Mariners
Mussina, Yankees deep-six Mariners

By Bob Sherwin
Seattle Times staff reporter

ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Ichiro hits the wall after failing to make a play on Gary Sheffield's smash in the seventh inning. The Yankees hit six doubles during the sixth and seventh innings.

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In Gil Meche's mind, there was no one else around, no one who could help him. He believed that it was all up to him last night to prevent the New York Yankees from beating the Mariners.

He tried to chase those thoughts out of his head in the sixth inning, but it was the Yankees who chased him.

They strung together four straight doubles on the way to a 6-0 victory before 46,454 at Safeco Field. That was the second-largest crowd in the 5-year-old park's history, behind Friday's gathering of 46,491.

Meche, the Mariners' right-hander, had been in a clash of efficiency and attrition with Yankees starter Mike Mussina. Through five innings, Meche had thrown 86 pitches, to Mussina's 70. Neither pitcher had allowed a run, and both had yielded just three hits.

However, Meche came undone in the sixth inning, and Alex Rodriguez did the undoing. Rodriguez opened the inning with a double down the left-field line.

"I had Alex on second base, and the way Mussina was pitching, I knew I had to keep it close," Meche said. "I wasn't trying to match how the other guy was throwing the ball, but it was obvious he had pretty good stuff. I tried my best to keep the score down."

Jason Giambi followed with a double over center fielder Quinton McCracken's head, driving in Rodriguez.

Almost like he couldn't help himself, Meche threw a fastball to Gary Sheffield, a good fastball hitter who had just four hits in his previous 23 at-bats. Sheffield sent a liner to left field that Raul Ibanez appeared to track. But as he made a dive for the ball, it sailed past him to the wall. Giambi scored and Sheffield was credited with a double.

	ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Gil Meche gathers himself after giving up four straight doubles and three runs in the sixth.

Then Meche threw another 3-2 fastball to fastball-hitting Jorge Posada, who entered the game hitless in his past 10 at-bats. He stroked his third straight hit in the game — an RBI double — into the right-center-field gap.

Just like that — four batters, four doubles, three runs.

"It was still a tie ballgame (to start the inning). I realized that I couldn't let this get away from me," Meche said. "I just didn't make good pitches."

Pitching coach Bryan Price said the first instinct of a pitcher is damage control, and Meche lost that battle. But Price said he shouldn't lose sight of the bigger picture.

"We have 25 guys trying to win the game. Sometimes, when you're trying not to give up one run, you give up three or four," Price said. "You have to let the other guys play defense behind you and be a part of helping you win that game."

Left-handed reliever Ron Villone finished the sixth inning without damage. But in the seventh, he gave up a two-run home run to Giambi and two more doubles, consecutively to Sheffield and Posada, who was 4 for 4.

It seemed like an unofficial doubles weekend at Safeco. Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez celebrated Friday by reaching 500 doubles for his career. Then last night the Yankees attempted to do it in one game, mashing seven doubles.

Once presented with a 3-0 lead, Mussina just rolled on, efficient and effective. The Mariners' offense rolled over, morose and moribund.

They got just one more hit off Mussina (3-4), who allowed four hits and threw 123 pitches in eight innings.

Reliever Paul Quantrill finished the ninth.

In 23 starts against Seattle over his 14-year career, Mussina is 16-5 with a 3.35 earned-run average. He is the eighth pitcher to beat the Mariners at least 16 times.

"We didn't swing the bats as well as (Friday), but I think Mussina had a lot to do with that," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said.

Mussina entered the game carrying a 5.88 ERA but recovered his old form amid the softness of the Mariners' lineup.

The Mariners had scoring chances in the opening two innings, as Ichiro started it in the first and ended it in the second.

The right fielder began the first inning with a lofted single to center. Bret Boone, who sat out Friday's game with a sore back, ripped a one-out single past Mussina, moving Ichiro to third. Ibanez struck out — his first of three strikeouts — and Edgar Martinez forced Boone at second.

In the second inning, Rich Aurilia sliced a one-out single to center, just his second hit in 15 at-bats this homestand. With two outs, McCracken walked. Then Mussina ended it with a strikeout of Ichiro.

"He was able to get out of trouble and pitch out of that (first-inning) jam," Yankees manager Joe Torre said of Mussina. "He seemed to throw, location-wise, what he wanted. But it wasn't an easy game to pitch. Meche pitched well. And when it's nothing-nothing, every pitch counts."

Mussina made them count a little more. After a two-out walk in the second, he retired the next 14 batters. He walked John Olerud with one out in the seventh, then retired the next three before Ichiro's one-out single in the eighth. Seattle never got a runner to second base after the second inning.

The Mariners did come away with one bright spot — the effort of reliever J.J. Putz. He took over in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced, five on strikeouts.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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