Salmon Turns Mariners Into Longshots

The Angels jumped up and down at home plate, a giddy group pogo, as if they had just won the division championship.

They had not, but they had made sure the Seattle Mariners would not. Tim Salmon’s walkoff home run in the 11th inning gave the Angels a 2-1 victory Tuesday night at Edison Field, clinching the American League West title for the Oakland Athletics.

As he circled the bases, Salmon said, he was unaware he was being cheered louder in Oakland than in Anaheim and being rued by the Mariners.

“It wasn’t about knocking them out,” he said. “We won the game, and we haven’t done that a lot. We haven’t had these kinds of games. That’s the excitement.”

The evening was a devastating one for the Mariners, chasing the A’s in the AL West and the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race. The A’s and Red Sox erased ninth-inning deficits to win in extra innings, and now the Mariners find themselves out of the AL West race and virtually out of the wild-card race, trailing by 3 1/2 games with four to play.

In the top of the ninth inning, as the Texas Rangers took a 3-2 lead in Oakland, the Mariners scored the tying run off Angel closer Troy Percival and forced the game into extra innings. But the Mariners’ scoreboard joy was short-lived, for the A’s scored the tying run with two out in the bottom of the ninth and scored the winning run with two out in the bottom of the 10th.

After Scot Shields threw eight scoreless innings on a season-high 110 pitches, the Angels summoned Percival for the ninth. Percival blew the save, and a 1-0 lead, walking two and then giving up the game-tying single to Randy Winn.

This winter might be a long and cruel one for Shields, but he can look back and smile.

He wasn’t supposed to be a starter this season. He wasn’t expected to be able to maintain his velocity into the late innings. He wasn’t holding up as the innings piled up.

On what was likely his final pitch of the season -- a 91-mph fastball in the eighth inning -- he struck out a guy who strikes out two or three times a week, former batting champion Ichiro Suzuki. Barring an unlikely relief appearance this weekend, he concluded his season with 14 consecutive scoreless innings.

The Angels have made no secret of their intention to pursue a starting pitcher this winter. Bartolo Colon would be terrific, Kevin Millwood would be great, Kelvim Escobar would do nicely, Brian Anderson or Jeff Suppan or John Thomson or Brett Tomko would help.

“There’s a lot of things we’re looking at, but the first thing is going to be starting pitching,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “That’s what every team looks for. That’s what will have the biggest impact on the club.”

The impact would be biggest on Shields.

If the Angels acquire a starting pitcher, he figures to return to the long relief role in which he prospered this season. In the bullpen, he posted a 1.68 earned-run average. As a starter, he had an ERA of 4.14.

“If they go out and get somebody else, it doesn’t matter to me,” he said.

Shields is the only Angel starter to pitch eight innings this month. He did so in each of his final two starts, pitching 16 innings and striking out 15, walking two, giving up seven hits and showing confidence in his repertoire beyond the fastball. On Tuesday, he set a career high with nine strikeouts.

Shields, promoted to the rotation when the Angels released Kevin Appier, at least left the Angels something to think about this winter. The audition did not go well, but it ended well. Far better than leaving himself with something to think about, the bad thoughts that pervaded his mind after a month of unsatisfactory starts.

“I’m at ease a little more,” he said. “If it would have ended two weeks ago, it would not have been a fun off-season.”