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GAME LOG
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki speaks little English, but he understood manager Lou Piniella's decision to put the potential winning run on first base in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday night.
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The strategy was successful, with Sasaki nailing down his third save in the Mariners' 6-5 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Frank Catalanotto singled pinch-hitting for Doug Mirabelli to start the last of the ninth, and Randy Velarde doubled one out
later. Then Alex Rodriguez doubled for the third time in the game, driving in two runs to cut the Mariners' lead to a run.
Piniella visited the mound and told Sasaki to walk Rafael Palmeiro and bring Andres Galarraga to the plate.
"I don't like to put the winning run on base, but Palmeiro is
such a good hitter and it kept the double play in order," said
Piniella, who later added, "I told him we weren't going to mess
around with Palmeiro and he (Sasaki) agreed."
Sasaki struck out Galarraga and got Ken Caminiti on a grounder
to second baseman Bret Boone to end the game.
"That's what Lou decided and I wanted to go with that plan,"
said Sasaki through an interpreter. "I knew we had to get two more
outs and it didn't matter how we did it."
Boone had three RBI, two with a single that keyed a three-run fifth inning, as the Mariners overcame former teammate Alex Rodriguez to hand the Rangers their third straight defeat.
Seattle is expected to contend this season behind its pitching and defense, but Boone said it's a mistake to overlook the Mariners' offense.
"We're good offensively, a lot better than people think we are," said Boone, who went 3-for-5. "Our team isn't built around offense, it's built around defense and pitching. But we're going to have a good offensive team."
The Mariners padded their lead to 6-3 with two runs in the ninth
off Rangers closer Tim Crabtree. Boone had an RBI double and Stan
Javier added a run-scoring single.
"It's the same old story," said Rangers manager Johnny Oates. "We've yet to get to where we're consistently making pitches."
Rodriguez saved a run with an outstanding play at shortstop, and drove in two runs in the ninth for his first RBI in a Texas uniform to help the Rangers make it close.
Ryan Franklin (1-0) pitched three innings of two-hit shutout relief for the Mariners to pick up his first big league victory. Doug Davis (0-1) allowed four runs and seven hits over 4 2/3
innings.
Galarraga and Caminiti hit consecutive fourth-inning homers to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead, but the Mariners rallied an inning later.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, but could have had
more. Mike Cameron led off with a single and scored on Edgar
Martinez's double. Martinez held at third when John Olerud singled.
After Boone was retired on a fly to shallow right field,
Rodriguez dived into the hole to make a spectacular backhanded grab
of Anthony Sanders' liner. Then David Bell flied out to end the inning.
Texas chased Seattle starter Brett Tomko in the fourth. Rodriguez led off with a double into the left field corner and scored ahead on Galarraga's homer into the right field seats.
Caminiti followed with his first AL homer.
Davis walked Olerud with the bases loaded to force in one run in
the fifth, then and Boone followed with his two-run single for a 4-3 lead.
Rodriguez, the $252 million free agent, also doubled in the
fourth and seventh innings and played flawless defense in eight
chances against his former teammates.
Game notes
With three doubles, Rodriguez tied a Rangers record for the 18th time. ...Sasaki's Japanese countryman, Ichiro Suzuki, beat out
two infield singles for the Mariners. ...Galarraga has 362 career
homers, moving him past Joe DiMaggio and into 52nd on the all-time
list, three behind Juan Gonzalez. ... Oates kept catcher Ivan
Rodriguez out of the starting lineup, giving him a night off before
Sunday's day game. Doug Mirabelli got his first start for the Rangers in place of Rodriguez. Oates said he will rest Velarde, Caminiti and Chad Curtis on Sunday, and will play Galarraga at first base, with Rafael Palmeiro moving to DH. ...Tomko was making his first start since June 6, 2000. ...The Mariners have won eight of their past 10 meetings with the Rangers.
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