BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Buhner Drops Loss on Indians : American League: His second homer more than makes up for error as Mariners win, 5-2.

The last time Seattle Mariner right fielder Jay Buhner muffed a fly ball the way he did Friday night, he was an outfielder at Clear Creek High in League City, Tex., in the early 1980s.

“It hit me right between the eyes and knocked me out,” Buhner said. “They had to carry me off the field.”

Buhner’s eighth-inning gaffe against the Cleveland Indians in Game 3 of the American League championship series cost the Mariners a run and was the main reason the game went into extra innings.

But at least Buhner remained conscious, and that proved beneficial for the Mariners. Buhner atoned for the error by hitting a three-run home run off reliever Eric Plunk in the top of the 11th inning--his second homer of the game--to lift Seattle to a 5-2 victory before 43,643 in Jacobs Field.

The Mariners now have a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series and are assured of returning to Seattle . . . unless, of course, they can win two more games and close out the series in Cleveland this weekend.

“I had said our top priority was getting back to Seattle, but we’re looking for a little more than that now,” Manager Lou Piniella said. “If we play well the next two games, maybe we can grab another win or two.”

The Indians had gone 14-0 in extra-inning games this season but ran into trouble Friday night when Joey Cora led off the 11th with a single off reliever Julian Tavarez.

Left-hander Paul Assenmacher was summoned and retired Ken Griffey Jr. on a fly ball, and Plunk, a right-hander, got Edgar Martinez to pop out to first, making him 0 for 11 in the series after batting .571 in the division series against New York.

Cora stole second during Tino Martinez’s at-bat, so Cleveland Manager Mike Hargrove walked Martinez intentionally to pitch to Buhner, whom Plunk had struck out in Game 1.

But Buhner, who had 40 homers and 121 RBIs this season, drove an 0-1 pitch into the right-center field bleachers, and closer Norm Charlton, who threw three innings in relief of starter Randy Johnson, retired the Indians in order in the bottom of the 11th for the victory.

“You’ve got one guy [Martinez] who hit 30 home runs and one [Buhner] who hit 40, and the guy at the plate had a 3-1 count with a man on second,” Hargrove said. “That’s a no-decision as far as I’m concerned. You put the lefty on and go with the odds. We thought it would give us the best chance in that situation, but it didn’t work out.”

While his Mariner teammates mobbed Buhner in the dugout after the homer--his third in the championship series and eighth in 12 games against the Indians in 1995--Buhner hardly cracked a smile, shaking his head as he paced back and forth. Was it relief? Was it disbelief?

“It was all of the above,” Buhner said. “I take so much pride in my defense, and to let a stupid mistake like that happen with Randy pitching so well. . . . It turned out to be a huge play. This is a very humbling game, and you can go from goat to hero, but to have it happen so quickly, it’s hard to describe my feelings.”

The Mariners were ahead, 2-1, in the eighth when Alvaro Espinoza hit a one-out drive to right. There was hardly a breeze on this balmy, 79-degree evening, but Buhner, one of the game’s best right fielders, completely misjudged the ball.

He turned to his left, drifted back, then made a hard turn to his right before lunging at the warning track. The ball nicked off Buhner’s glove for a two-base error, only his fifth in the last two seasons.

“I’ve never seen him do that,” Piniella said. “It just goes to show it can happen to anyone.”

Kenny Lofton then slapped a liner past diving third baseman Mike Blowers, and left fielder Vince Coleman charged so hard he lost his balance and couldn’t make a throw home, even though he was in very shallow left when he fielded the ball. Pinch-runner Wayne Kirby scored to make it 2-2.

“I got a good jump but went into the backpedal too soon,” Buhner said of his error. “I could have really screwed the game up. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t go up to the plate in the 11th wanting to make up for it somehow. I wanted to get a ball and juice it.”

Buhner, whose second-inning homer off Indian starter Charles Nagy gave Seattle a 1-0 lead, wasn’t the only player to struggle defensively Friday. After Griffey singled in the third inning, he stole second and advanced to third when catcher Sandy Alomar’s throw bounced into center field.

Espinoza then booted Edgar Martinez’s grounder to third, allowing Griffey to score for a 2-0 lead.

Lofton opened the fourth with a fly ball to left, deep but playable. Coleman drifted back--instead of sprinting directly to the wall--and couldn’t make the catch, the ball short-hopping the fence and caroming high in the air.

That gave the speedy Lofton enough time to make it to third for a gift triple, and he scored on Omar Vizquel’s sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-1.

Strong performances by both starters were wasted, as Johnson gave up four hits and struck out six in eight innings and Nagy went the same distance on a five-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks.

“You have a team that finished first in almost every offensive category against our team and there hasn’t been much scoring so far in the series,” Johnson said. “That just shows you there’s been some good pitching out there too.”