Mariners Get Off to Good Start on Trip

Bret Boone knows this could be a make-or-break trip for the Seattle Mariners if they want to remain in playoff contention.

Boone drove in three runs, and Edgar Martinez homered and scored three times as the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 14-7, Friday night at Kansas City, Mo.

It was the first game of a 10-game trip for the Mariners, with the first seven against the Royals and Texas Rangers--teams already out of the playoff hunt.

“These games are crucial,” Boone said. “This road trip is crucial. We’ve got to beat the teams that we should beat. We need to have a great road trip.”

Freddy Garcia got his 15th win for the Mariners, who remained four games behind the Angels in the American League wild-card race.

Seattle moved to within six games of first-place Oakland in the AL West. Martinez and John Olerud each had three hits.

“It is good for us to pick up a game finally,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. “It’s been three weeks.”

Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate, only the fifth time that’s happened in Royal history. Beltran was the last to do it on June 29, 2000, against Cleveland.

It was the third time in 22 games the Mariners scored in double figures. They had scored three runs or less in 12 of their previous 18 games.

Boston 7, Toronto 2--Benny Agbayani drove in three runs in his Boston debut as the Red Sox won at Boston. Agbayani, recalled from triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday after being claimed off waivers Aug. 26 from Colorado, went two for four and threw out a runner at the plate in the third. Tim Wakefield, a bright spot in Boston’s recent struggles, pitched seven strong innings for the win.

New York 8, Detroit 1--David Wells pitched a five-hitter and Jason Giambi hit his 35th home run, leading the Yankees at New York. Giambi had three hits and scored three runs as the AL East leaders won their fourth in a row. Wells (16-7) won for the ninth time in his last 11 starts, and only allowed a Tiger past second base once. Jorge Posada set a Yankee record for catchers with his 36th double.

Texas 9, Tampa Bay 3--Todd Hollandsworth hit a two-run homer in the ninth to extend Texas’ home-run streak and the Rangers won at St. Petersburg, Fla. The Rangers have homered in 24 consecutive games, one short of the major league record shared by the New York Yankees (1941), Detroit (1994) and Atlanta (1998). Herbert Perry singled to lead off the Texas ninth and Hollandsworth homered on the next pitch from Esteban Yan. Hollandsworth also doubled and singled, driving in three runs and scoring three times.

Cleveland 9, Chicago 7--Lee Stevens homered twice and tied a career high with six RBIs as the Indians beat Mark Buehrle and won at Chicago. Dave Burba, making his first start for Cleveland this season, gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings to help the Indians win their third consecutive game.