The Yankees have the profligate spending of Mariners GM Pat Gillick to thank for not being three and a half games out of first place as the week begins. Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson each hit thrilling home runs that were out of line with their lackluster performances since signing megadeals to push Seattle past the Red Sox 9-8. Beltre hit an inside-the-park home run with two out in the eighth inning, motoring around the bases thanks to an ill-timed dive by Coco Crisp, a little bit of Manny being Manny on a barehanded miss at picking up the ball and a terrible throw by Crisp that missed two cutoff men.
Jason Varitek hit a two out homer of his own in the top of the ninth off of J.J. Putz, the conventional variety this time, to tie the score back up at eight and set the stage for Richie Sexson. Leading off the bottom of the ninth against Mike Timlin, the huge free-swingin first baseman connected for his 20th long ball of the year and joined his teammates in a raucous home plate celebration. The Mariners are just four games out of first in the AL West after Oakland and Texas lost on Sunday, despite a 47-51 record they aren't licked yet and showed a lot of resolve against the front-running Red Sox to pull out an exciting victory Sunday.
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