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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CINCINNATI (AP) – Deion Sanders' big-league comeback was as
sensational as anything he's done with a football.
|  | | Deion Sanders 3-for-3 night for the Reds includes one of several standing ovations, this one after he hit a three-run homer in the second inning. |
The storied NFL cornerback with the nondescript baseball career
made it back to the major leagues Tuesday, and proved he belonged.
Sanders went 3-for-3 with a homer, two singles and a teary curtain
call, measuring up to the spotlight during the Cincinnati Reds' 7-6
victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"This is Day 1," said Dmitri Young, who singled home the
go-ahead run in the seventh inning. "We're 1-0 in Prime Time."
By any measure, it was a remarkable beginning.
Sanders, who hadn't seen a major league pitch since 1997,
singled sharply to center on his first pitch from Eric Gagne. An
inning later, he pulled Gagne's first pitch – an up-and-in fastball
– for a three-run homer that brought an emotional curtain call for
30,000 delirious fans.
"I wish my vocabulary was equipped enough to explain it,"
Sanders said. "I was moved – teary moved. For one thing, I never
received an ovation like that."
Sanders also bunted for a single, stole a base and had a
sacrifice that put Barry Larkin in position to score the
tiebreaking run in the seventh inning.
While vendors walked the aisles hawking Ken Griffey Jr. jerseys,
Sanders provided the star power that Cincinnati had missed all
season. Griffey, whom Sanders replaced, went 0-for-12 as a
pinch-hitter before going on the disabled list with a torn
hamstring.
Forget Junior. For one night, this was Deion's team.
"I marvel at the fact that he's the kind of athlete that he
is," manager Bob Boone said. "What he does doesn't surprise me.
What he does is hard for any human to do. God gave Deion something
he left off my plate."
In the other dugout, they were marveling, too.
"That's a fairly incredible athlete you're talking about,"
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. "He takes time off of football and
runs punts back, too."
Sanders staked the Reds to a 6-3 lead, but the Dodgers tied it
with three unearned runs in the seventh on Dave Hansen's
bases-loaded double off Mark Wohlers (1-0). Sanders then played a
part in the Reds' go-ahead rally.
Larkin led off the bottom of the inning with a single off Matt
Herges (1-2), and Sanders made a perfect bunt. Young's two-out
single to left put the Reds up 7-6.
Scott Sullivan pitched the eighth, and Danny Graves got three
outs for his ninth save in 10 chances.
It was difficult to gauge Sanders' impact on ticket sales
because the Reds already had revived fan interest with a 5-1 road
trip. Approximately 2,800 fans lined up for tickets before the
game.
In all, the Reds sold 21,473 tickets for Sanders' return and had
another 9,075 fans in the stands on complimentary Little League
tickets.
Sanders was a curiosity when he went to the plate for his first
big-league at-bat since Sept. 4, 1997, a span of 1,364 days.
Sanders was called up Tuesday – the first day he was eligible under
baseball rules – after leading the International League in hitting
with a .459 average.
The crowd cheered loudly when Sanders dug in, his pants legs
pulled up to the bottom of his knees to show off his bright red
socks. Gagne left his first pitch over the plate, and Sanders lined
it sharply to center, then pointed to the sky as a religious
gesture after rounding first.
Two runners were aboard when Sanders came up again in the
second. Gagne got a fastball up, and Sanders pulled it over the
wall in right field, pumping his right arm in celebration once he
realized it was a homer.
"Trust me, I wasn't trying to hit a home run," Sanders said.
"That's not part of my game."
It was on this night.
"We had scouting reports on him," Gagne said. "I knew how to
pitch to him. I thought it was a good pitch. He just got it. It was
up and way inside."
He also bunted to the right of the mound for a single in the
fifth inning, stole a base and came around on Aaron Boone's single
for a 6-1 lead.
Game notes
A photograph of Sanders in a Dallas Cowboys uniform, his
arms raised in triumph, is featured in an advertisement on the back
cover of the Dodgers' media guide. ... Dodgers LF Gary Sheffield
emerged from an 0-for-12 slump with four singles. ... C Paul LoDuca
was a late scratch from the Dodgers' lineup because of a strained
muscle in his left side. ... INF Adrian Beltre began working out at
the Dodgers' spring training complex in Vero Beach, Fla. He had
surgery on March 12 for a wound in his lower right abdomen, the
result of surgery for a ruptured appendix in January. ... 1B Sean
Casey was out of the Reds' lineup because of a bruised left foot,
which was hit by a pitch on Sunday. Young moved from left field to
first, opening a spot for Sanders. ... Sanders' homer was his first
in the majors since Aug. 11, 1997, off San Francisco's Pat Rapp.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Los Angeles Clubhouse
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Returning to Prime Time: Sanders back in baseball, vague on football
Kurkjian: Deion is amazing
RECAPS
Baltimore 3
Tampa Bay 1
Cleveland 13
Kansas City 2
NY Yankees 4
Minnesota 0
Detroit 6
Texas 3
Anaheim 6
Chi. White Sox 4
Toronto 5
Oakland 4
Boston 2
Seattle 0
Cincinnati 7
Los Angeles 6
Florida 4
St. Louis 3
Arizona 8
Montreal 3
Philadelphia 7
Colorado 1
San Francisco 11
Pittsburgh 6
NY Mets 7
Houston 5
Milwaukee 5
Atlanta 3
San Diego 10
Chicago Cubs 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Deion Sanders entertains questions during the Reds' post-game news conference.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Deion Sanders talks with ESPN's Solomon Wilcots after going 3-for-3 in his return.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
Post-game comments on Deion Sanders' successful return to baseball.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN'
'Cable Modem
 Gary Sheffield worked with Deion Sanders on his hitting and it seems to have paid off.
wav: 138 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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