The Seattle Mariners needed someone – anyone – to take the mound in the 15th inning. So, they turned in desperation to Jamie Burke.
The backup catcher went out and did his best impersonation of a pitcher.
“We were having a good little laugh watching him throw,” Mariners starter Ryan Rowland-Smith said.
Burke, the Mariners’ seventh pitcher of the game, zipped his first major league pitch to the plate at 82 mph and later hit 86 mph on the stadium radar gun. Not bad for a 36-year-old catcher, even though he allowed the winning run in the Detroit Tigers’ 2-1 victory Sunday.
“Everybody thinks they can do everything. Everybody wants to try something,” said Burke, the third position player in Mariners’ history to pitch. “But once you get on that mound; I’ve never talked about that I’ve pitched or anything like that, because I know how hard it is to get on that mound.”
Having already shuffled through the able bodies in the bullpen, the Mariners went beyond their second and third options and asked Burke to enter in the 15th. Burke had thrown four innings in the minors, and could throw four pitches for strikes.
“It was definitely one of the weirdest games I’ve been in,” Tigers closer Todd Jones said. “To have a position player have to pitch in the game was just an unfortunate break, but a good one for us.”
With the game tied at 1, Miguel Cabrera hit a leadoff double and was lifted for pinch-runner Michael Hollimon, who advanced to third when Burke (0-1) tried to throw a slider that slipped from his hands and ended up in the netting of the backstop. Marcus Thames followed with a sacrifice fly that scored the go-ahead run.
In other AL games, it was: Tampa Bay 9, Kansas City 2; Minnesota 4, Cleveland 3; Yankees 5, Red Sox 4 in 10 innings; Chicago 4, Oakland 3; Texas 11, Baltimore 10; and Los Angeles 7, Toronto 1.
At Seattle, the Mariners were forced to use Burke because their bullpen was spread thin. Burke’s name stuck in manager Jim Riggleman’s head as someone to ask. Others offered up their help, including Ichiro Suzuki, Willie Bloomquist and Adrian Beltre.
“I said I wanted to. I asked,” Suzuki said.
Burke rebounded nicely after Hollimon scored, getting a groundout from Ivan Rodriguez and a flyout from Edgar Renteria, and headed to the dugout to a standing ovation from the crowd that stuck around.
Jones pitched the bottom of the 15th inning for his 16th save, securing the win for Aquilino Lopez (3-1), who pitched a scoreless 14th.
Rays 9, Royals 2
Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer during a four-run third, and Tampa Bay won its seventh straight.
James Shields (7-5) gave up two runs and four hits over seven innings to win his third consecutive start. The Rays, with the majors’ best record at 55-32, have won 11 of 12 overall.
Esteban German drove in both runs for the Royals, who have lost seven of nine.
Twins 4, Indians 3
Carlos Gomez capped a three-run seventh against All-Star Cliff Lee with an RBI groundout, and Minnesota handed visiting Cleveland its eighth straight loss.
Lee (11-2) lost for the first time in nine starts, allowing four runs and six hits in seven innings. Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer for Cleveland.
Glen Perkins (5-2) allowed seven hits in seven innings for Minnesota.
Yankees 5, Red Sox 4, 10 innings
Rookie Brett Gardner singled home the winning run off Jonathan Papelbon (3-3) with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, and the Yankees overcame a two-run deficit to earn a four-game split.
Alex Rodriguez hit his 536th homer, tying Mickey Mantle for 13th on the career list, and Robinson Cano had a two-run triple in the seventh off Javier Lopez that tied it at 4.
Mariano Rivera (3-3) pitched two innings for the win.
White Sox 4, Athletics 3
John Danks set a career high with nine strikeouts, and the White Sox handed Rich Harden (5-1) his first loss since last July 7.
Danks (6-4) took a no-hitter into the sixth as the White Sox salvaged a four-game split after dropping the first two. Chicago has won 10 of its last 13.
The visiting Athletics got a run against Scott Linebrink in the ninth to pull within one, but Jack Cust flied to right with runners on first and second to end the game.
Rangers 11, Orioles 10
David Murphy hit a three-run homer and Ian Kinsler got three singles to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, leading the visiting Rangers.
The Rangers took two of three to improve to 15-4-2 in their past 21 series and complete a six-game swing through New York and Baltimore with a 4-2 record. Kevin Millwood (6-4) lasted five innings to get the win.
Radhames Liz (3-1) gave up six runs – four earned – and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings for the Orioles.
Angels 7, Blue Jays 1
At Anaheim, Calif., Jon Garland (8-5) pitched a six-hitter for his 100th major league victory, Jeff Mathis tied a career high with three RBIs and Juan Rivera homered for the Angels.
Rivera homered in the second inning against Jesse Litsch (8-5) and helped cut down a runner at the plate in the fourth.
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