M's BEDEVIL ANGELS THANKS TO EXTRA-INNING WALK-OFF WALK

April 7th, 1977 at the Kingdome

The second game in Mariner history saw Enrique Romo go up against Nolan Ryan, who was known for striking out a lot of batters, but also walking a lot, too.  The game got going with Bobby Grich walking with 1 out in the top of the 1st inning, then stole second, and Don Baylor plated him with an RBI single, giving California a 1-0 advantage.  In the bottom of the inning, the Ryan Express looked like an old engine train as he walked Larry Milbourne and Dave Collins, but Steve Braun made history for all the wrong reasons with a 4-6-3 triple play, inning over.  Seattle looked to threaten again as Danny Meyer reached on a Grich error, then Hugh Fitzpatrick was hit by a Ryan pitch, a batter later Leroy Stanton loaded the bases with a single, but the M's could not capitalize.  But in the 3rd, they finally came through as Milbourne doubled, then advanced to 3rd on a Collins ground-out, and Steve Braun tied the game with a sac fly to left.  Then Meyer broke the tie with the first ever home run in franchise history, a solo shot, and the Mariners, for the first time ever led 2-1.  Meyer added some insurance as his sac fly scored Milbourne in the 5th to make it 3-1 Seattle.  But Darrell Johnson committed a major error by allowing Romo to pitch in the 6th, and it backfired with Bobby Bonds smacking a homer to make it 3-2, then Baylor walked, then a batter later Tony Solaita laced a game-tying triple, and it was a brand new game at 3-3.  The Halos had a chance to regain the lead, but Stanton threw out Baylor at home plate in the 8th, and in the same stanza Joe Rudi was thrown out by Braun at third.  Meanwhile, Ryan calmed down by throwing 4 straight goose eggs, finishing with 9 innings of work, 5 hits, 5 walks, 1 hit batter, 3 runs, 1 home run and 11 strikeouts.  Glenn Abbott pitched 3 scoreless innings, but he bent and did not break, allowing 4 hits, but was unscathed.  So, we go on to extra innings, and the vet Mike Kekich was in relief, and Barry Bonds greeted him with a lead-off triple, and Baylor sent Bobby home with the go-ahead run with a sac fly to right.  Seattle had one more chance in the bottom of the 10th, going up against lefty closer Dave LaRoche.  Collins got things off with a single, then Braun walked and Meyer drove Steve home with the tying run on a single.  Fitzpatrick struck out, but Rupe Jones walked, loading the bases, and then...LaRoche walked Stanton, scoring Braun with the winning run!  The 10,144 fans thought they won the World Series as their hometown team won their first ever Major League game!  There were many heroes in this game: Larry Milbourne had a double, 2 walks and 2 runs scored.  Dave Collins had 2 walks, 2 singles and a run scored.  Danny Meyer was 2-3 with a homer and 3 RBI.  Leroy Stanton had the walk-off walk and a game-saving outfield assist.  And Steve Braun had an RBI, an outfield assist and scored the game-winning run.  You had to be there to believe it, and even though there were just 10,144 in the Dome, they experienced history. And I am proud to bring it to you.

CAL 100 002 000 1 - 4 12 1 Ryan, LaRoche (L) and Humphrey

SEA 002 010 000 2 - 5   7 0 Romo, Abbott, Kekich (1-0) and Stinson

HR: Meyer (1), Bonds

SB: Grich

Get ready for a lot of high-scoring action on Friday night, April 8th at the Kingdome as the Angels send Gary Ross to the mound against the Mariners and Roy Thomas in game 3 of this 5-game Opening Week series!

CALIFORNIA 5 10 0
MARINERS 1 10 1
Wednesday, April 6 at the Kingdome

It was a sellout crowd at the dome, but the Angels made everyone unhappy as they beat the Mariners 5-1 in the 1st major league baseball game in Seattle in 8 years.  Frank Tanana, despite a sloppy ninth, fired a 10-hit complete game victory, while striking out 11 and not walking a single batter.  California's Jerry Remy led off the game with a walk, then stole 2nd, then Don Baylor singled him home for the first run allowed in Mariner history.  In the 3rd newly-signed free agent Joe Rudi proved to the Halos that he was worth every dollar by stroking a 2-run double, scoring Bobby Grich and Bobby Bonds to make it 3-0.  The visitors would rudely welcome John Montague to the game with 4 straight hits, which included RBI's from Dave Chalk and Terry Humphrey, making it Angels 5, Mariners 0 after 6.  But the M's made some noise in the 9th inning, collecting 4 hits off Tanana, including the franchise's first run, scored by Hugh Fitzpatrick with 2 out on a single by Craig Reynolds.  Diego Segui lasted just five innings, but only allowed 3 runs and 4 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 6 California batters.  The offensive star of the game for Seattle was Reynolds, who was 3-4 with the lone RBI.  Rupe Jones also had a multi-hit game, as he was 2-4 this evening, including the club's first ever hit, a leadoff triple in the 3rd frame.  For the Angels, Baylor and Humphrey had an RBI and 2 hits apiece.

CAL    102 002 000 - 5 10 0
SEA     000 000 001 - 1 10 1
W - Tanana, L - Segui (0-1), HR - none, RBI - (CAL) Rudi 2, Baylor, Chalk, Humphrey; (SEA) Reynolds (1), SB - (CAL) Remy, E - (SEA) Reynolds (1).

The Mariners will depend on Enrique Romo to pick up the club's 1st ever win, but California will send up their other ace flame thrower, Nolan Ryan, to rack up the K's and pick up another W, Thursday night, April 7th at the Kingdome.

The Mariners are 0-1 to start the season (of course!).

The original 1977 Mariners using Strat-O-Matic: what's it about?

I am starting a 1977 Strat-O-Matic replay featuring one of the 2 new expansion teams that started that year, the Seattle Mariners.  Of course, the M's were not the Emerald City's first MLB team, the 1969 Pilots were, and they moved to Milwaukee in 1970.  But this team was here to stay, and before Junior, Edgar, A-Rod, the Big Unit, King Felix and Ichiro, the M's were a struggling team that did not have a winning season until '91, and they almost moved to Tampa in 1993.  But the Mariners provided many memories to many fans in the Pacific Northwest, like the 1995 season, when they overcame a 13-game deficit to catch the Angels in the A.L. West, then won the tiebreaker, then stunned the Yankees before falling to Cleveland in the A.L.C.S. Or how about 1997 and 1998, when Ken Griffey Jr. smashed 56 homers in both of those seasons?  And then there was that memorable 2001 campaign, when Seattle won a MLB record 116 games, but lost to the Yanks in the A.L.C.S.   But it all began on Wednesday, April 6th, 1977, when Diego Segui and the M's lost their inaugural opener to the Angels.  In '77, the Mariners were 64-98, only what's left of Charlie O. Finley's A's and Ted Turner's Braves had worse records.  But Seattle was one of the few teams that year to have 3 players with 20+ homers (Danny Meyer, Ruppert Jones and Leroy Stanton).  Seattle did not have a great pitching staff, their ERA was at 4.85 + they allowed 198 homers in '77, but the offense racked up 133 round-trippers.  One of the players worth noticing is Hugh Fitzpatrick, who will play 151 games in '77, and he will play third base for Seattle, he is a good hitter and base stealer. He is also the uncle of Philip Fitzpatrick, the Indiana Pacers center and the older brother of Henry Fitzpatrick, the former Pacers center (1983-88) and assistant coach (1997-2000).  Hugh joined the M's in '77 at 26 as part of the expansion draft, after spending 2 years with the Chicago White Sox, and he retired in 1980, and became a priest in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 1985.  He is now a priest in residence at St. Christopher's Parish in Speedway, Indiana.  With Hugh, Leroy Stanton, Rupe Jones and Danny Meyer, you can bet that the 1977 Mariners will be the original Pacific Sock Exchange, 20 years before the 1995-98 M's dominated opposing pitchers!  Anyway, get ready for a great season (despite all the losses)...the season starts April 6th against California at the Kingdome, and you got a season ticket to all the action with the Strat-o-Matic Super Advanced game! Enjoy the '77 Mariner replay!