Baseball : Bankhead Tries to Carry the Load on the Mound for Mariners

Without Mark Langston around, there is a lot of pitching that needs to be taken care of for the Seattle Mariners, and no one save Scott Bankhead particularly up to the task.

Relief pitching is one thing; for that, the Mariners have Mike Schooler, who has saved 23 games, fifth best in the American League.

Starting pitching? A different matter.

Bankhead, the Mariner starter against the Angels Thursday night, is the only Mariner starter with more than 10 victories--heck, the only one with more than six. At 11-4, with a 3.38 earned-run average going into Thursday’s game, the 26-year-old right-hander is the staff ace--the lone ace in a low hand. Only two other pitchers--Bill Swift (6-3) and Randy Johnson (5-3)--have winning records.

“I kind of inherited a leadership role by default with the trade (to Montreal) of Mark Langston,” said Bankhead, in his third year in the majors.

With the Mariners going against Chuck Finley Thursday, Bankhead had no easy task.

Still, Bankhead took a nine-game winning streak into the game, already a club record, surpassing among others Langston’s seven-game streak in 1984.

Bankhead hadn’t lost a decision since May 17, 15 starts ago.

With a victory, he could have extended his winning streak to 10, matching the longest streak in the league last season, which was put together by Storm Davis.

He didn’t get a victory, but the Mariners did. Bankhead took them through seven innings, and left the mound with the scored tied, 2-2.

Relievers Keith Comstock and Mike Jackson held the line long enough for the Mariners to take a 3-2 victory in 10 innings after Jim Presley hit a leadoff homer off Finley, who ended up the loser.

Bankhead was just a pitcher with a no-decision, which meant the streak was intact--and the Mariners had a small victory.

“Bankhead gave us the chance to win the game,” Manager Jim Lefebvre said.

He had to work hard to do that. He gave up two runs in the third on three singles and a hit batter--a Bankhead pitch sent Dick Schofield from the game with a broken bone in his hand.

“I threw a ball away and I was just trying to come back in,” Bankhead said. “I just tried to go in and it got away a little bit. I hate to see that happen to a guy like that in an important part of the season.”

After that, Bankhead stayed out of trouble until the sixth and seventh innings.

Twice, the Angels put runners on third. And twice, the Angels ended the inning still tied.

In the sixth, Johnny Ray led off with a single. With one out, Wally Joyner singled, sending Ray to third. But Bankhead got Tony Armas to pop to right, too shallow to score the run, and then faced Chili Davis. Davis took two called strikes on the way to a full count, and then Bankhead sent him down swinging.

In the seventh, there was more trouble. Bankhead loaded the bases on a single and two walks, bringing up Devon White. But he got White to fly to center on the first pitch.

“My responsibility is just to go out and do my job and lead by example,” Bankhead said. “I’m trying to be consistent and go out and give us a chance to win by keeping us in the ball game, especially tonight against Chuck Finley. This was a big win for us, the way he is pitching.”