Friday, June 21, 2002
Mariners turn reunion into their own party
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI — Junior had to sit and watch as the Seattle Mariners had all of the fun at their reunion.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s former team left town with all of the good stories and all of the wins, a reminder that one superstar doesn't necessarily make a difference — especially when he can't stay healthy.
Ruben Sierra hit a two-run homer Thursday night and Griffey failed in his one chance to do something dramatic, allowing the Mariners to hold on for a 3-2 victory and a series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
Griffey, out of the lineup to rest his tender hamstring, got a standing ovation when he came up to pinch-hit in the seventh inning with a runner aboard. The 27,908 fans screamed and snapped photos, hoping for a little magic. Griffey hit a routine fly to right field, then slammed his bat.
The moment summed up their reunion. Griffey managed three harmless hits in three games; the Mariners got three resounding wins.
How telling.
Even the Mariners' pitchers outhit Griffey, going 4-for-8 with a pair of RBIs while Junior had three inconsequential singles. He didn't stay around to talk about it afterward.
“It was just one of those series when they made every pitch they had to make,” Reds closer Danny Graves said.
They also made a clean sweep of the intriguing angles in the interleague series:
• Manager Lou Piniella had a homecoming in the city where he won a World Series championship in 1990.
• The Boone family had its biggest get-together yet. Brothers Bret (the Mariners' second baseman) and Aaron (the Reds' third baseman) got to participate in a game with their father Bob (the Reds' manager) for the first time.
• Mike Cameron returned to the city where he emerged in 1999, and went head-to-head against Griffey, the center fielder he replaced in Seattle.
In each instance, the Mariners had all of the success.
Bret Boone, Cameron and Sierra homered in the series, and Piniella got to savor his team's first three-game winning streak since May 15-17.
“It's nice to come here and play good baseball and win three games,” Piniella said, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.
Sierra had a minor role in the reunion. He opened the 1997 season in Cincinnati, but hit only two homers before the Reds gave up on him after 25 games.
His sixth-inning homer off Joey Hamilton (3-5) decided the final game.
“It's nice to hit a home run. I don't care if it's against Cincinnati,” said Sierra, who has eight this season. “I didn't have too much time here. I had a good time, but not a great time because I didn't play the whole season.”
The Reds' uptight hitters had a half-hour meeting before the game with Bob Boone, who urged them to relax.
“It never gets any easier,” Bob Boone said. “We're going through a funk right now. We have to get our game going. We have a lot of guys scuffling right now.”
Count Griffey among them.
Junior and the Mariners have taken different paths since he maneuvered them into a trade with his hometown team before the 2000 season. He's been hurting and the Mariners have been winning, getting 116 victories last season.
A banner in the half-empty upper deck Thursday summed it up: “Seattle Traded Us Griffey But They Didn't Send His Bat.”
Notes: Mariners DH Edgar Martinez, who returned last week from a ruptured tendon behind his left knee, aggravated it when he pinch hit and twisted away from a pitch in the eighth. ... Reds SS Barry Larkin extended his hitting streak to 13 games (17-for-55), the longest on the team this season. ... 1B Sean Casey hasn't driven in a run since May 29, a span of 18 games, the longest drought of his career.
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Mariners turn reunion into their own party
