Bad Whiff Of Colon -- Indian Righty Silences M's In Series Opener

At the end, the Mariners had the right men at the plate: Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.

But Cleveland closer Mike Jackson, who had put himself in the position facing them, struck both out and finished a game that started out looking unwinnable and was, 7-4.

Seattle got its chance when Indian starter Bartolo Colon, leading 5-0 after allowing just two singles for 6 1/3 innings, went out with tightness in his left knee.

Scoring four runs off Renton native David Riske, who relieved Colon, the Mariners got to 5-4. But the bullpen couldn't hold it in relief of John Halama, who lost a third straight start largely on a two-run homer by Richie Sexson for a 2-0 lead in the second and a solo by Roberto Alomar that made it 3-0 in the third.

With Boston and Oakland defeated earlier in the evening, the Mariners lost one of their dwindling chances to pick up ground in the American League wild-card standings.

Seattle had chances to tie in each of the last three innings, at 5-4 in the seventh, 6-4 in the eighth and again in the ninth after Jackson walked pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez and Tom Lampkin hit a pinch single to put two on with one away.

"I didn't want to face those guys," Jackson said. "But I did the best I could. I know Griffey and Alex both have the capability to hit the ball out. I just told myself to bear down."

Griffey acknowledged the job Jackson did on his old team. "He had a job to do," the outfielder said. "He did it well."

Jackson had the advantage because both Seattle sluggers, with 69 home runs between them, may have gone up feeling the need to hit a homer.

"I had to concentrate on keeping the ball down," Jackson said. "I was getting it up earlier in the inning."

In the seventh, Cleveland had Paul Shuey pitch to Griffey with two outs and a runner on second. Griffey bounced out on a 2-2 pitch.

In the eighth, Shuey fanned Dan Wilson with two on to close the inning.

And in the ninth Jackson stuck out Griffey on a 1-2 pitch. He then fell behind Rodriguez 2-0, but got back to 2-2 and fanned him, too.

Meanwhile, Mariner Manager Lou Piniella was left wondering what Halama might be doing wrong, if anything. Halama settled down and gave the Mariners seven innings, but only after getting ruffled over the first five innings.

"His last few starts he has not been as sharp," Piniella said of the lefty rookie. "We'll look at the film and see if we can find anything."

Halama seemed shaky in the second when he hit Manny Ramirez after getting ahead of him 1-2. Then the left-hander hung a first-pitch fastball to Sexson and the Brush Prairie, Wash., native hit it to left for his 23rd homer of the year and a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Seattle had its only real chance against Colon. With one out, Edgar Martinez, hitting in 15 of his last 17 games, singled. With two out, Ryan Jackson singled in his Safeco debut. But Colon got Wilson to fly out to left.

No sooner had Seattle missed its chance to get on the scoreboard, than Alomar put Cleveland on the board again, 3-0. On Halama's third pitch to him, Alomar golfed a fastball to left for his 21st homer.

Colon walked Griffey to open the fourth, but fanned Alex Rodriguez after an eight-pitch battle with a 98-mph fastball down and away. Griffey stole second on the pitch, but Martinez grounded out and Jay Buhner flied out.

In the sixth, Seattle's luck improved while Cleveland's went the other way. After walking Bell with one away, Colon left the game.

Indian Manager Mike Hargrove hurried Riske in for relief. With the bases loaded, Martinez drove a double inside the third-base bag to bring two runs home.

Then Riske cost himself two additional runs, making it a one-run game. When Buhner grounded to the right side and Jim Thome made a diving stop, the young pitcher failed to cover first and Buhner beat it out for an RBI single to make it 5-3. Ryan Jackson fought from 0-2 for a grounder to third on which Enrique Wilson looked home, and with seemingly a good chance to get Martinez at the plate, threw to first as Martinez scored.