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Friday, Apr. 7 10:05pm ET
A-Rod hits 150th career homer | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- Mike Cameron did his best Ken Griffey Jr. impersonation with a spectacular eighth-inning catch to rob Derek Jeter of a home run. And Alex Rodriguez hit his 150th career homer as the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees 7-5 on Friday night. "You know who that reminded me of," manager Lou Piniella said of Cameron's catch. "What a great play out in center field. He just took that ball 3 feet or so over the wall and timed it perfectly. He's an athlete." Last year, the Mariners went 1-9 against the Yankees, including a four-game sweep Aug. 5-8 at Safeco Field. Seattle won its third straight game after losing its opener to Boston's Pedro Martinez. The Yankees, seeking their third straight World Series title, lost their second straight following a 2-0 start. Rodriguez tied Mickey Mantle at 24 years, 254 days as the fourth-youngest player to reach 150 homers, trailing only Mel Ott (23 years, 196 days) Eddie Matthews (23 years, 332 days) and Griffey (24 years, 180 days). "I didn't even realize that until it was up on the scoreboard," teammate Jay Buhner said. "He didn't let anybody really know that until they flashed it up on the board. Yeah, that's very impressive. That's quite an awesome feat. There's going to be a few more major accomplishment this kid's going to do in years to come. There's no doubt about it." With one out in the eighth and the Mariners ahead 6-3, Jeter hit a ball just left of straightaway center and Cameron, acquired from Cincinnati in the Griffey trade, jumped against the wall and got his glove high over the fence to snare the drive. He was rewarded with an extended standing ovation. "He is filling some big shoes," Jeter said of Griffey, who was a 10-time Gold Glove winner in Seattle. "It's not fair to expect him to do what Griffey did, but defensively he can play as well as anyone." Jeter thought Cameron had a chance. "I hit it good, but I hit it high," he said. "I didn't know how far it would go, but when I saw him timing it, I said, 'He's going to catch it."' Cameron, 27, called it the best catch of his career. And the most rewarding. "I got a standing `O' two or three minutes there," he said. "It was so loud I couldn't even hear myself think. It kind of gave me goosebumps that everybody was focused on me." Rodriguez homered in the first, his second of the year, sending a low, outside pitch from Andy Pettitte (0-1) to the opposite field in right. Pettitte balked in Joe Oliver in the second, but Jeter's first homer of the season, a two-run drive off John Halama (1-0) tied the score in the third. New York went ahead 3-2 in the fifth when Clay Bellinger doubled, took third on Jeter's flyout and scored when second baseman David Bell mishandled the throw to the infield from right fielder Buhner. Joe Oliver, who made the Mariners' opening-day roster because of a knee injury to backup catcher Tom Lampkin, hit a two-run homer in the fifth off following an RBI double by Buhner for a 5-3 lead. Oliver raised his fist while circling the bases. Rodriguez added a sacrifice fly in the sixth off Ramiro Mendoza and John Olerud had an RBI double in the eighth off Mike Stanton. Shane Spencer hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Paul Abbott, and Kazuhiro Sasaki, pitching for the third straight day, got three straight outs for his second save, retiring Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada on grounders, then striking out pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee. Halama allowed three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in six innings. Pettitte, again struggling with his control, gave up five runs, seven hits and four walks in five innings. Game notesBernie Williams was back in center field for the Yankees after being used as the Yankees' DH in their first three games because of a sore shoulder. ... Edgar Martinez, Seattle's DH, missed his third straight game because of soreness in his left elbow. He took batting practice but felt discomfort in his elbow. He was hit by a pitch March 26, then played in Tuesday night's opener. ... Pettitte's career record in April dropped to 12-5. April is the best month of his career. ... Halama beat the Yankees for the first time in four career appearances. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard NY Yankees Clubhouse Seattle Clubhouse RECAPS Kansas City 10 Minnesota 6
Seattle 7
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