M's Make History With 40th Win

May 31, 2001

It was Buhner Buzz Night and a record crowd that included New York Vinnie and my friend Lynda's 80 year old mother (yes, that was her you saw on the news) got their heads shaved. I can't wait until Jay is healthy, I really can't.

Okay, so this game starts with Aaron Sele giving up two walks during the first inning which isn't like Aaron but he got out of it with no damage, and unfortunately, we sat down in order. Second inning is not much more eventful... Sele sits them down 1-2-3 which is much more his style and we coaxed a walk in our half but didn't do anything with it. Third inning and Jerry Hairston reached on an infield single but got thrown out trying to advance to second on a fly ball hit to Al Martin which made me VERY happy (and Al would continue playing SPECTACULAR defense this evening) and I was like, "ALRIGHT AL!" Then it got even better because in OUR half with one out, David "1-for-1" Bell who is just HOT right now, got a single and then Ichiro walked and then Mark McLemore, playing centerfield tonight, walked and then Edgar missed a grand slam by NOT VERY MUCH, and that scored David, and then John Olerud singled and that scored Ichiro and we come away from it leading 2-0.

Fourth inning and I spill water down the front of me and all over my kitchen floor because the lid was off the water bottle and I hadn't realized it and by the time I was done cleaning that up (which took all of about 2 seconds), Sele had retired Baltimore all lickety-split like and then we unfortunately ALSO go down in order.

The fifth yielded a bunt single for the Orioles but that's all they got, so we head into the bottom half and... David "2-for-2" Bell leads off with a single and Ichiro grounded out and then Mac singled and Ichiro was at third and then Edgar flied out and Mac stole second and Olerud was intentionally walked and there was Bret Boone, with his 50 RBI that are like second in the league right now for the most runs batted in... flied out. I am in shock for a full ten minutes. Still 2-0 Seattle.

Sixth inning. Three up three down for Baltimore and we waste a lead off walk to Carlos Guillen.

Seventh inning. Baltimore gets one back on a homerun by Cal Ripken Jr. which draws a standing ovation from the crowd because, well... it's CAL and how can ANYBODY not love Cal I'd like to know, I mean there is the epitome of everything a baseball player should be right there not that we don't have a couple of those ourselves in Edgar and Jay and anyway the guy who caught the homerun THREW IT BACK and I am like "no, you did NOT just throw that ball back" but he DID and even the announcers were like "DOH" and I'm just kind of sick over that, because everyone knows that you only throw back the ball when people like A-Rod hit it, not people like CAL! So I'm still getting over what a bonehead this guy is and I'm a little cranky that our lead was cut in half, but if it had to be cut in half, I'm glad it was Cal who did it, and anyway, David "3-for-3" Bell leads off with a double. Ichiro gets an infield single. Runners at the corners, nobody out. Mac K'd. Edgar was intentionally walked. Buddy Groom relieved Jose Mercedes. Olerud grounded into a fielder's choice and David was out at home. I curse loudly. Mike Trombley relieved Groom. Boone grounds out. We leave the bases loaded AGAIN. I say some bad words and so does Bret if my lip reading skills are any indication.

Eighth inning. Melvin Mora leads off with a double. I swear again. Hairston sacrificed him to third. Arthur Lee Rhodes relieves Sele, who leaves to a standing ovation. Brady Anderson grounded into a fielder's choice and John Olerud made as AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME play and threw Mora out at home and HOW MUCH DO I LOVE JOHN OLERUD and then David Segui grounded out to end the threat. Tom Lampkin got a walk in our half, but that's as exciting as it got.

Ninth inning. Kazuhiro Sasaki comes in and gets them 1-2-3, with Mike Cameron making an excellent catch to end the game. In case you weren't aware, that was our 40th win, and the Mariners became the first team in Major League Baseball HISTORY to post back-to-back months with 20 wins (20-5 in April, 20-7 in May), and Aaron in 8-0 on the season.

"I don't really look back. I look ahead. I can relax a little now, but I'll go back to work tomorrow and get ready to pitch again in five days. It's a great milestone, but any time a pitcher wins a ballgame, he had a lot of other help." -(the ever-humble) Aaron Sele

"We had opportunities. We left quite a few stranded. It was a night we needed good defensive play and good pitching, and we got it." -Lou Piniella