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Yankees vs. A's |
Mariners vs. White Sox |
Braves vs. Cardinals |
Mets vs. Giants
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Monday, October 9
M's confidence snowballs with sweep
Associated Press
SEATTLE -- Now that they've swept the team with the American
League's top record, the Seattle Mariners can look ahead to the AL
Championship Series -- and maybe their first trip to the World
Series.
"We're having a lot of fun," Aaron Sele said after Friday's
2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox completed the three-game sweep.
"Hopefully, we can carry this through."
Seattle starts the ALCS on Tuesday at New York or Oakland. The
Mariners beat the Yankees 6-4 in the season series but were
thumped 9-4 by the Athletics, who finished a half-game in front of
Seattle to win the AL West.
"We're doing it with good pitching and good defense," John
Olerud said. "That's what this team was built for."
Seattle held the highest-scoring team in the major leagues to
seven runs and 17 hits in three games. The Mariners' bullpen threw
11 2/3 scoreless innings.
"They're on a roll now," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said.
"They're playing extremely well."
After a day off Saturday, the Mariners will work out Sunday at
Safeco before leaving for New York or Oakland, trying to build on
their run.
Seattle went 19-10 in September, clinching the wild-card berth
on the final day of the regular season.
These aren't the same Mariners who moved from the Kingdome to
$517.6 million Safeco Field on July 15, 1999. The team that Ken
Griffey Jr. used to lead with home runs now wins with pitching and
defense -- five double plays and just one error in the three games
against the White Sox.
The series-winning hit came on a squeeze bunt by Carlos Guillen
that scored Rickey Henderson. It was Seattle's fourth successful
bunt of the game.
"Earlier in the year, we weren't bunting the ball well,"
Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. "All of a sudden, we got
ourselves in a groove."
Alex Rodriguez, who hit 41 home runs during the regular season,
sacrificed Raul Ibanez to second base in the fourth inning. Ibanez
wound up scoring the tying run.
Like Griffey, Rodriguez doesn't like hitting at Safeco. He had
28 of his home runs on the road this season.
So bunting in the fourth inning Friday was a no-brainer for him.
"You couldn't depend on a long ball in that situation,"
Rodriguez said. "It's not going to happen in this ballpark. We had
to do some sacrifices. There was a lot of value in a run today."
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