Yankees 8 – Mariners 3
SEATTLE – Alfonso Soriano is a 30-30 man and the Yankees are burning holes in the AL East.
Soriano became the first second baseman in baseball history to club 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season when he launched a solo homer in the seventh inning that helped the streaking Yankees topple the Mariners, 8-3, yesterday in front of a sun-bathed Safeco Field crowd of 46,174.
Soriano, who also swiped his American League-leading 34th base in the fourth when the Yankees scored four runs, is the 42nd player in history to go 30-30 and the second Yankee to do it. Bobby Bonds hit 32 homers and swiped 30 pillows in 1975. Soriano’s 30 homers tied the Yankee record for homers by a second baseman. Joe Gordon hit 30 dingers in 1940.
Soriano’s historic homer off James Baldwin was one of four by the Yankees, who have won six straight and are an AL-best 77-44. Jorge Posada hit his 20th and John Vander Wal went deep for the sixth time. Both homers were hit in the fourth when the Yankees stretched a 1-0 lead into a 5-0 bulge against loser Ryan Franklin (4-3).
Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer off Baldwin in the ninth for an 8-3 advantage. It was Jeter’s 20th.
Mike Mussina delivered his best performance since losing to the Red Sox and Pedro Martinez, 4-2, on July 19 when he allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits. Yesterday, Mussina worked seven innings and allowed two runs and five hits. He is 15-6 with a chance to win 20 games for the first time in his career.
Steve Karsay recorded the final five outs for his fifth save.
The Yankees go for a sweep of the Mariners today when they can finish their last long road trip of the season with a 6-0 ledger. That would be the second time this year they went six-for-six away from The Bronx. They accomplished that in St. Petersburg and Minnesota from May 7-12. It would be the seventh perfect sojourn in franchise history.
Bernie Williams singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 11 straight at-bats, but he fell one short of the record of 12 when he grounded out in the third. Williams finished 2-for-4. It was Williams’ eighth consecutive multi-hit game. The last Yankee to do that was Mike Easler in 1986.
Rondell White started for the first time after sitting out the previous two games and ended a 0-for-27 slide with a second-inning, one-out single. White went 1-for-4.
Mussina had several reasons to disagree with umpire Matt Hollowell’s strike zone but still only allowed one hit through five when he had a 5-0 lead.
Hollowell appeared to miss a 3-2 pitch to John Olerud in the first and a 3-1 pitch to Ruben Sierra in the second. There was no question that Mussina and Posada strongly believed Hollowell missed a 1-2 pitch to Olerud in the fourth because the pitch was right down the middle and called a ball.
Mussina stared straight into the plate and Posada kept up a running dialogue with Hollowell while Olerud stood in the batter’s box.
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AL 30-30
1922 // Ken Williams // St. Lou. // LF // 1922 // 39 // 37 // 153
1970 // Tommy Harper // Mil. // 3B // 31 // 38 // 154
1975 // Bobby Bonds // Yankees // RF // 32 // 30 // 145
1977 // Bobby Bonds // Cal. // RF // 37 // 41 // 158
1978 // Bobby Bonds // Chi./Tex. // RF // 31 // 43 // 156
1987 // Joe Carter // Cle. // 1B // 32 // 31 // 149
1988 // Jose Canseco // Oak. // RF // 42 // 40 // 158
1998 // Alex Rodriguez // Sea. // SS // 42 // 46 // 161
1998 // Shawn Green // Tor. // RF // 35 // 35 // 158
2001 // Jose Cruz, Jr. // Tor. // CF // 34 // 32 // 146
2002 // Alfonso Soriano // Yankees // 2B // 30 // 34 // 116
