The three little words are filled with passion and promise.
“Refuse To Lose” read the placards plastered against shop windows from Pioneer Square to Pike Street Market.
They greeted the Mariners when they came home down 2-0 to the New York Yankees, and the ballclub took them to heart in a magical three-day series that galvanized this city.
Never mind that the Mariners might not have a home in the near future. Never mind that they might be sold. Never mind that they now have to face the monsters from Cleveland beginning Tuesday in a seven-game set for the American League pennant.
Because of one delirious week, this town won’t be the same for some time.
Although a showdown looms in the state legislature this week over a bailout for a new stadium, the politics were shoved aside for a few days by a fairy tale.
A team that was averaging 12,000 fans a game in July jammed in more than 57,000 each night of what became a miraculous weekend sweep of the Yankees with a 6-5 victory in 11 innings Sunday night at the Kingdome, capping a wonderful August and September of baseball.
At the end, it was two giants on the mound–Randy Johnson of Seattle, who came back after one day’s rest to pitch three innings of relief for the win, and Jack McDowell of the Yankees, who went 1 2/3 and gave up the winning runs after the Yankees went ahead 5-4 in the top of the 11th.
For the second night in a row, Edgar Martinez, AL batting champ, was the hero when he lined a double into the left-field corner to score Joey Cora–who had led off with a bunt single–and Ken Griffey Jr., who singled and never hesitated in scoring from first on Martinez’s slash.
“I thought last night was the greatest game I ever played,” said Martinez, whose seven RBIs on two home runs, including a grand slam, brought Seattle back from a 5-0 deficit to win Saturday. “But this is the best one I ever played.”
“That’s what it should come down to,” said Yankees manager Buck Showalter about Johnson and McDowell facing each other in relief. “Two warriors going at it–one with as good stuff as there is in baseball and another guy with as good a heart as there is in the game.”
Seattle fought back twice in this one.
Down 4-2, the Mariners tied it in the eighth on a monstrous solo home run by Griffey. It was his fifth in the series, tying Reggie Jackson, Mr. October, who slugged five in the 1977 World Series.
Following that, a tiring David Cone gave up three walks around a single by Jay Buhner–all after two were out–and forced in the tying run.
In the ninth, when the Yankees threatened with two on and nobody out, manager Lou Piniella went to his ace. Johnson, who pitched the Mariners past the Angels in a one-game playoff Monday and came back on three days’ rest to beat the Yankees on Friday, struck out Wade Boggs on three pitches. He then got Bernie Williams to pop to second and Paul O’Neill to pop to the catcher.
Johnson struck out the side in the 10th, and two more in the 11th, although the Yankees went ahead 5-4 on a leadoff walk, a sacrifice and Randy Velarde’s run-scoring single.
Cora led off the Mariners’ 11th with a drag bunt and slid headfirst to avoid Don Mattingly’s tag. Griffey singled up the middle, and Martinez followed with his heroics.
Martinez’s 10 RBIs tied a major-league record for most in a five-game postseason series. Since Opening Day, he has driven in 30 runs against New York pitching.
“Nothing fazes him,” Piniella said of Martinez. “He’s as cool as a cucumber at the plate. He’s a professional, and that’s the only way you can describe it.”
Seattle was 13 games out of the American League West lead on Aug. 5 and 11 1/2 out on Aug. 24. Their 13-game comeback is considered the third greatest in major-league history and the biggest since Piniella, as a player, helped lead the 1978 Yankees from 14 games back of Boston in mid-July.
“I have never, never had a team with as much heart,” Piniella said. “These kids battled all year. They’ve battled this whole series and they fought back.
“I love this team.”
