SEATTLE -- Oops. Somebody forgot to tell the Seattle Mariners those 116 wins don't mean a thing anymore.
Bartolo Colon blanked baseball's best team during the regular season for eight innings on Tuesday as the Cleveland Indians shut down the Mariners 5-0 in Game 1 of their AL playoff series.
Colon dominated the Mariners, who led the league in batting average, runs and virtually every other offensive category. He gave up six hits, struck out 10 and allowed only one runner to reach third base -- and that was on a throwing error.
"He told us on the flight, 'Give me a couple runs and I'll do the job,"' Ellis Burks said. "He did."
Last weekend, the Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs' record for the most wins in a season and came into this series as heavy favorites. And despite a lineup equal to Seattle's at every position and veterans with postseason experience, nobody gave the Indians much of a chance.
"We're a high-profile team, we just didn't have a high-profile season," said Indians third baseman Travis Fryman. "Our talent stands up with anyone."
Burks homered for the Indians, who won a playoff opener for just the third time in 11 series since 1995.
"We're here and we deserve to be here," Burks said.
The Mariners didn't look like the same group that ran away from the rest of the league this season.
Rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki had three hits, but got nailed stealing and left two on in the fifth when his shot to the gap in left-center was caught by Kenny Lofton.
And now, for the first time in 2001, Seattle will have to come from behind or watch an amazing season go down the drain.
"We've come back after losing the opening game of a series all year," said Mariners manager Lou Piniella. "I have confidence we will come back. There's no sense of urgency. We lost a ballgame."
Following an off-day today, the series resumes with Game 2 on Thursday at 3:20 p.m. CDT. Finley, back in the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season in 1986, will start against Jamie Moyer.
Moyer was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts against the Indians this season.
Cleveland, sloppy and uninspired in the final week after clinching the AL Central, did everything better than Seattle. They hit in the clutch, played solid defense and most importantly, had Colon on the mound.
The Indians stole a page from the Mariners' how-to-win manual in the fourth, going base to base to score three runs off losing pitcher Freddy Garcia on a leadoff double, a walk and four singles.
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