BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Mariners’ Cloud Loses a Little Steam

How has life changed for the Seattle Mariners since becoming bigger here than the Space Needle.

“We’re starting to hear stories in the clubhouse,” Randy Johnson was saying. “Like yesterday, [second baseman] Joey Cora said he went to pick up his dry cleaning and was told there would be no charge.

“And today I had one of my cars repaired, and since I didn’t want to drive it in the rain I had it delivered on a flatbed truck.

“I asked the driver what the charge would be, and I had my checkbook out and ready, but he pulled out four Mariner caps and said he’d call it even if I signed them.

“Obviously, I had no problem with that.”

What a thing.

Not only are the Mariners now playing to capacity crowds, not only is the legislature working overtime on a financing plan for a new stadium, not only do Manager Lou Piniella and his coaches receive standing ovations when they enter area restaurants, but the players are now having their bills torn up.

Some might term that a case of the rich getting richer, but in Game 2 of the American League’s championship series on Wednesday night at the Magic Kingdom, the Mariners faced one of baseball’s best money pitchers and paid the price.

Orel Hershiser, continuing to revive memories of 1988, gave up only four hits in eight innings as he joined Jose Mesa in pitching the Cleveland Indians to a series tying, 5-2 victory before 58,144 recently discovered zealots.

With the intimidating and dominating Johnson scheduled to pitch Game 3 Friday night in Cleveland, this one was imperative for the Indians.

They couldn’t face the Big Unit down 0-2.

It was a must win, and Hershiser responded. No surprise. The man named Bulldog by Tom Lasorda is 2-0 in this postseason and 6-0 in his postseason career.

Tim Belcher, a teammate in ’88 when the Dodgers won the World Series and Hershiser pitched 59 consecutive scoreless inning en route to the Cy Young Award, was the losing pitcher Wednesday night. What was the difference in the Hershiser of then and now?

“Not much more than the uniform,” Belcher said.

Said a befuddled Tino Martinez, who struck out twice and grounded out twice:

“I kept looking for pitches in certain areas and never got them. I was behind 0 and 2 three times. He’d hit the outside half, then the inside half. I didn’t have much of a clue.”

The Mariners had won four consecutive postseason games and five straight in the Kingdome. No one was saying the bubble had burst, not with Johnson going next, but now they confront a hostile environment at Jacobs Field and a powerhouse offense that may be heating up.

The Indians batted only .219 in the three game sweep of Boston in the Division Series and blew Game 1 of the league championship series by stranding 12 runners, but they also had 22 hits in the two games here.

The visitors were satisfied with the split. Was the home team?

“We’re going back even with Randy pitching Friday and Andy Benes on Saturday,” Piniella said. “I don’t know who’ll pitch Sunday, but I think we’re in a good situation. We pitched a rookie in the first game and haven’t used our top two pitchers yet. From that aspect a split isn’t bad.”

For a moment in the ninth inning, it seemed like the Mariners might manufacture another of those improbable finishes, sustaining their streaks. Jay Buhner hit a one out homer off Mesa, and Albert Diaz collected a two-out single. Doug Strange grounded out to end it.

The Mariners once trailed the Angels by 13 games in the AL West. Buhner talked about the magic that has accompanied Seattle on the long road back, and said there was no reason to be deflated by Wednesday’s defeat.

“Sometimes its seemed like fate [that we were going to win],” he said. “You’d start thinking of a situation and the next thing you knew you were hitting a two-run homer to win the game. A lot of guys were even calling their shots in September.

“Sometimes it seemed like fate, but overall we’re a good club that’s been playing well. We’re feeding off energy and riding it out. I mean, once we beat the Angels [in the playoff for the division title], the pressure was off. I still believe the pressure is more on Cleveland because they’re expected to win. We’re just having fun and enjoying this as much as possible.”

Ken Griffey Jr., who homered and singled against Hershiser, agreed. “We expect this to go seven [games],” he said. “We expect to get one more shot at Mr. Hershiser.”

Is fate still with them? Joey Cora’s dry cleaner probably thinks so.