 Griffey wound up being the first batter Rowland-Smith faced; he struck him out, proceeding to pitch 1 scoreless innings in a 16–1 Mariners loss.He did not allow a run in consecutive innings spanning five games from August 22 to 31.In the first game of that stretch, he struck out six batters in four scoreless innings of relief in an 8–4 loss to the Twins.