Martinez ignites Mariners rally, 6-2
He hit a two-run homer and his 500th career double against the Yankees.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- Edgar Martinez stood at second base for the first standing ovation. He was deep inside the clubhouse for the next one.
Martinez hit a two-run homer and drove in two more runs with his 500th career double, leading the Seattle Mariners over the New York Yankees 6-2 on Friday night.
"He's too old. He shouldn't be playing anymore," Yankees manager Joe Torre said jokingly before giving Martinez a respectful nod. "He sure knows how to hit. He has a plan every time he's at the plate."
Martinez was cheered as he stood at second in the first inning after he became the 39th player since 1900 to hit 500 doubles. It drove in Randy Winn and Scott Spiezio to put the Mariners ahead 2-0.
"I haven't hit the ball hard in probably three weeks," Martinez said. "Today was a good day. We won and I felt better at the plate. It felt good to be able to help the team and at the same time to get the win."
After the inning, his milestone was announced again -- a potential curtain call. Unfortunately for his adoring fans, the slugger was inside the clubhouse looking for another bat.
"I broke my bat and I went down to find another," he explained with a smile. "I didn't know that I had a standing ovation. I apologize to the fans for that. I felt terrible when I heard they clapped for two minutes."
Franklin gets win
Ryan Franklin (2-2) pitched into the seventh, a strong performance in front of the largest crowd in Safeco Field history.
"When the stands are packed like that, it gets your adrenaline going more than usual," Franklin said. "Especially with the Yankees in town and the kind of team they've got, with their offense. You raise your level a little bit."
New York's Jon Lieber (1-1) made his second start of the year after missing last season following Tommy John surgery. He allowed six runs and nine hits in six innings, with two strikeouts and a wild pitch that gave up a run.
The Yankees lost their second straight after an eight-game winning streak.
Franklin allowed two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and four walks, then turned it over to Shigetoshi Hasegawa to extinguish a Yankees threat.
Hasegawa inherited runners at first and second, and he allowed a two-out RBI single by Derek Jeter that pulled the Yankees to 6-2. But Alex Rodriguez popped out in foul territory.
Athletics 11, Twins 9
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Eric Byrnes popped out to second when he had chance to win the game in the 11th inning.
He made his next at-bat count, hitting a two-run homer in the 13th inning to give the Oakland Athletics the win.
"You always dream about second chances and I got a second chance," he said. "It was awesome!"
The A's snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Twins and won their first extra-inning game this year. There were 504 total pitches thrown in a game that lasted 4 hours, 53 minutes.
On Tuesday night, the Twins played the longest game of the season -- a 16-inning, 4-3 loss in Seattle.
"These long games, we've played enough of them already," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
First walkoff homer
Byrnes hit his first career walkoff homer to left off Terry Mulholland (0-1), who pitched 32/3 innings for the loss. The last game-ending homer he can remember hitting came as a freshman in college for UCLA to beat Stanford.
Chad Bradford (2-1), the A's sixth pitcher used, worked three innings for the win.
"He's unbelievable," Byrnes said.
While the A's still had Jim Mecir as an option to pitch, the Twins were looking at backup catcher Rob Bowen as their next choice. Gardenhire was thankful it didn't come to that.
"You don't think about how or when the game is going to end, you just go out and try to make your pitches," 18-year veteran Mulholland said.
Joe Nathan blew his first save in the eighth. He entered with two runners on and walked the first two batters he faced, including Erubiel Durazo with the bases loaded to force in the tying run.
Pinch-hitter Jose Offerman gave Minnesota a temporary lead with a double -- his 1,500th career hit -- in the Twins' four-run eighth.
Jermaine Dye had a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give the A's the lead, but Oakland's struggling bullpen let it slip away once again.
Cristian Guzman had a career-high five hits, singling to lead off the 13th. He had four hits in a game nine times.
The Twins got six hits in the eighth, four off Chris Hammond. Minnesota also capitalized on a walk and a throwing error by center fielder Mark Kotsay.
The A's hit three home runs before Byrnes' shot, but that wasn't enough to avoid another bullpen collapse.
"I can't say that was one of the prettiest games we played all year," A's manager Ken Macha said.
Dye's flyout to right scored Byrnes, who led off the inning with a single off Joe Roa. The A's added another run later in the inning when J.C. Romero walked Bobby Crosby with the bases loaded.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
43
