The Mariners’ Biggest Loser

When Mariners southpaw Ryan Rowland-Smith takes the mound, his team is almost certain to lose. Through last Thursday, the M's were 2-16 in games the bespectacled, 24-year-old Aussie had pitched in this year. And when Rowland-Smith throws, the Mariners don't just lose, they get pummeled, by scores of 16-1, 17-3, or 8-0.

After watching their playoff hopes swirl down the commode in a 12-3 loss to the Yankees last Tuesday, the Mariners had been outscored 158-65 in games Rowland-Smith had appeared in. All of which must mean Rowland-Smith is a pretty shitty hurler, sí? Not so, amigo. Through last Thursday, Rowland-Smith's earned-run average, the purest barometer of a pitcher's success, was 3.60—fourth best on the team. He had struck out 29 batters in 30 innings—a spectacular ratio—and recently put together a streak of 10²/3 innings over five games without allowing a run. And tellingly, he has not been the pitcher of record in any of the losing causes he enters.

A walking statistical anomaly, Rowland-Smith performs perhaps the most thankless role in baseball: the mop-up man. By the time he enters a given game, the Mariners are typically far behind, the outcome basically decided. Hence, Rowland-Smith's role is to pitch as many innings as possible and "save the bullpen," as he puts it. If he does his job well, relievers like J.J. Putz and George Sherrill get the night off, saving their splitters for more contentious nights at the office.

Nearly every successful team has a pitcher like this on its roster, and the role received unprecedented attention earlier this year when St. Louis Cardinal mop-up man Josh Hancock died in a drunken-driving accident on a Missouri interstate. But few have as bright a future as Rowland-Smith, a rookie who was promoted from the Mariners' Tacoma farm club in June.

"He has great stuff, and if he gets a chance to extend his outings, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a starter down the road," says Mariners bullpen coach Jim Slaton. "A lot of times, when guys come up, they fill that role of eating innings. He took the role on and has been valuable to our staff. It's all about what you make of it. In this case, Ryan has done a great job staying focused."

But a question of motivation lingers: What makes Rowland-Smith tick when the chances of postgame cheer in the clubhouse are negligible? "I think there is motivation just being in the major leagues," Slaton says, and Rowland-Smith agrees. "I just want to pitch as much as I can, and I know if we're down, it's another opportunity for me," he says. "I still feel like I'm trying to prove I can pitch at this level. It's good and bad—bad because we're losing and I hate losing. But on a personal level, it's good, because it gives me an opportunity to pitch. Psychologically it's tough because you pitched well, but you're down because you lost."

Still, Rowland-Smith permits himself moments of self-congratulation, such as when he struck out six in four innings of no-hit relief on Aug. 22, the start of his five-game scoreless streak. "In Minnesota, when [Miguel] Batista came out after two innings, I was able to come in and go long and save the bullpen," he says of that game. "I was happy with that, because I saved the bullpen for the Texas series. So I guess guys appreciate it.

"Once I get enough experience, hopefully I can earn their trust and get in more critical games," he adds. "But I have to be patient."