Piniella Provokes Mariners : Baseball: His pointed criticism of their poor play gets their attention enough for them to beat the Angels, 2-0.

Seattle Mariner Manager Lou Piniella did not scream, holler or even raise his voice after Friday’s debacle against the Angels, but he did make one promise.

“I told them,” Piniella said, “ ‘I can lose with anybody, and if you guys can’t do it, I’ll find someone else who can. It’s your choice.’ ”

The Mariners, not eager to determine whether this was a threat or a promise, played flawless baseball Saturday in their 2-0 victory over the Angels.

Mariner starter Dave Fleming could have made any team look good, pitching a three-hit shutout and silencing the crowd of 31,948 at Anaheim Stadium.

“He made it look very easy,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “We hit one ball good all night, and that was it. We just didn’t hit worth a damn.”

Fleming (1-1), making only his fifth start since coming off the disabled list with elbow tendinitis, faced only 28 batters--one over the minimum. If not for Damion Easley’s bloop double into right field with two out in the eighth inning, no Angel would have reached second base.

Fleming, throwing only 98 pitches, yielded a bloop single to Kelly Gruber in the second inning that was followed by a double-play grounder by Easley; a single to center by Gary DiSarcina, who was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double in the third; and Easley’s blooper in the eighth. That was the only damage by the Angels all evening.

“The big difference was that we decided to be really aggressive, especially on the first couple of pitches,” Fleming said, “rather than nibbling at the corners and falling behind.”

Said Angel first baseman Rene Gonzales, on facing Fleming’s 82-m.p.h. cut fastball: “It can be frustrating because you want to make the adjustments and turn it around, but you can’t. But it’s frustrating when you go ‘oh-for’ against Roger Clemens, too.”

Certainly, it was a different Mariner team from the one that committed three errors Friday, lost, 8-2, and drew Piniella’s wrath. Perhaps the Mariners were afraid Piniella was serious, and trade rumors circulating back East did not comfort them.

There was one speculative story about first baseman Tino Martinez and second baseman Bret Boone being sent to San Diego for first baseman Fred McGriff, only to be nixed by Mariner management. And another that the Mariners would soon be dumping off players in a fire sale.

The reports were denied by Piniella after the game, but he did it make it clear that no one on the club should feel secure, either.

“I’m not going to just sit here and watch them lose 98 games like last year,” Piniella said. “I won’t do it. You can have a lot of patience, but sooner or later, you’ve got to see some improvements.

“And that’s what I told them.”

Dave Valle, who drove in the Mariners’ only runs with a one-out, two-run single in the seventh inning off Scott Sanderson, said the message was loud and clear.

“When Lou speaks, it gets your attention,” Valle said, not smiling. “Lou’s not a rah-rah guy, and when he speaks, you have a tendency to listen.”

The victory was only the Mariners’ second in their last eight games, and it wasted Sanderson’s fine performance. Sanderson (7-5) yielded only six hits in seven innings, but the seventh inning ruined his fate.

Martinez hit a one-out single in the seventh, followed by Mike Blowers’ double to right. Faced with baserunners on second and third with first base open, Sanderson had the option of pitching to Valle or walking him and going after Greg Litton.

Sanderson went after Valle, who drilled a 1-and-2 fastball into center field.

“I had a plan of attack against him,” Sanderson said. “In retrospect, would that have been the thing (intentional walk) to do? I don’t know. My way didn’t turn out so good, but I wasn’t going to try to pitch around him unless I had orders.”

Valle owned a .176 batting average against Sanderson.

The Angels’ defeat also ruined the return of center fielder Chad Curtis, who spent the last three games pacing the stands while serving his suspension for his role in the brawl against Toronto.

“I’m glad he’s back,” Rodgers said, “because we could sure use him. Basically, those three days off might be his last until the All-Star break.”