Yankees Derail Suzuki, Mariners

The New York Yankees stopped Ichiro Suzuki’s hitting streak and they beat the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen too.

Derek Jeter hit a game-tying single in the ninth inning Saturday and Bernie Williams scored the winning run in the 10th as the Yankees rallied for a 2-1 victory at Seattle.

“It was good to steal a win like this,” said Tino Martinez, whose groundout in the 10th moved Williams to third base.

The Mariners had gotten off to the best start in the majors in large part because of their strong bullpen, but closer Kazuhiro Sasaki failed the Mariners.

The Mariners lost their second of 14 series and lost their second in a row for the second time this season.

The Yankees did it with four hits; three singles and a double.

“We’re capable of hitting home runs, but we’re not a home run-hitting team,” Jeter said. “It’s the little things that allow you to win, especially when you get into the postseason.”

Suzuki, the Mariners’ rookie sensation, had his hitting streak stopped at 23 games, one game shy of the franchise record set by Joey Cora in 1997. Suzuki went 0 for 4, going hitless for the third time in 42 games.

“This is not the end of my career,” Suzuki said.

After Jamie Moyer and Arthur Rhodes held the Yankees to one hit through eight innings, Alfonso Soriano singled with one out, stole two bases and scored on Jeter’s two-out hit against Sasaki (0-2) in the ninth.

Soriano’s steal of third was especially crucial because it forced Sasaki to throw a 1-and-2 fastball to Jeter instead of a forkball because he didn’t want to throw a wild pitch.

“He didn’t want to throw a ball down in the dirt,” Martinez said.

Yankee Manager Joe Torre agreed that Soriano’s steal of third, his 14th of the season, was a key play in the game.

“He’s something,” Torre said. “Maybe the biggest deal of the game was going to third base.”

Oakland 4, Chicago 3--Mark Mulder did not give up a hit through 6 2/3 innings at Oakland to help the Athletics to their fifth consecutive victory.

Mulder (5-2) gave up a solo home run to Magglio Ordonez with two out in the seventh inning. The homer, Ordonez’s ninth, sailed just inside the left-field foul pole.

The left-hander departed with two out in the ninth after giving up singles to Tony Graffanino and Ordonez, handing the ball to closer Jason Isringhausen.

“The last thing you wanted to see was to have me give up the three-run homer there and lose the game,” Mulder said.

Isringhausen gave up a two-run double to Paul Konerko before getting Herbert Perry on a groundout for his seventh save in 10 chances.

Minnesota 7, Baltimore 5--Cristian Guzman and Denny Hocking had three hits each and the Twins used a four-run seventh inning to win at Baltimore.

Minnesota starter Joe Mays gave up only three hits--all home runs--in six innings. Mays (6-2) gave up four runs, walked one and struck out two.

Kansas City 6, Boston 2--Hector Ortiz had three hits, including his first major league triple, and drove in two runs for the Royals at Kansas City, Mo.

Ortiz, a 31-year-old rookie who spent 13 years in the minors, went three for four and scored a run.

Dan Reichert (4-4), who had lost his three previous starts, held the Red Sox to five hits and two runs in seven innings.

Hideo Nomo, who entered leading the majors in opponents batting average at .153, gave up a season-high nine hits in six innings. Nomo (4-3) struck out three and walked one.

Toronto 6, Texas 5--Alex Gonzalez drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning double at Arlington, Texas.

With the score tied, 5-5, Homer Bush singled with two out against Jeff Brantley (0-1). Bush went to second on Shannon Stewart’s single, and Bush scored on Gonzalez’s double off the left-field scoreboard.

The Blue Jays have beaten the Rangers seven consecutive times. The Rangers have lost 16 of 19 overall.

Detroit 10, Tampa Bay 5--Deivi Cruz hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh inning and Damion Easley hit two home runs for the Tigers at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Detroit has scored 28 runs in winning the first two games of the series.

Juan Encarnacion, who hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs in the Tigers’ 18-2 victory over the Devil Rays on Friday night, added a two-run single in Detroit’s three-run seventh on Saturday.

Devil Ray starter Albie Lopez (3-4) left the game because of a bruised right thumb in the seventh inning. The right-hander suffered the injury attempting to make a barehanded grab on Bobby Higginson’s infield single.

X-rays were negative, and Lopez said he would be ready to make his next scheduled start.