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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) -- They're not dead yet.
Running out of time and games, the Cleveland Indians somehow
rallied for their biggest victory this season Friday night, getting an
improbable homer from Kenny Lofton and another clutch hit from
Travis Fryman to beat the Seattle Mariners 9-8.
|  | | Seattle's David Bell gets upended by Travis Fryman, just as in the ninth when Fryman delivered the game-winning hit. |
"That was a game that we had to have," said Indians manager
Charlie Manuel. "Kenny's homer was great. This was a super win."
Lofton hit an opposite-field, two-run homer in the eighth off
Arthur Rhodes (3-6) and Fryman singled home Roberto Alomar with one
out in the ninth for the Indians, who came into the game still
reeling from a disastrous defeat at Oakland on Wednesday night.
"Right now, we just have to keep winning," Lofton said. "We
can't worry about anything else except winning. We have to win no
matter what."
Cleveland's comeback moved the Indians to two games of the
Athletics in the American League wild-card race. Oakland lost 10-1 at Detroit.
"We saw it on the scoreboard," Lofton said.
Steve Karsay, Cleveland's fifth pitcher, came in after Lofton's
homer and pitched one inning for the victory.
"It's huge," Karsay (4-5) said. "It really lifts us. You
could feel things change after Kenny's homer. It's a good thing we
came back to win."
Carlos Guillen hit a two-run homer -- but had two costly errors
at third -- and Edgar Martinez, Dan Wilson and Al Martin hit solo
shots for the Mariners, who lost their sixth in the row for the first time since July of
last season.
Alomar walked to open the ninth off Arthur Rhodes (3-6) and
Manny Ramirez followed with a grounder to third that Guillen
butchered for his second error of the game.
"I stepped back and tried to play it safe," Guillen explained.
"I just missed it."
Alomar went to third on the play, Ramirez to second and Seattle
manager Lou Piniella to the mound to figure out how to get out of
the jam.
Piniella decided not only to bring his infield in, but he also
brought in his center fielder, moving Mike Cameron in front of the
bag at second with Jim Thome due up.
"That was the first time I've had five infielders behind me,"
Rhodes said.
Thome walked to load the bases before Rhodes got David Segui to
pop to short right. Kazuhiro Sasaki came on and Piniella sent
Cameron back to center before Fryman pulled a ball inside the bag
at third to score Alomar.
The Indians poured out of the dugout to greet Fryman, knowing
they'd dodged a devastating defeat.
Cleveland's fans were desperate for a spark, and Lofton gave
them one in the eighth with his two-run shot to left.
Cleveland trailed 8-6 after blowing a 6-2 lead when Fryman
singled leading off. With two outs, Lofton fouled off three
consecutive pitches before driving Rhodes' outside fastball over the
wall in left-center for his eighth homer and first since July 8.
"He kept fouling off good pitches," Rhodes said. "I threw a
real good pitch, a fastball on the outside corner and he hit it
out. I was a little surprised, but give him credit."
Seattle looked like it was done in the fifth, trailing 6-2
against Bartolo Colon. But the Mariners scored four times in the
inning to tie it and took the lead in the sixth on Martinez's 29th
homer.
With two outs, Martinez drove 3-1 pitch from Justin Speier over
the wall in right-center for his major league-leading 117th RBI.
Seattle made it 6-6 in the fifth against Colon, who had just
beaten the Mariners on Aug. 12 with seven dominant innings.
Alex Rodriguez walked and scored from first when Martinez
singled and Ramirez booted the ball in right. John Olerud followed
with a two-run double, and one out later, Guillen connected for his
fourth homer.
Unable to get the clutch hit during their recent road trip, the
Indians got a two-run double from Segui and some help from starter
Paul Abbott and the Mariners to score four runs and open a 5-1 lead
in the third.
Game notes
The Mariners are 0-9 in the first games of road trips. ...
Martinez's homer matched his career high. He also hit 29 homers in
1995 and '98. ... Garcia had 45 career starts before coming out of
the bullpen to replace Abbott, who came in 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA
against the Indians. ... Former Indians pitcher Mark Langston
watched the game from the press box. He's in town for a charity
rock concert featuring some Indians players. ... Injuries have
contributed to Cleveland using 52 players, one shy of the club
record (1991).
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
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RECAPS
Boston 6
Texas 4
Cleveland 9
Seattle 8
Detroit 10
Oakland 1
Anaheim 9
NY Yankees 8
Toronto 3
Minnesota 2
Kansas City 4
Baltimore 1
Chi. White Sox 5
Tampa Bay 2
Pittsburgh 6
Cincinnati 3
Houston 5
Milwaukee 4
St. Louis 7
Philadelphia 6
Florida 9
Colorado 8
Arizona 11
Chicago Cubs 2
Montreal 6
San Diego 3
NY Mets 5
Los Angeles 3
San Francisco 2
Atlanta 0
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