Friday, October 19, 2001

Yankees head back home with two-game lead over M’s

SEATTLE (AP) — Quickly, the New York Yankees are showing Seattle there’s life in those old bones.

Scott Brosius sparked a three-run second inning, Mike Mussina slid by without his best stuff and New York beat the heralded Mariners 3-2 Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in an AL championship series that could be quite brief.

Freddy Garcia, who got the Mariners' only two wins over New York in last year's ALCS, pitched on three days' rest for just the second time in his career and couldn't escape a second-inning jam.

Seattle, with its record-tying 116 wins, couldn’t get out of the hole and are headed to New York faced with the formidable task of having to win two of three just to send the series back to Safeco Field.

Other than a two-run homer to Stan Javier in the fourth — the only earned runs off Mussina in his last 22 postseason innings — he gave up just three hits — all singles.

While his curveball didn’t have the bite and his fastball didn't have the spark, Mussina retired his next eight batters after the homer to center — Javier’s first in 63 postseason at-bats.

Ramiro Mendoza escaped trouble in the seventh when Mark McLemore hit an inning-ending grounder with two on. Derek Jeter again saved the Yankees in the eighth when he calmly stretched to get a low-and-wide throw by Tino Martinez for a forceout. Mariano Rivera got five straight outs for his 23rd postseason save, completing the six-hitter.