Opponent: Boston Red Sox
When: 5:05 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: ESPN (cable)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Pitchers: Seattle right-hander James Baldwin (3-2, 5.36 earned run average) vs. Pedro Martinez (4-0, 3.49)
Kazuhiro Sasaki came back from his emergency trip to Japan on Saturday and found a new contract waiting for him to sign.
The Mariners announced that they had signed Sasaki, who needs 10 more saves to break the franchise record, to a two-year contract extension with a club option for the 2005 season.
“It’s comforting to know we’ve got a closer in place the next two years,” manager Lou Piniella said.
Neither side would reveal financial terms, although general manager Pat Gillick facetiously tossed out a hint.
“Seven figures,” he said, cracking a grin.
Sasaki is making $5.07 million this year, the last of a three-year contract. He came to the Mariners in 1999 after playing 10 years in Japan and would have become a free agent after this season.
Sasaki’s agent, Tony Attanasio, approached the Mariners last August with an extension proposal.
“We’d prefer to have gotten it done earlier, but the sticking point wasn’t so much the length but the financial terms,” Gillick said.
Both the Mariners and Sasaki are glad to have reached a deal before Sasaki entered free agency, where the only certainty would have been a high-dollar chess game.
“I don’t know what the market is,” Gillick said. “But when you go into free agency, there’s always a chance you lose a guy.”
Sasaki was overjoyed to secure at least two extra years with the Mariners.
“I love the city of Seattle and I love my teammates,” he said. “I love the Mariners and I wanted to play here. I wasn’t thinking of (playing with) anybody else.”
Gillick said there are no other negotiations on contract extensions.
Family illness: Sasaki said he returned to Japan on Thursday because his wife, Kaori, had become ill.
“My wife was sick and I went back,” he said. “I know it was a difficult thing for our team.”
Before he made the long flight back to Seattle, Sasaki watched Friday night’s Mariners-Red Sox game on TV and said he couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I was like a fan,” he said. “With every pitch, I was cheering.”
Coming attractions: Here are the pitching matchups for the three-game series at Toronto: Tuesday – Freddy Garcia vs. Brandon Lyon. Wednesday – Jamie Moyer vs. Luke Prokopec. Thursday – Joel Pineiro vs. TBA.
The Snelling Show: Outfielder Chris Snelling, less than two weeks into his season after suffering a broken thumb in spring training, continues to rip apart opposing pitchers at Class AA San Antonio.
He went 3-for-5 Friday night with a double, one RBI and a run in the Missions’ 7-4 loss to El Paso. In nine games since his return, Snelling was batting .395 with 10 RBI.
Kirby Arnold
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