BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Mariner Manager Says Johnson Quit

Seattle Manager Bill Plummer blasted his ace pitcher, Randy Johnson, after the left-hander took himself out of Tuesday night’s 13-8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

“He quit on us,” Plummer said after a closed-door meeting with his pitcher. Plummer told Johnson he owed his teammates an apology.

“He wants to be a leader, he says he wants to be a leader, but he didn’t do it,” said Plummer, who used the Orioles’ Rick Sutcliffe as an example of what he was talking about.

“Sutcliffe didn’t have much, but he gave his team six innings,” Plummer said. “That’s an example of veteran leadership. That’s the kind of leadership we need.”

The Detroit Tigers put right-hander Eric King (2-4, 7.51 ERA) on the 15-day disabled list because of an inflamed rotator cuff and called up outfielder Phil Clark to take his place on the roster.