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SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Faced with what amounted to their first must-win situation of the season, the record-setting Seattle Mariners responded like a team that won 116 games during the regular season. Mike Cameron and Edgar Martinez belted two-run homers in an improbable first-inning outburst and Jamie Moyer tossed six dominant innings before tiring as the Mariners posted a 5-1 triumph over the Cleveland Indians that evened their American League Division Series at one win apiece. After a regular season in which they tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs' major league record for wins, the Mariners were shut down by Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon in Game One of the best-of-five series. Facing the prospect of falling behind two games to none with the next two games in Cleveland, Seattle rocked Indians starter Chuck Finley (0-1) for four runs before he got an out. Japanese rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki, who walked just seven times in 192 at-bats against lefthanders during the regular season, drew a five-pitch walk to start the first. Cameron, who was 1-for-17 lifetime against Finley, crushed an 0-2 pitch over the left-field wall for a 2-0 lead. "I left a fastball over the plate to Cameron," Finley said. "I was trying to come in, but I didn't get it in enough. He got the ball out in front and hit it pretty good." Boone, who was 1-for-6 lifetime against Finley and 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the series opener, grounded a single up the middle and Martinez, just 17-for-70 against Finley, lined the next pitch over the wall in center field for a four-run cushion. "I couldn't really tell where that pitch was," Finley said. "It was away a little bit and I didn't really think he hit it that good. I was kind of surprised he got on that ball pretty good. Usually he is a more patient hitter, but he was up there hacking." That was more than enough for the 38-year-old Moyer (1-0), who this season became the oldest pitcher in major league history to win 20 games for the first time. The crafty lefthander allowed a run and five hits in his second career postseason start. Moyer, who walked one and struck out four, also continued his recent domination of the Indians. Despite entering the year with a 3-7 lifetime mark against Cleveland, Moyer was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in a pair of regular-season starts vs. the Indians. "That was vintage Jamie," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. "We wanted to keep his pitch count low, just in case he has to come back on three days' rest on Monday. He gave us exactly what we needed." "This was a dream come true," Moyer added. "It was a team effort and we played well together today. And I expect we'll go to Cleveland and have the same results." Moyer left with runners at first and second and none out in the seventh and Seattle ahead, 5-0. Jeff Nelson walked Travis Fryman but got Marty Cordova to bounce into a double play and retired Einar Diaz on a lineout to center. Arthur Rhodes struck out one in a perfect eighth before Kazuhiro Sasaki fanned two in the ninth. Finley, who has beaten the Mariners 19 times in his career, was tagged for five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three in his first postseason start. The veteran lefthander was appearing in the playoffs for the first time since Game Six of the 1986 AL Championship Series. "What happened to him was exactly what we did not want to happen," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said. "He made two mistakes -- the home runs were mistakes. We fell behind, 4-0, and after that, Moyer settled in and pitched a good game." "I had a chance to do some good things today," Finley said. "You wait a long time to do it and it turns out like this. I've got to hope I will get a chance to go out and try it again." David Bell's solo homer in the fifth accounted for the Mariners' other run. Game Three is Saturday in Cleveland, where the Mariners will send 15-game winner Aaron Sele to the mound. The Indians counter with talented 21-year-old lefthander C.C. Sabathia, who won 17 games as a rookie. "It was as close to a must-win game as you want to be," Piniella said. "You don't want to lose two ballgames at home and go to your opponent's ballpark and have to win two and come back here. We've tied the series now. ... Now it's down to two out of three." "The way I look at it, it comes down to the best two of three," Manuel added. "We're going home for two games. So do I like our position? Yeah, I like it better. It's a heck of a lot better than being down 0-2." After Finley was rocked early, he retired the next 10 batters. But Moyer was cruising, retiring the first eight batters he faced. "I felt that was pretty important," Moyer said of his strong start. "It keeps the momentum on our side and allows us to establish ourselves in the game." Omar Vizquel opened the fourth with a walk and Juan Gonzalez singled up the middle one out later. But Moyer retired Ellis Burks on a long flyout to right before striking out Jim Thome. The only other inning in which Cleveland had two runners on was the seventh, when Nelson escaped the jam. |
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