contributions with the dumbest baserunning play of the year, getting picked off third by catcher Rob Johnson in the 10th with one out. It’s the second time he was picked off in the series.
The blunder ruined the best scoring opportunity in a game with few of them. In the top of the fifth, Nix got thrown out at home by Ichiro. In the seventh, Gordon Beckham hit into a double play to end that inning.
This game was one of for the record books. The Mariners had never held a scoreless tie for so long, and it was the longest scoreless tie for the White Sox since 1975.
Unfortunately, it overshadowed the debut of Alex Rios, who played right field in place of Jermaine Dye. Rios went one for six with two strikeouts.
