What a relief

  • KIRBY ARNOLD / Herald Writer
  • Monday, October 9, 2000 9:00pm
  • Sports

By KIRBY ARNOLD

Herald Writer

NEW YORK – Boxers have corner men to nurse their cuts.

Stock car racers have pit crews with duct tape.

The Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees have relief pitching specialists who make the seventh, eighth and ninth innings a never-never land of run support.

Two of baseball’s best late-inning pitching staffs will clash in the American League Championship Series beginning tonight at Yankee Stadium, where the mantra on both sides may be this:

Score early or don’t score at all.

“If anybody can have a big inning in the first five innings, they’ve got a huge advantage,” Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price said. “It very easily could be the key to the series.”

Beyond the fifth, both the Mariners and Yankees have been spectacular on the mound when they’ve called on their bullpens.

Mariners relievers pitched 11 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed only three hits in their three-game sweep of the White Sox in the first round of the playoffs. If their starters can carry the game into the sixth inning, the M’s believe right-handers Jose Mesa and Jose Paniagua, left-hander Arthur Rhodes and right-handed closer Kazuhiro Sasaki are more than able to finish the job.

The Mariners’ bullpen went 2-0 in the three-game sweep of Chicago with two saves and a 0.00 earned run average. The relievers stranded all nine runners they inherited.

“We’ve got experience and we’ve got good arms out there,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. “We’re going to need our bullpen to pitch well. We need to throw strikes and stay away from the high-scoring games.”

Why?

Because the Mariners, who don’t exactly light up the scoreboard offensively, know they won’t go far if they must score late in the game to beat the Yankees.

The Yankees finish with right-handed closer Mariano Rivera, who had 36 saves in the regular season and recorded his record 16th postseason save in Sunday’s 7-5 victory over Oakland to win New York’s first-round series.

“Mariano has been dominant, there’s no question,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “The confidence he has in the postseason games is felt by everybody around him.”

Everybody, that is, who Torre has deemed worthy enough to use.

Torre used only six pitchers in the five games against Oakland, including two relievers – left-hander Mike Stanton and righty Jeff Nelson – besides Rivera. He says he’ll try the same approach in this series, mostly because a trio of ineffective former starters – Dwight Gooden (6-5, 4.54 ERA), David Cone (4-14, 6.91) and left-hander Randy Choate (0-1, 4.76) – comprise the remainder of the bullpen.

The Mariners are a giant leap ahead of the Yanks in middle relief, with Brett Tomko having proven himself in that role with 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 against the White Sox after inheriting a bases-loaded, one-out situation.

The idea, of course, is not to need middle relief at all.

Right-hander Freddy Garcia will get the ball tonight coming off some solid regular-season numbers, 9-5 with a 3.91 ERA, but a two-week period of great concern. In his last two starts, Garcia has allowed six earned runs in 9 1/3 innings, including four runs in 3 1/3 innings last Tuesday in Game 1 against the White Sox. He didn’t face the Yankees this season, and went 1-1 against them last year.

“He’s had a few rough outings lately, but I think he knows what he has to do to be successful,” Price said. “It’s a matter of being aggressive in the strike zone with his stuff. If he’s in and around the zone, he matches up well with everybody (in the Yankee lineup) as far as I’m concerned.”

The Yankees have their worries as well with their Game 1 starter, Denny Neagle. The left-hander (7-7, 5.66) has allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts, neither of which went past 5 1/3 innings. Torre avoided using him in the Oakland series, instead starting Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte on three days of rest.

“The only thing that I’m a little cautious about is the fact that sinkerball pitchers, when they are a little strong (because they haven’t pitched in a long period), tend not to have good sinkerballs,” Torre said.

And when a sinkerball doesn’t sink, it usually flies long and far the other direction.

The Mariners can only hope that’s what happens early in tonight’s game, because the fate that awaits them in the late innings – Stanton, Nelson and Rivera – hasn’t been pleasant to opponents.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Mountlake Terrace’s Svayjeet Singh leaps in the air after the basketball during the 3A district loser-out playoff game against Snohomish on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish upsets Mountlake Terrace for first playoff win in 11 years

Bryson Wheat scored 25 in Panthers’ 49-43 win to advance to the District 1 Boys 3A quarterfinals

Marysville Getchell junior Bubba Palocol reverses directions while dribbling against Arlington during a playoff matchup at Arlington High School on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Arlington, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Prep basketball roundup for Thursday, Feb. 13

Marysville Getchell, Lakewood boys each earn district wins

Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for Feb. 2-8

The Athlete of the Week nominees for Feb. 2-8. Voting closes at… Continue reading

Kenneth Walker III runs with against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 1, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks)
Seahawks hire run game coach

Justin Outten added to staff as Mike Macdonald continues attempts to bolster rushing attack.

Balanced scoring attack leads Gonzaga

Zags take over second place in WCC with 88-77 win over USF.

Julio Rodríguez (left) and manager Dan Wilson (right) of the Seattle Mariners react after the game against the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park on Sept. 27, 2024, in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Dan Wilson begins first spring training as M’s manager

An anxious eagerness to get through the first of… Continue reading

Shorewood senior Bridget Cox (11) elevates to get a shot over Everett senior Aimelie Hovde-Girard (21) in Shorewood's 41-30 win in the opening round of the District 1 3A Girls Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 in Shoreline, Washington. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Shorewood girls basketball avoids Everett upset bid in 41-30 win

Glasser’s ‘dagger’ 3 caps second-half run, pushes No. 5 Stormrays to 3A District 1 Quarterfinals

Prep roundup for Wednesday, Feb. 12

Terrace, Monroe girls advance in district hoops tournament.

Kimberly Beard, a Mukilteo resident who attends King's High School, prepares to release a throw during the 20-pound weight competition at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Donna Beard)
Mukilteo’s Kimberly Beard wins throwing event

The King’s High School junior won the 20-pound weight throw at a George Fox indoor meet.

Seahawks right tackle Abraham Lucas (72), who will be coached by his third offensive line coach in three seasons in 2025, lines up in Seattle's 20-17 win over San Francisco at Levi's Stadium on Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Edwin Hooper / Seattle Seahawks)
Seahawks hire shows they’re serious about offensive line

New offensive coordinator bringing in veterans with hopes of improving front.

Stanwood High School football coach Jeff Scoma talks with the referees during the 3A quarterfinal game against Odea on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Former Stanwood football coach lands new Gig

Jeff Scoma, who resigned midseason in 2024, will coach Gig Harbor H.S. next season.

Mariners among biggest offseason losers

Juan Soto, LA Dodgers are among winners as baseball begins.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.