NewsRoyals stung by former captain
Mariners' Sweeney shows hustle as series evens
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
08/29/09 2:50 AM ET
SEATTLE -- Gotta hand it to ex-Royals captain Mike Sweeney. He's still got a dash of daring in him. That was apparent as Sweeney helped hustle the Seattle Mariners past the Royals, 6-3, on Friday night with 26,714 watching at Safeco Field. Royals fans might remember Sweeney's straight steal of home on Aug. 14, 2002, against the Yankees' Andy Pettitte. For a guy who usually runs, shall we say, shy of breakneck speed, that was quite daring. Well, he had a similar reckless sprint in the second inning on Friday night. Sweeney certainly remembered. "The last time I was that excited after scoring a run, I had a straight steal of home versus Pettitte," Sweeney said. "Heat of the moment, element of surprise, big moment in the game. Even though it was early in the game, it was still something that I think sparked our team." That inning began with Russell Branyan surprising the Royals with a bunt single toward third base. Sweeney drilled a single to left field and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. As Bill Hall grounded out, Branyan scored and Sweeney took third. Josh Wilson tapped back to pitcher Brian Bannister, who turned to look Sweeney back to third base. But as Bannister turned and threw to first, Sweeney charged toward the plate, took a swan dive and, as catcher Miguel Olivo took Billy Butler's return throw, slid under the tag. "When it was hit back to Banny," Sweeney said, "he looked and saw me and he kind of lackadaisically turned, and I thought, 'You know what, he's going to just kind ease it over there,' and I darted for home and I'm thankful I got in there. It ended up being a big run." That made it 2-0, and the Mariners never trailed. "We did it right. We did it how we practiced," Bannister said. "He was about 10 feet away when the ball got there and he just absolutely laid out and made a perfect slide. I give him credit, he's been banged up the last couple of years, but he laid it all on the line for his team, and it was impressive to see a veteran do that." Royals manager Trey Hillman thought catcher Miguel Olivo might have ventured too far from home plate before taking the throw. "Billy threw the ball, and it was accurate. We just left our position open at home plate. You've got to stay a little deeper. ... After I look at it [on tape], I think it's going to show me that if we stay back, Sweeney's out." Olivo had a different take. "I needed to go get the ball and when I dived at him, he just went around," Olivo said. Not a stolen base this time, at least technically, but Sweeney certainly stole the hearts of Mariners fans with that hustle. Felix Hernandez, the Mariners' entry in the Cy Young sweepstakes, had a 5-1 lead after the fourth, when Sweeney's leadoff single spurred another two-run inning. And Sweeney also drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh to give the M's their sixth run. Bannister, in his last inning, filled the bases and reliever Kyle Farnsworth walked Sweeney. There were mistakes aplenty for the Royals. Bannister also made two wild pitches, and third baseman Mark Teahen missed a ground ball to give away a run. "Early on, we gave 'em runs," Hillman said. "We had a couple defensive letdowns. You can't do that when you're facing anybody, but especially when you're facing their No. 1." Hernandez boosted his record to 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA. The Royals got a third-inning run on Josh Anderson's single, his steal and David DeJesus' double. Then came Mitch Maier's second career homer, a two-run blast to right field, cutting Hernandez's lead to 5-3. Maier got his first Major League homer on Tuesday. "I wish I'd have got a hit between the last home run and this one, but, yeah, it was good," Maier said. "He hung me a pitch with two strikes and I kind of reacted in, and it left the ballpark." Bannister gave the Mariners a lot of credit. "You look back at the game and their cleanup hitter bunted," Bannister said. "Sweeney, who's had a history of back problems, made an amazing slide on a ball that beat him to the plate. And they scored six runs with one extra-base hit. "They played hard, they ran the bases well, they put the pressure on us and they really earned that one tonight." And Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu found himself impressed once again with the 36-year-old Sweeney. "I don't know if in my lifetime I'll ever see Sweeney do that again, but that's what makes him special. He comes to play every single day and sacrifices his body," Wakamatsu said. "I think it electrified us in the dugout."Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
