Mariners handle Orioles 6-5
Griffey hits homer No. 48; Rodriguez steals 40th base
Posted: Saturday September 05, 1998 11:48 PM
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Griffey's homer was the 342nd of his career, tying him with Ron Santo for 54th place on the career list AP |
SEATTLE (AP) -- For Ken Griffey
Jr., home run No. 48 had drama written all over it.
It's just too bad all the drama went out of the Seattle Mariners'
season a long time ago.
"I just want to finish strong and help this team finish strong,"
Griffey said Saturday after hitting his go-ahead, three-run shot in the
eighth led the Mariners to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mariners, last season's AL West champs, are attempting to avoid
finishing last. They're 12 games under .500 with 22 to go.
"You can still go out there and have some pride and be a spoiler," said
Griffey, who led the AL with 56 homers last season.
Griffey's homer came on a day when St. Louis' Mark McGwire
closed within one of Roger Maris' record.
"I was more pleased with Junior's 48th than I was with McGwire's 60th,"
manager Lou Piniella said. "Sixty is a lot of home runs. You might be
seeing 70."
Griffey didn't want to talk about McGwire's feat. He did want to talk
about teammate Alex
Rodriguez, who stole his 40th base in his bid to become the third
player in history to have 40 stolen bases and 40 homers in the same season.
"I'm looking forward to the next two home runs our shortstop hits,"
Griffey said of Rodriguez, who has 38 homers.
With Seattle trailing 5-2, Rodriguez hit an RBI single off Armando
Benitez (5-4) and Griffey followed with his first home run since August
30 at New York. The ball went an estimated 429 feet over the center-field
fence.
"Their big guy expanded the plate and drove it," Orioles manager Ray
Miller said. "That's why he makes a lot of money."
Benitez blew a save opportunity for the third time in 22 chances this
season. The Orioles, who have faded from the wild-card race, have lost 13
of 15.
Miller was critical of Benitez for not holding the lead.
"If you're going to be a closer, those guys are the guys you have to
get out," he said.
Rodriguez, seeking to join Jose Canseco
and Barry
Bonds in the 40-40 club, got his 40th steal in the fifth inning with
the Mariners trailing 4-1. He singled, stole second, took third on
Griffey's flyout and scored on Edgar
Martinez's infield single.
"I always want to do things when they count and they're significant in
the game," Rodriguez said. "Sure, this feels good. It's something I want to
accomplish."
Greg
McCarthy (1-2) got three outs for the victory, and Mike Timlin
finished for his 13th save.
Baltimore starter Scott
Erickson allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Seattle's
Ken Cloude walked a career-high nine in five-plus innings, giving up four
runs and six hits.
Harold
Baines gave Baltimore its 4-1 lead in the fifth with a two-run homer, a
445-foot shot into the Kingdome's third deck in right field.
In the fourth, Griffey, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, threw wildly
into the Mariners' dugout after B.J. Surhoff's
bloop single to center. The error allowed Cal Ripken to
score from third for an unearned run that made it 1-all.
Surhoff had an RBI single for Baltimore in the seventh. Seattle got a
run-scoring single from Raul Ibanez in the second.
Notes: Griffey committed his fifth error of the season. ... Ripken
lined a ball over Griffey's head for a double in the seventh. He has 1,506
runs, tying him with Mike Schmidt for 51st on the career list. ... Baines'
eighth homer of the season was the 27th of his career against the Mariners.
... Rodriguez had his 56th multi-hit game of the season. He came into the
game tied with Derek Jeter of
the New York
Yankees for the most multihit games in the AL. ... Fifty-eight of
Cloude's 109 pitches were balls. ... Rodriguez became the first Mariners
player since 1987 to steal 40 bases. ... Griffey's homer was the 342nd of
his career, tying him with Ron Santo for 54th place on the career list.
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