Mariners Run Short at Texas

So desperate to try avoiding another loss, Bret Boone ignored one of the basic rules of baserunning. And it cost the Seattle Mariners.

After Boone’s baserunning blunder kept Seattle from scoring in the top of the ninth despite two doubles, Todd Greene led off the bottom of the inning with a homer and the Texas Rangers dealt another blow to the Mariners’ playoff chances with a 4-3 victory Wednesday night at Arlington, Texas.

Boone led off the ninth with a double but got only to third on Carlos Guillen’s hit off the left-field wall. Left fielder Todd Hollandsworth, who knew Guillen’s hit was over his head, held up his glove like he had a play. Instead of going halfway, Boone went back to second to tag up, expecting to go to third after the catch.

“I was sure he was going to catch it, but in that situation there’s no excuse,” Boone said. “I know you go halfway. I got greedy, and I screwed up. I’m not going to say we lost because of that play, but that play was big and I know better than that.”

Boone was then thrown out at home on a suicide squeeze try when Jose Offerman struck out against Francisco Cordero (2-0).

After sweeping a three-game series at Kansas City, the Mariners have lost the first three games in the four-game series to the last-place Rangers. The Mariners trail the Angels by six games in the American League wild-card race.

“It’s getting down to the nitty gritty, and we can’t do this,” Boone said. “The trip started off great, and now we’ve lost three in a row. There’s no die in this team, but this is not good at this stage.”

Greene hit a 2-and-2 pitch from Arthur Rhodes (8-4) down the left-field line for his seventh homer.

Greene had pinch-hit in the eighth inning for catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who struck out three times to end a 13-game hitting streak. He left because of a bruised right leg.

Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 54th homer and rookie Hank Blalock also homered for the Rangers.

New York 5, Baltimore 4--Nick Johnson hit a game-winning single with two out in the 11th inning on an emotional night at Yankee Stadium.

Before the game, the Yankees dedicated a monument in Monument Park to the “victims and heroes” of Sept. 11. The ceremony included saxophonist Branford Marsalis playing “Taps”--a moment that brought tears from some among the 35,183 in attendance, including Yankee Manager Joe Torre.

Once the ceremonies were over, Yankee Stadium returned to business as usual. The groundskeepers cavorted as usual to “YMCA” as they dragged the basepaths after the fifth inning, and fans rocked to “Cotton Eye Joe” in the eighth.

The loudest cheers came when Torre was ejected in the ninth inning after Robin Ventura was ejected by plate umpire Angel Hernandez for arguing a called third strike.

The Yankees reduced their magic number to nine for clinching their fifth consecutive AL East title. The Orioles have lost 17 of their last 18.

Minnesota 8, Detroit 2--The Twins backed Brad Radke (8-4) with a six-run second inning at Minneapolis and lowered their magic number for clinching the AL Central to three.

Cristian Guzman had a homer and three runs batted in, and Torii Hunter hit a three-run double to highlight the second-inning outburst against former teammate Mark Redman (8-15).

George Lombard and Carlos Pena each homered for Detroit, which has lost 12 of 14.

The Twins, who improved to 41-19 within the division, begin a four-game series today at Cleveland, which clinched the division last year by beating the Twins at Jacobs Field.

Boston 6, Tampa Bay 3--Pedro Martinez rejoined the Red Sox rotation and got his 150th career win, and Manny Ramirez hit his 15th career grand slam.

Martinez (18-4), sidelined since Aug. 28 because of a sore left groin and hip, gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings at St. Petersburg, Fla. He struck out eight and walked two.

Ramirez hit 29th homer, and third in as many games, during a five-run fifth against Paul Wilson (6-10).

Kansas City 9, Chicago 6--Mike Sweeney hit a three-run homer, and Brandon Berger and Carlos Beltran each hit two-run shots at Kansas City, Mo., where the Royals ended an eight-game skid.

The victory was the first this month for the Royals and enabled them to avert a team-record ninth consecutive home loss.

Toronto 6, Cleveland 5--Vernon Wells hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning and the Blue Jays completed a sweep of the three-game series at Cleveland.

Rookie Scott Cassidy (1-4) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings to earn his first career victory in 55 appearances.