SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon thought he saw strike three. Home plate umpire Sean Barber disagreed.
Given another chance, the Minnesota Twins’ Shane Robinson singled to lead off the third inning and scored on Joe Mauer’s double. An inning later, McClendon was still upset enough that he got in an argument with Barber after a visit to the mound and was ejected.
Well after McClendon’s ejection, the Mariners lost 4-2 after Mauer hit a two-run triple with two outs in the 11th inning Sunday.
One missed strike didn’t seem to have nearly as much to do with Seattle’s loss as the offense going 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position. The Mariners stranded runners on third in the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings.
“We played decent baseball, we just didn’t get hits when it counted.” McClendon said. “That’s not going to get it done.”
Mariners starter Roenis Elias was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to make his first start of the season. He took the rotation spot of Hisashi Iwakuma, who was put on the DL on Friday with a strained muscle under his right arm. Iwakuma will be out 2-to-4 weeks.
In the fourth inning, McClendon walked out to the mound to talk to Elias. After the meeting broke up, he argued with Barber as he was walking back to the dugout, steadily getting more animated before being thrown out.
“I thought he had a strikeout there in the one inning, but they ended up getting a run out of that one,” McClendon said. “He had strike three, and the guy gets a double and a run scores.”
Elias appreciated McClendon’s position.
“I thought he went out there to fight for it,” Elias said through a translator. “Those were close pitches that didn’t go for strikes, and he saw what I saw. It was nice of him to go out there.”
The Mariners’ offense also responded in the bottom of the inning.
Seth Smith led off the fourth with his home run deep to right field, and Logan Morrison tied it at 2 with an RBI groundout later in the inning.
Despite having plenty of chances, the Mariners weren’t able to get another run.
Seattle reliever Tyler Olson (1-1) walked Chris Herrmann to lead off the 11th. After a sacrifice bunt, Olson intentionally walked Brian Dozier. Shane Robinson fouled out before Mauer’s triple.
“I got ahead in the count and then just left one over the plate,” Olson said.
Casey Fien (1-1) pitched two innings for Minnesota. Glen Perkins closed out the 11th for his fifth save.
UP NEXT
Twins: LHP Tommy Milone (2-0, 3.38 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season as Minnesota returns home to host Detroit. The game will open an 11-game homestand for the Twins.
Mariners: RHP Taijuan Walker (0-2, 10.66 ERA) will start at Texas, his first career start against the Rangers. He threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief against the Rangers on September 7.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Starting RHP Trevor May, a Kelso native, left in the fourth inning Saturday night with a bruised right elbow after being hit by a line drive. Manager Paul Molitor said the Twins aren’t sure if the injury will cause a problem for his next start. “The big question is when to get him to start throwing the ball a little bit and see what kind of pain level he has,” Molitor said.
Mariners: RHP Tom Wilhelmsen (hyperextended right elbow) is likely 10 to 12 days away from returning to the team, McClendon said. Wilhelmsen, who has been on the DL since April 11, recently started throwing and will soon progress to working off a mound, McClendon said.
ROSTER CHANGE
The Mariners officially recalled Elias from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday. To make room on the roster, LHP Lucas Luetge was optioned to Tacoma after Saturday night’s game.
LEAVING EARLY
The ejection was the 30th of McClendon’s career. He has been tossed 25 times as a manager and five times as a coach.
