Seattle ends Phillies' win streak at 7

SEATTLE - For five innings on Friday night, Michael Pineda did not surrender a hit, threw as hard as 98 m.p.h., and was the beneficiary of a wide strike zone. Even when the Phillies cracked the rookie for a run in the sixth and forced 28 pitches from his electric right arm to record three outs, the inning ended with dismay. As too would the game, a 4-2 Seattle Mariners win.

There was Placido Polanco, always level-headed, in the face of umpire Doug Eddings. A checked swing was called for strike three, but it was difficult to tell whether Polanco was arguing about the first called strike - maybe high - the checked swing, or everything.

"I see exactly why he got mad," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

The discussion escalated, and Polanco tossed his bat. Shane Victorino and Manuel approached, but Polanco had said his mind and walked away. That offensive opportunities were at a premium on this night did not escape the third baseman.

In the end, a seven-game winning streak was broken by a 22-year-old pitcher and a gigantic ballpark in the Pacific Northwest. A scoring outburst in the confines of Citizens Bank Park had bred optimism because the Phillies averaged 6.1 runs per game against the pitching staffs of the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins during the streak.

Then they came to Safeco Field, where the Mariners entered the game with the majors' worst on-base percentage (.298) but a record of 35-34, one game out of first place in the American League West.

Turns out another team has discovered pitching wins. Another dose of sobering news: It doesn't get any easier Saturday when Felix Hernandez, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, takes the mound. Before this weekend, gazing at Pineda and Hernandez was confined to a TV screen, where they were novelties - dominating across the country and in another league.

"I'm looking forward to seeing them," Manuel said before Friday's game, "as long as they don't beat us."

On this night, Pineda outpitched Roy Oswalt, who lost for the third time in four starts this month. The Phillies did not have a hit off Pineda until Victorino's two-out single in the sixth. He batted only because Jimmy Rollins had drawn a seven-pitch walk.

Chase Utley hit a first-pitch fastball through the hole on the right side to score a run. The inning was extended when Ryan Howard walked, but that only led to Polanco's disagreement with the umpire.

Had the Phillies shown such discipline earlier, the result could have been different.

"We didn't hit too many balls hard in the first five innings," Manuel said. "He's good. He's big. He's strong."

Pineda threw just 19 pitches to record the first six outs. He needed 18 in the third, 12 in the fourth, and 15 in the fifth. After a tenuous 28-pitch sixth inning, Seattle manager Eric Wedge deemed it a good night's work for his burgeoning star.

Manuel's hand was forced, too, but for different reasons. The Phillies manager pulled Oswalt from a game in the middle of an inning for the first time this season. The righthander allowed at least three runs for the third consecutive start. In his seven starts since returning from the disabled list on May 17, Oswalt has given up seven or more hits five times.

Three of those hits Friday were to Ichiro Suzuki, who scored all three times he was on base. One hit came off Oswalt's slow curveball, clocked at 64 m.p.h.

"He just threw his bat out there," Oswalt said.

"You have to keep him off base," Manuel said. "We weren't able to do that."

Oswalt's strikeouts are down, opponents' contact rate is up, and fastball velocity has decreased. Those three factors are creating more baserunners.

For nearly a month, Oswalt has shaken off notions of any physical issue. And it's wholly possible there is none, but the point remains Oswalt is a different pitcher. Manuel is convinced things will change.

"He'll come out pretty soon and his fastball will be back where it was," the manager said. "There comes a time when the fastball, all of it isn't there. It's how your arm feels and how you're throwing. It's like a hitter not hitting. It's just a matter of time until you see his fastball jump up."

A high hit rate and low strikeout rate resulted in only one run in each of Oswalt's first three starts. But luck will even out, and his last four starts have yielded a 4.81 ERA.

Still, that does not represent a month's worth of starts, just as seven Phillies wins will outweigh one lost night at the ballpark. It did not make the sting any less painful.