Mariners, Yankees Advance to AL Championship Series With Game 5 Victories : American League: New York’s quest to defend World Series title remains alive with 5-3 decision over A’s.

Yankee Manager Joe Torre had been wearing a cap since the team’s flight to Oakland last Thursday that read “It Aint Over ‘Til It’s Over,” a reference to the famous quote by Yogi Berra.

The Yankees trailed the A’s, two games to none, in the best-of-five series, and even their die-hard fans seemed ready to call it a season.

“Ninety-nine percent of the people thought we had no chance,” Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter said. “Especially after we lost the first two games.”

But Jeter and the Yankees completed their resurrection on Monday, knocking off Oakland, 5-3, to advance to the American League championship series against Seattle.

The Yankees became the first team to lose the first two games of a best-of-five series at home to bounce back and win it. They’ll face the Mariners in Game 1 on Wednesday afternoon at Safeco Field in a rematch of last year’s ALCS.

Jeter’s defensive gem in the seventh inning of Game 3--a last-gasp shovel pass to the plate that prevented Jeremy Giambi from scoring the tying run--helped the Yankees stave off elimination. Naturally, Jeter was in the eye of the hurricane again, setting the all-time postseason record for hits and falling head-first into the stands in the eighth while catching a pop foul off the bat of Terrence Long.

“From 1996, when I first met the young man, he had that look in his eye,” Torre said. “That’s something you can’t teach.”

Slip-shod fielding by the A’s--who committed three errors--and clutch hitting from Jeter, Alfonso Soriano and David Justice helped the Yankees keep alive their quest for a fourth World Series championship in a row. With the tragic events of Sept. 11 still etched in their heads, the Yankees showed the resiliency that’s been the trademark of this city.

“Everything the city has gone through, everything the fans have gone through, just to give them the opportunity to have something to cheer about was just a joy,” Yankee starter Roger Clemens said.

The hyped duel between Clemens and the new kid on the block, Mark Mulder, fizzled by the fifth inning, when both starters were yanked after bouts of wildness. But reliever Mike Stanton picked the Yankees up and closer Mariano Rivera threw two scoreless innings to close it out.

The A’s, the hottest team in baseball during the second half and possessors of a 17-game home win streak to end the regular season, were shell-shocked by the end of the draining series.

“They’re a great team,” A’s outfielder Johnny Damon said. “A team that thrives on emotion and hustle. These guys know how to play. They have the experience, the motivation and the heart. That’s why it’s tough to hate them. They play the game right.”

Damon led off the game by doubling to right, scoring on a one-out single by Jason Giambi, who had four hits after entering in a two-for-13 skid. The A’s led, 2-0, in the second when Soriano’s two-run, bases-loaded single tied the score, and the Yankees took the lead for good in the third thanks in part to a play that conjured memories of Game 4 of their 1941 World Series win over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Brooklyn catcher Mickey Owen had a passed ball on strike three to Tommy Henrich with two out in the ninth, leading to a game-winning, four-run rally.

In the colorized version, A’s catcher Greg Myers pulled a “Mickey Owen” soon after replacing injured Ramon Hernandez, dropping strike three to Bernie Williams with one out in the fourth and making an errant throw to first, allowing Williams to reach.

Mulder then hit Tino Martinez and walked Shane Spencer to load the bases with two out, but appeared to escape by inducing Scott Brosius to ground to third. But Eric Chavez heard Tino Martinez’s footsteps and dropped the ball as Martinez ran past him, allowing the go-ahead run to score.

More shoddy defense by the A’s led to another Yankee run in the fourth, after Mulder seemingly had Chuck Knoblauch picked off first. Jason Giambi’s throw to second sailed wide of the bag for the third error of the night, and Knoblauch later came home on Jeter’s sacrifice fly, making the score 4-2.

Clemens departed with a 4-3 lead, but David Justice added a pinch-homer off Tim Hudson in the sixth and Rivera closed the door.

“Everyone seems to draw attention to the fact that we’ve won so many times,” Jeter said. “They wonder, ‘How do you get up for it again?’ The thing is, we just don’t want to lose.”

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ALCS SCHEDULE

Best-of-seven series

Wednesday: New York at Seattle, 1:15 p.m.

Thursday: New York at Seattle, 5:15 p.m.

Saturday: Seattle at New York, 1:15 p.m.

Sunday: Seattle at New York, 4:45 p.m.

Monday: Seattle at New York, 5:15 p.m.*

Oct. 24: New York at Seattle, 1:15 p.m.

Oct. 25: New York at Seattle, 5:15 p.m.*

- All games on Channel 11 and PDT. *- if necessary