Moyer Is a Pitcher Who Knows His Place

Mariner pitcher Jamie Moyer turned Thursday’s American League division series game against the Indians into “That ‘70s Show.”

There was the 77-mph pitch that struck out Cleveland slugger Jim Thome swinging in the second inning and the 76-mph pitch that struck out Marty Cordova looking in the third. There were dozens of changeups and soft curves, pitches that barely broke the speed limit but seemed to break the Indians’ spirit.

“Yeah, that was vintage Jamie,” Seattle Manager Lou Piniella said after the Mariners’ 5-1 victory over Cleveland, which evened the best-of-five series at one game apiece. “He’s not a power pitcher, obviously, but there’s different ways to skin a cat. And he does it the sly way.”

In what was essentially a must-win game, Moyer gave the Mariners all they could ask for, limiting the Indians to one run on five hits in six innings, striking out four and walking one. In 20 innings against Cleveland this season, Moyer has allowed only two earned runs.

And he didn’t hit 90 mph on the radar gun once.

“That’s all I have to offer,” Moyer said. “I can’t reach back and throw 95 mph. So I feel like I have to use the abilities that I have and try to find ways to get people out.”

Though he doesn’t have a blazing fastball, Moyer, who went 20-6 with a 3.43 earned-run average this season, is not afraid to come inside on batters. He can also paint the outside corner almost as well as Atlanta left-hander Tom Glavine. Speed is not Moyer’s forte. Changing speeds is.

“He’ll throw one fastball at 83 mph and then show you another one at 88 mph,” Cleveland Manager Charlie Manuel said. “Same thing with his changeup. He’ll throw one at 76 mph and another at 73 mph. At the same time, he has tremendous command, uses both sides of the plate and keeps you off balance.”

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Since Boston traded Moyer to Seattle for Darren Bragg on July 30, 1996, Moyer has gone 85-40 with a 3.91 ERA for the Mariners. In that span, the Red Sox have employed eight left-handed starting pitchers: Butch Henry, Steve Avery, Chris Hammond, Vaughn Eshelman, Pete Schourek, Kent Mercker, Jeff Fassero and Casey Fossum, who combined for a 38-41 record and 5.10 ERA.... Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton, once considered one of the top leadoff batters in the game, has been a nonfactor in the first two games. In nine plate appearances, Lofton has reached base once, on a third-inning walk in Game 1 Tuesday. He has struck out three times. Mariner leadoff batter Ichiro Suzuki has reached base five times in eight plate appearances, with three singles and a double.... Cleveland right fielder Juan Gonzalez, who hit .438 (seven for 16) with five home runs and nine runs batted in for the Texas Rangers in his first taste of the playoffs in 1996, is three for 23 in his last two postseason series. Gonzalez struck out three times in Game 1 and once in Game 2.... Seattle designated hitter Edgar Martinez has a .382 career division series average (21 for 55).