MARINERS

It was a near-perfect game for old-time M's fans.

Ken Griffey Jr., had two home runs, including a bullet to right-center that ricocheted off the UW Medicine sign. He made a diving catch in the outfield. And his Reds lost.

Both of Griffey's home runs – the first went off Willie Bloomquist's glove and over the left-field fence – were of the solo variety. And, as Lou Piniella will tell you over and over again, solo home runs rarely beat you. They didn't defeat Miguel Batista on Sunday.

Thanks to Ben Broussard's clutch two-out, two-run double in the sixth and Bloomquist's squeeze bunt in the eighth, the M's won 3-2 and took the series from Cincy 2-1.

We'll be unavailable Monday morning, so here's a link to the Associated Press story.

Now Red Sox Nation comes to town, with all those pain-in-the-neck guys in Boston jerseys talking some sort of foreign language that passes for English in the Northeast. And Manny will be in left. Wonder if the Mariner fan who yells at him all game will be there this week? We can only hope.

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