Gelnar almost tosses a No-no as Pilots take 3 of 4 from M's

Kingdome - Seattle, WA
GAME 1 - Mariners 5, Pilots 1
Glenn Abbott scattered 8 hits and yielded one meaningless run as the M's took the opener of this battle of the Emerald city classic. Dan Meyer was the hitting star going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's and his 3rd homer of the season. Craig Reynolds went 2 for 3 with a homer as well. Marty Pattin was putrid for the losers. Bill Laxton finished off the 9th inning for the M's

GAME 2 - Pilots 11, Mariners 1
It was big Gene Brabender's turn to dominate as the Pilots evened the series at 1 apiece. Brabender was tossing a shutout until he yielded a meaningless run in the 8th. The catalyst Terry Harper was on base 3 times (3-5) and scored 2 runs. Jim Pagliaroni had a big day at the plate going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI's. Donaldson was 3 for 3 and raised his average to .409. Orbit, Steve Hovley was also 2 for 3. The Pilots left 13 runners on base in a game in which they scored 11.

Sicks Stadium - Seattle, WA
GAME 3 - Pilots 4, Mariners 0
Call this one the John Gelnar show. The Pilots scored 4 runs in the first 5 innings off of Gary Wheelock, then got out of Gelnar's way as he inched closer to his moment in the sun. With 2 outs in the 9th Dan Meyer singled to left to break up the no hitter, then curiously got thrown out at second attempting to steal on the next pitch. Gelnar improved his record to 2-0 and watched his ERA drop to 0.79. The Pilots only had 5 hits of their own. Hovley was 2 for 4 and had a solo shot off of Wheelock. Gelnar did allow 5 base runners as he walked 2 and hit 2 batsmen besides Meyer's single.

GAME 4 - Pilots 3, Mariners 2 (10 inn)
With no score after 4 the M's broke the ice by scoring 2 off of Pilot starter Steve Barber. Bob Stinson reached first on a ball that Tommy Harper booted at third. The next two batters (Reynolds and Milbourne) grounded out. Pinch hitter Lopez was given and intentional pass and Steve Braun delivered a 2 out 2 RBI double to right. In the bottom of the frame Tommy Harper atoned for his error by singling home Ray Oyler, who had walked with 1 out. Diego Segui, who relived Montague in the 5th, cruised until the bottom of the 8th when he was lifted in favor of Enrique Romo, who made a huge mistake by walking the speedy Harper who stole second. John Donaldson lined a clean single to right to score Harper and tie the contest at 2, which is where it stayed until the bottom of the 10th. Harper led that frame off with a double and moved to third on an infield single by Tommy Davis. Don Mincher was given an intentional pass to load the bases and create a force everywhere. Wayne Comer lifted one to Leroy Stanton in right to plate Harper and win the game for the Pilots.