Rodney overcomes wardrobe malfunction for save

ATLANTA -- Mariners closer Fernando Rodney didn't need a phone booth to change into a superhero costume on Tuesday night, but he did need a phone to call for a different jersey after discovering he was wearing the wrong one when he started warming up for his ninth-inning save in Seattle's 7-5 victory over the Braves.

Rodney said he just put on the jersey that was hung in front of his locker before the game, like he always does. But when he pulled off his warmup jacket to start loosening up, his teammates quickly noticed he had on his batting practice jersey with gray mesh sides instead of the all-blue game jersey.

"They're the same colored jersey," Rodney said with a shrug after his quick change prior to recording his 15th save of the year. "There were two outs in the [top of the ninth] and [fellow reliever Yoervis] Medina said, 'You've got the wrong one.' I just called to the dugout and said, 'Send my jersey.'"

"I'm pretty sure that was the fastest that clubbie has run in his whole life to get that jersey down there," said Tom Wilhelmsen, who already had thrown two innings of relief of his own on a day the Mariners bullpen tossed six scoreless frames in the comeback win.

There was a slight delay as Rodney changed shirts before running onto the field for the bottom of the ninth, but he said he still had all the time he needed for his normal warm-up.

"I just kept going," Rodney said. "Maybe it worked out having the wrong jersey. We made it work. We made it happen. It was a good game."

While his teammates gave him some good-natured ribbing, the veteran got no grief from his skipper, Lloyd McClendon, who was just happy to have the save in hand.

"What the heck. Blue is blue," McClendon said. "That's the jersey that was hung in front of his locker. I've made that mistake before, too."