M’S Have High-5 Feeling

From a spot in the back of the Kingdome press box, agent Brian Goldberg shook his head late Saturday evening, fought back goose bumps and talked about his favorite client - Ken Griffey Jr.

“He told me the other day, ‘This is what I told you it would be like,”’ Goldberg said. “This is the series, the situation, he’s been waiting for his whole life.”

Junior isn’t alone.

If there is a man, woman or child in the Northwest this morning who doesn’t know, the Seattle Mariners are as deep into the American League Division Series as a team can get, having used another impossible comeback to beat the New York Yankees, 11-8 - tying the best-of-five series at two games each.

“It’s down to this,” outfielder Jay Buhner said, “two great teams are going to go at it and one of them will be a ghost when it’s over.”

It was the Yankees who were haunted Saturday and a Kingdome crowd of 57,180 that was, alternately, horrified, enchanted and thoroughly entranced.

Over the span of 4 hours and 8 minutes, the Mariners trailed by five runs, led by five, and spent each and every inning on the razor’s edge of disaster.

A three-run home run by Edgar Martinez got Seattle back in the game in the third inning and a grand slam by Edgar broke this one open in the eighth inning - a bolt so dramatic that even manager Lou Piniella was spurred into an outburst of emotion.

“I have never, never had a team with as much heart,” Piniella said afterward. “These kids battled all year, they’ve battled this whole series and they fought back today after being down, 5-0. I love this team.”

No matter what happens today, Piniella said, this team - and its fans - will always have Game 4 to look back on.

In it, Edgar had two home runs and seven RBIs. Griffey had two hits, scored three times and hit the sixth-inning home run (to set an A.L. playoff record with four in a series) that finally got Seattle even at 5-5. Jay Buhner homered, Luis Sojo got a huge run home by barreling over Yankees shortstop Tony Fernandez, and nearly everyone on the M’s pitching staff got into the game.

It took three Seattle relievers - Norm Charlton, Bobby Ayala and Bill Risley - to finish the Yankees in the ninth inning.

“This game didn’t end,” Piniella said, “until that last ball dropped into Griffey’s glove in the ninth inning.” Two innings into the latest game they had to win - a loss would have ended their season - the Mariners trailed, 5-0, and starting pitcher Chris Bosio was gone.

“All I know is that Lou kept looking down the bench at me,” said Randy Johnson, who’d beaten New York a night earlier.

Piniella didn’t go to the Big Unit, instead calling in reliever Jeff Nelson in the third, with the Yanks ahead, 5-0. Four innings later, the Yankees still had five runs. But so did Seattle.

As the Mariners hitters clawed their way back, the Seattle bullpen took on the look of a relay team, passing the baton from one hand to the next. Nelson pitched a career-high four innings and handed a 6-5 lead over to Tim Belcher.

Belcher went 1-2/3 innings, left a runner on base but handed that same one-run lead to an exhausted Charlton in the eighth inning. Charlton wild-pitched the tying run home.

“He was running on fumes,” Piniella said, “but he was the best we have.”

Gamely, Charlton finished the eighth inning.

The Yankees, have fought back for a tie of their own, sent closer John Wetteland to the mound and the Mariners - who could have been drained, watching one more lead slip away - flexed improbable muscle.

Vince Coleman walked, Joey Cora beat out a bunt and Griffey, attempting to bunt, was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With no one out, Edgar Martinez came up.

Martinez’s slam to dead centerfield left the Seattle designated hitter with .600 average in the postseason.

His seven RBIs are the most ever in 690 postseason games - Bobby Richardson had six in the 1960 World Series and Will Clark had six in 1989 N.L. playoffs.

All the Mariners had to do was hold a five-run lead by getting three outs.

“Nothing has come easily this season,” Buhner said, “and tonight was no exception.”

Charlton started the ninth, gave up a leadoff single to Don Mattingly and took a seat. Ahead, 11-6, Piniella went to right-hander Ayala, who got one out but then gave up two hits and a walk to let one run in and load the bases.

Piniella came out, took the ball and brought in Risley - a man with one save in 45 games this season.

“He told me to relax and let the ball go,” Risley said of his manager. “And then I look up and the bases are loaded and Wade Boggs is at the plate.”

Boggs got a run home on a force play and Bernie Williams flied out to Griffey - on the warning track.