Freddy gets flattened

If ever there was a night the Mariners needed Freddy Garcia to be his big-game self, this might have been it.

If the Mariners had a chance to blunt the charge of the Athletics, closing hard from 10 games out on the last day of May, it was on the strong arm of their best pitcher.

If they had a chance to survive a spate of health issues that left them with a two-man bench and a thin bullpen, it was with a well-pitched effort.

But in the biggest game of the year to date, matched up against A's No. 5 starter Cory Lidle, Garcia couldn't do it.

After he allowed only nine earned runs in his previous six starts, Oakland battered the Mariners ace for a career-worst 10 runs in three painful innings and got a 13-2 jump in the four-game series.

"I got no excuses, I was feeling pretty good going into the game," said the right-hander, now 10-5. "But I had nothing, no location, no command."

As to the Athletics' work on him, Garcia smiled ruefully and said, "My neck hurts."

He may well be sore from watching the nine hits he allowed banged all about Safeco Field, a combustible combination with a season-high five walks.

"We're very appreciative of Mateo," Manager Lou Piniella said. "He gave us four good innings after pitching two innings Sunday."

The young reliever may have pitched his way off the roster. Piniella said that the bullpen is in such bad shape, "We probably have to get a pitcher here." Whoever comes in, possibly right-hander Jeff Nelson, Mateo might go to make room.

Nelson could possibly come off the disabled list and straight to the big-league club rather than a rehabilitation option that was to start tonight in Everett.

As pitching coach Bryan Price saw it, Mateo saved the club from having to use a position player on the mound.

"We couldn't afford to burn up a (Shigetoshi) Hasegawa or (Arthur) Rhodes or (Kazu) Sasaki in a game like that," he said. "We maybe would have used (Desi) Relaford or (Charles) Gipson."

Seattle was so short, however, that there were no other position players to replace Relaford or Gipson. "Then maybe Mateo would have to flip-flop into the outfield to let one of them pitch," Price said.

It appeared Garcia's sinker was running out of the strike zone, and he threw only one breaking ball for a strike in the three-run first inning, and few later on.

Mark Ellis and Scott Hatteberg opened the game with singles, and with one out, David Justice singled a run home. Jermaine Dye walked to load the bases, Eric Chavez singled a run home and Garcia walked No. 8 hitter Terrence Long to force in the third run.

Freddy’s failure Freddy Garcia had his worst start of the season last night against Oakland, giving up more runs than he had during his six-game winning streak leading up to the game. DATE OPPONENT RESULT IP ER Last night Oakland L 13-2 3.0 10 June 19 Cincinnati W 2-0 8.0 0 June 14 San Diego W 6-3 6.2 3 June 8 Chicago (NL) W 4-2 8.0 1 June 3 Oakland W 4-1 7.2 1 May 29 Tampa Bay W 5-2 7.1 2 May 24 Baltimore W 6-2 7.0 2

Garcia got a 1-2-3 second, but walked Justice to open the disastrous third, which was capped by John Mabry's two-run double and Miguel Tejada's three-run double.

"We'd have gotten Freddy out quicker if the bullpen was in better shape," Piniella said. "He's been great, but no one is immune from being hit. Oakland is a hot club and they banged us around."

The Athletics not only moved to two games back in the American League West, but leapfrogged into second over Anaheim, two-time losers in Texas.

Friday may have been the longest day of the year, but this was the longest night, a matter of playing it out after the visitors drained the drama with their seven-run third.

Having chased Garcia, the visitors completed the pillage in the fourth, bouncing reliever Ryan Franklin for three runs on three hits, two of them homers by Chavez and Greg Myers.

The game was so ugly early that the first three Athletics' hitters batted in the first four innings, so far gone that Lou Piniella used his only two subs by the sixth inning — Luis Ugueto at second base (with Relaford replacing Ichiro in right) and Ben Davis at first replacing John Olerud.

By the end, what had been a sellout 45,602 had turned into the smallest M's crowd since leaving the Kingdome.

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com.