BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AL PLAYOFFS : Johnson Had a Real Height Advantage

At first, it seemed Cleveland Indian Manager Mike Hargrove was trying to rattle Seattle starter Randy Johnson a bit. Or maybe he wanted to get back at all those opponents who have questioned the innards of left fielder Albert Belle’s bat.

Whatever his motives, Hargrove asked Marty Springstead, executive director of umpiring for the American League, to check the height of the Kingdome mound shortly before Game 6 of the championship series Tuesday.

As Johnson warmed up in the bullpen, Springstead and umpire Rich Garcia surveyed the mound with a two-by-four and a level, and guess what? Turns out Hargrove had a legitimate beef.

The mound was found to be half an inch too high, so Springstead supervised a little earthmoving, as two groundskeepers, armed with a shovel and broom, removed half an inch of dirt from the landing area in front of the rubber. The pitching rubber was not lowered in any way.

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With Tuesday night’s victory, Indian pitcher Dennis Martinez, 40, became the oldest pitcher to win a championship-series game. San Francisco Giant pitcher Rick Reuschel was 40 when he won Game 5 of the 1989 National League championship series against the Chicago Cubs, but he was two days younger than Martinez.

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Kristi Piniella, daughter of Seattle Manager Lou Piniella, obviously didn’t have much faith the Mariners would win the World Series this season. Months ago, she set her wedding date for Oct. 29 in Tampa, Fla., the same day Game 7 of the World Series will be played in Atlanta, if necessary.

Piniella said before Tuesday’s game that if the Mariners were to beat the Indians and extend the Braves to seven games, he would find a way to attend both momentous occasions. “I could go to the wedding during the day and then be back in Atlanta for the game that night,” Piniella said.

At least now he’ll be able to stay for the reception.

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Johnson has held left-handed batters to a .129 average this season, but Cleveland’s left-handed leadoff batter, Kenny Lofton, had four hits and two RBIs against the Mariner ace in the series.

The secret to his success? “You just keep your shoulder in there, close your eyes a couple of times and swing hard,” Lofton said.

Johnson tried to set the tone for the game early when, with an 0-2 count on Lofton in the first inning, he zipped a fastball at his head, sending Lofton sprawling.

Lofton struck out looking in his first two at-bats, but after Johnson backed him off the plate with another inside fastball in the fifth, Lofton slapped a single to left to knock in the first run.

“It did intimidate me,” Lofton said of the first-inning knock-down pitch. “But I had to re-focus. The guys just told me to shake it off and stay in there, and that’s what I did.”

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The Mariners had two excellent scoring opportunities against Martinez, putting runners on second base with none out in the third and sixth innings, but each time the next batter failed to advance that runner.

After Luis Sojo doubled to open the third, Dan Wilson grounded to short, and Vince Coleman and Joey Cora both grounded out to end the inning. Coleman opened the sixth with a single and stole second, but Cora popped to first trying to bunt Coleman to third.

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The Mariners were 50-28 at home, but Martinez sure loves pitching in Seattle. With Tuesday’s win, he has a 10-4 career record in the Kingdome.