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 Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez and the Mariners did their part
Sunday, beating the Angels 4-1, but the final four innings of the
game were relatively meaningless after Seattle had officially been
eliminated from playoff contention.
Oakland's 4-0 win over Texas effectively finished the Mariners'
season before it was officially over.
"It's disappointing because the guys poured their hearts into the
season," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It is what it is. The A's
deserve what they got. It just wasn't in the cards for us."
Seattle (87-75) had a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning when the A's game
concluded, as right fielder Michael Saunders and catcher Mike Zunino
each drove in a pair of runs. The excitement of a solid start for
the Mariners was deflated by news of the Oakland win. When the final
score appeared on the scoreboard, the fans went into a collective
state of quiet disappointment before slowly standing and giving the
Mariners a standing ovation.
"That was one of my proudest moments," McClendon said. "I thought it
said a lot about our fans."
Hernandez was cruising along in one of his more dominant starts of
the season, only to be taken out one batter into the sixth.
Hernandez had a one-hit shutout going after five innings, and
television cameras showed him hanging his head in disappointment
inside the home dugout when the Oakland game concluded.
"I was really disappointed," Hernandez admitted afterward.
A few minutes later, after the score of the A's game was flashed on
an outfield scoreboard, the fans at Safeco Field gave the Mariners a
thanks-for-the-memories standing ovation during a fifth-inning
at-bat.
Hernandez came out for the top of the sixth inning, got the Angels
first baseman C.J. Cron to ground out, then McClendon came out to
the mound to take him out.
Standing on the mound, Hernandez hugged each of his infield
teammates and McClendon before tipping his cap to a standing ovation
as he walked toward the home dugout.
"Felix is a (heck) of a competitor," McClendon said. "He wasn't at
full strength today (because of overall fatigue), but there was no
talking him out of starting this game. It was hard enough trying to
take him out. I was surprised when he gave me a hug. I thought he
was going to hit me."
Hernandez (15-6) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit. Along
the way, he won the American League's ERA title (2.14, which moved
him ahead of Chris Sale 2.16) of the Chicago White Sox and earned
his 15th victory of the season -- Hernandez's highest win total
since he went 19-5 in 2009.
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The only run Los Angeles scored in Sunday's loss came on a two-out,
RBI double by shortstop John McDonald off reliever Danny Farquhar in
the bottom of the ninth.
The Mariners entered the day one game behind Oakland in the
wild-card standings and could have forced a one-game Monday playoff
with a win and an A's loss. Instead, Seattle had to settle for its
highest win total since 2007 -- the Mariners won 88 games that year.
The Angels (98-64) suffered their third consecutive loss but spent a
good part of the Seattle trip trying to give their starters rest for
the postseason. Stars Mike Trout and Albert Pujols started all three
games in the series but were taken out midway through both
Saturday's and Sunday's games. They combined to go 3-for-19 in the
three-game sweep.
"It all starts again on Thursday," said Angels manager Mike
Scioscia, whose team lost seven of its final 10 games. "You're
always trying to carry momentum and you want to play every time
you're out there. ... I think we'll be ready (for the playoffs).
There's no doubt."
Los Angeles will host the winner of the wild-card game between
Kansas City and Oakland in Game 1 of the American League Division
Series on Thursday. The Angels clinched homefield advantage
throughout the AL playoffs on Friday night, so they had little
incentive to win either of the final two games at Seattle.
Seattle jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Saunders' RBI double in the
second inning. He added another RBI double in the fourth, then
Zunino drove in a pair of runs with a single on the next at-bat to
put the Mariners ahead 4-0.
NOTES: Los Angeles CF Mike Trout led the AL in runs (115), RBIs
(111) and extra-base hits (84) this season. The last player to lead
the league in all three categories was Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr. in
1997. ... Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker told The Los Angeles Times that
he's "very optimistic" that he'll be able to pitch in the postseason
despite suffering a strained rib cage in a Sept. 15 win over
Seattle. Shoemaker is scheduled to throw off a mound early this
week, and he has a remote chance of starting Game 3 of the ALDS.
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