evanreyes
04-27-2002, 09:13 PM
SEATTLE (AP) -- Roger Clemens showed off a different side of his personality.
A calm and collected Clemens shut down Seattle again and Derek Jeter had three hits as the New York Yankees beat the Mariners 7-1 Friday night in a rematch of the AL championship series.
"Normally, for the first couple of innings, he's trying to blow people away," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But he just seemed very relaxed today.
"You know how fired up he gets normally," Torre said. "He just tries to muscle it. Tonight, I was very comfortable with him."
The Yankees, who beat Seattle in the AL championship series the past two years, picked up where they left off in October.
Clemens (3-2) gave up one run and six hits in eight innings, striking out four. He improved his career record to 22-12 against the Mariners -- the most wins for any pitcher against Seattle -- and tied Jim Kaat for 26th place with his 283rd career win.
Clemens wanted to be at his best against Seattle and he was.
"They're tough," he said. "We expect to see them down the road and they expect to be there also. They have high expectations for their club. You can tell when you're playing teams like Oakland and Seattle that you have to be at the top of your game."
Robin Ventura led a 15-hit attack for the Yankees by going 3-for-3, with his seventh homer of the season. Jeter was 3-for-5 with two RBI and Alfonso Soriano also drove in two runs.
The Yankees battered James Baldwin (2-1) for seven runs and 13 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
"I had a bad day," Baldwin said. "It was a bad day to be 'up,' especially with these guys. We just have to bounce back from it."
Before the game, Torre said he was anxious to see his team matched up against a premier opponent after taking two of three against Oakland. Seattle tied the major league record with 116 wins last season.
"You measure yourself against clubs like this week," Torre said. "I think we're finding out what we're about as well as what they're about."
The Yankees, winners of four straight AL pennants, measured up quite well.
They took a 1-0 lead in the second on Ventura's homer and made it 4-0 with three more in the third.
Ventura broke out of a 2-for-23 slump against his old Chicago White Sox teammate, Baldwin.
"I felt good before the game and during batting practice," Ventura said. "I think when you feel a little bit more confident at the plate, you handle the bat a little bit better."
John Vander Wal opened the inning with a single and Soriano doubled him in. Jeter doubled in Soriano and Jorge Posada added an RBI single.
In the fourth, New York added its fifth run on Ron Coomer's double and singles by Bernie Williams and Jeter. The Yankees made it 7-0 and chased Baldwin in the fifth on RBI singles by Vander Wal and Soriano.
The Mariners got their first hits, three singles, in the fifth for their run off Clemens. Ichiro Suzuki had an RBI single.
Suzuki, last year's MVP, left the game at the start of the seventh with a cut on his left knee. He ran fence in foul territory when he attempted to catch Coomer's flyball in the fourth inning.
Seattle manager Lou Piniella said Suzuki's cut required "some stitches -- three of four stitches. We'll see how he feels tomorrow."
Piniella said third baseman Jeff Cirillo jammed a finger while fielding a ground ball by Rondell White in the ninth. He said he was going to have pinch-hit for Cirillo if he would have come up in the bottom of the inning.
Notes: With his next win, Clemens, 39, will tie Ferguson Jenkins for 25th on the career win list. ... Seattle's Mark McLemore stole his team-best fifth base of the season. The Mariners lead the league with 24 stolen bases. ... The Yankees' 32 home runs are tied for the league lead with Oakland. ... Baldwin hit Soriano with a pitch in the right arm with a pitch in the first and Clemens hit Bret Boone with a pitch in the left arm in the bottom half. Clemens was asked if he was protecting Soriano. "There's no reason to comment on that," he said. "Boonie's hurt me away. It's something I'm going to continue to work on." ... Seattle was 6-3 against New York during the 2001 regular season, winning the first three meetings at Yankee Stadium April 24-26. ... The Yankees have the best opponent's record at Safeco Field at 10-4.
A calm and collected Clemens shut down Seattle again and Derek Jeter had three hits as the New York Yankees beat the Mariners 7-1 Friday night in a rematch of the AL championship series.
"Normally, for the first couple of innings, he's trying to blow people away," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But he just seemed very relaxed today.
"You know how fired up he gets normally," Torre said. "He just tries to muscle it. Tonight, I was very comfortable with him."
The Yankees, who beat Seattle in the AL championship series the past two years, picked up where they left off in October.
Clemens (3-2) gave up one run and six hits in eight innings, striking out four. He improved his career record to 22-12 against the Mariners -- the most wins for any pitcher against Seattle -- and tied Jim Kaat for 26th place with his 283rd career win.
Clemens wanted to be at his best against Seattle and he was.
"They're tough," he said. "We expect to see them down the road and they expect to be there also. They have high expectations for their club. You can tell when you're playing teams like Oakland and Seattle that you have to be at the top of your game."
Robin Ventura led a 15-hit attack for the Yankees by going 3-for-3, with his seventh homer of the season. Jeter was 3-for-5 with two RBI and Alfonso Soriano also drove in two runs.
The Yankees battered James Baldwin (2-1) for seven runs and 13 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
"I had a bad day," Baldwin said. "It was a bad day to be 'up,' especially with these guys. We just have to bounce back from it."
Before the game, Torre said he was anxious to see his team matched up against a premier opponent after taking two of three against Oakland. Seattle tied the major league record with 116 wins last season.
"You measure yourself against clubs like this week," Torre said. "I think we're finding out what we're about as well as what they're about."
The Yankees, winners of four straight AL pennants, measured up quite well.
They took a 1-0 lead in the second on Ventura's homer and made it 4-0 with three more in the third.
Ventura broke out of a 2-for-23 slump against his old Chicago White Sox teammate, Baldwin.
"I felt good before the game and during batting practice," Ventura said. "I think when you feel a little bit more confident at the plate, you handle the bat a little bit better."
John Vander Wal opened the inning with a single and Soriano doubled him in. Jeter doubled in Soriano and Jorge Posada added an RBI single.
In the fourth, New York added its fifth run on Ron Coomer's double and singles by Bernie Williams and Jeter. The Yankees made it 7-0 and chased Baldwin in the fifth on RBI singles by Vander Wal and Soriano.
The Mariners got their first hits, three singles, in the fifth for their run off Clemens. Ichiro Suzuki had an RBI single.
Suzuki, last year's MVP, left the game at the start of the seventh with a cut on his left knee. He ran fence in foul territory when he attempted to catch Coomer's flyball in the fourth inning.
Seattle manager Lou Piniella said Suzuki's cut required "some stitches -- three of four stitches. We'll see how he feels tomorrow."
Piniella said third baseman Jeff Cirillo jammed a finger while fielding a ground ball by Rondell White in the ninth. He said he was going to have pinch-hit for Cirillo if he would have come up in the bottom of the inning.
Notes: With his next win, Clemens, 39, will tie Ferguson Jenkins for 25th on the career win list. ... Seattle's Mark McLemore stole his team-best fifth base of the season. The Mariners lead the league with 24 stolen bases. ... The Yankees' 32 home runs are tied for the league lead with Oakland. ... Baldwin hit Soriano with a pitch in the right arm with a pitch in the first and Clemens hit Bret Boone with a pitch in the left arm in the bottom half. Clemens was asked if he was protecting Soriano. "There's no reason to comment on that," he said. "Boonie's hurt me away. It's something I'm going to continue to work on." ... Seattle was 6-3 against New York during the 2001 regular season, winning the first three meetings at Yankee Stadium April 24-26. ... The Yankees have the best opponent's record at Safeco Field at 10-4.