With runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out in a 1-1

Published 7:00 am Saturday, May 23, 2009

With runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out in a 1-1 game in the bottom of the 12th, backup catcher Rob Johnson strode to the plate for the M’s. He’d been pressed into duty after Ken Griffey Jr. pinch hit for Kenji Johjima with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Griffey walloped a soaring fly to the wall in right center, only to see it land in Aaron Rowland’s mitt. Hence, it was Johnson or bust for the M’s.Known primarily for his glovework, Johnson is hitting a shade over .200 this year. Even with first base open the Giants elected not to intentionally walk him to set up force-outs at all bases. But they ended up walking Johnson unintentionally, bringing Jose Lopez to bat.Lopez hasn’t been having a good year, struggling to eclipse the .230 mark. But one thing about Jose Lopez that the Giants seemed to have overlooked: He’s a career .500 hitter with the bases loaded, and J-Loaded promptly clobbered a pitch over the middle of the plate off the left field wall to secure yet another walk-off win for the M’s. (I’ve been to three games this year, and all have ended with walk-off hits — and that doesn’t include Sunday’s walk-off win over the BoSox, which ended on a Franklin Gutierrez single.)Last night’s game marked the first time Randy Johnson, the greatest pitcher in Mariner history, had started a game at the Safe since he pitched for the Yankees in 2006. The crowd greeted him warmly, and when Johnson was removed in the sixth after striking out seven in 5-1/3, the 6’10” legend doffed his cap and spun around for what will surely be his final appearance in Seattle as an active player. Once again, Johnson was denied his 299th win.Johnson was pretty good, but Jason Vargas was plenty better, striking out seven in seven innings while yielding but two hits. One of those hits was a homer by Rowland to lead off the game, really Vargas’ only mistake. His successors on the hill — Mark Lowe, David Aardsma, and Sean White — yielded only one more hit, again by Rowland, in their five innings of shutdown work. In fact, there was a seven inning stretch from the fifth through the 11th where the Giants mustered but one baserunner (Edgar Renteria walked in the seventh). The M’s 20-23 record may not reflect it, and Brandon Morrow’s struggle in his former role of closer probably obscured with it, but the Mariner bullpen is simply one of the finest and deepest in baseball, even if there’s nary a southpaw to be found.