McLemore Puts Squeeze on Tigers

At 37, Mark McLemore still loves getting the hit that ends a game.

“I’m a competitor, I want it to be on me and I want to be the one to get the winning hit,” McLemore said after delivering the winning run with a squeeze bunt in the 10th inning at Seattle that lifted the Mariners over the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, Tuesday afternoon.

“It doesn’t always work out that way, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want it,” McLemore said.

With the score tied, 4-4, Edgar Martinez led off the 10th with a double against Jeff Farnsworth (2-3), and Desi Relaford pinch-ran.

John Olerud was intentionally walked, Charles Gipson sacrificed and Mike Cameron was intentionally walked, loading the bases.

Pinch-hitting for Ben Davis, McLemore bunted on a 2-and-1 pitch, with Relaford beating Farnsworth’s throw to catcher Brandon Inge. McLemore was credited with a single.

McLemore said he got to the major leagues with the Angels in 1986 because of his ability to bunt.

“I came up with the Angels way back when Gene Mauch was the manager, and everybody remembers Gene Mauch and what kind of baseball he played,” he said. “So if you couldn’t bunt, you weren’t going to play for him.”

Manager Lou Piniella used a squeeze by Charles Gipson to score Luis Ugueto at Texas on July 18, breaking a ninth-inning tie in a 5-3 victory.

“That’s a play I don’t like,” Piniella said. “I’ve said that many times. But McLemore’s the right guy in a situation like that and he laid down a perfect bunt.”

Tiger Manager Luis Pujols said he thought the Mariners might try the squeeze, but with a 2-and-1 count, he couldn’t risk a pitchout.

“When you have the right man at the plate and the right guy at third and you have the count, there is nothing you can do,” Pujols said. “Just hope he fouls off the pitch.”

Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki ended an 0-for-16 hitless streak, his longest this season, with an infield single in the seventh. Last year, he went hitless in 18 at-bats in July.

Suzuki went one for five and his batting average slipped to .351, a loss of 14 points since Friday night. He is four points behind Kansas City’s Mike Sweeney, the league leader.

New York 9, Texas 6--Bernie Williams and Jason Giambi each hit two-run homers, helping David Wells overcome a rocky start at Arlington, Texas.

It was the Yankees’ 10th victory in 13 games.

Raul Mondesi and Alfonso Soriano also homered for the Yankees, who hit four home runs or more for the eighth time. Texas hit three, including Alex Rodriguez’s major-league leading 35th.

Wells (12-5) won his fifth consecutive decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Ramiro Mendoza got the final out for his second save.

Tampa Bay 10, Baltimore 3--Jared Sandberg hit his first career grand slam during a six-run first inning at St. Petersburg, Fla., and Joe Kennedy (6-8) struck out seven in tying Kansas City’s Paul Byrd for the American League lead with his fifth complete game.

Aubrey Huff homered twice for Tampa Bay, which has won six of 10.

John Stephens, the 17th Australian to play in the major leagues, gave up nine runs and 10 hits--including three homers--in three innings in his major league debut.

Chicago 3, Minnesota 0--Mark Buehrle (14-7) gave up five hits at Minneapolis for his third career shutout and second consecutive victory over the Twins.

Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run homer against Kyle Lohse (10-6), who gave up six hits in 6 2/3 innings. It was Lohse’s first loss in five career decisions against the White Sox.

Chicago’s Frank Thomas walked twice to give him 1,250 for his career, passing Ty Cobb for the 37th spot.

Toronto 13, Kansas City 4--Vernon Wells hit a bases-clearing triple in a five-run fifth inning at Kansas City, Mo., and tied a career-high with four runs batted in to help the Blue Jays end a four-game losing streak.

Orlando Hudson, recalled July 24 from triple-A Syracuse, had his first three-hit game and scored two runs for the Blue Jays, who had 17 hits.

Pete Walker (4-2) got his first victory as a starter in six starts since June 8, giving up three runs and seven hits in five innings.

Cleveland 5, Oakland 4--Ricky Gutierrez drove in two runs at Oakland and Ryan Drese won for only the second time in eight starts.

Drese (9-8), who grew up in Oakland and attended California, gave up one run and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.