Griffey Cleans Up In Dome Two Homers Spark M’S To 9-6 Win

Ken Griffey Jr. has been called the Kid and Junior for most of his career. Monday he could have been called “The Fumigator.”

Griffey crushed two home runs and had four hits as the Seattle Mariners defeated San Diego 9-6 in the Kingdome, cleansing any remaining stench left over from the Seahawks’ 41-3 stinker against the New York Jets on Sunday.

Griffey knocked in four runs and scored four. His 45th and 46th homers, which lead the major leagues, traveled 397 and 441 feet - in a hurry.

Coupled with Anaheim’s 4-1 loss to Colorado, the victory gives Seattle a two-game lead over the Angels in the American League West Division.

“This is a new season from September on,” Griffey said. “This is when it counts. We did what we were supposed to do the first five months.”

“If he gets hot, it picks everybody else up in our lineup,” said pitcher Jeff Fassero, who limited the Padres to four hits and two runs in seven innings.

Steve Finley’s third-deck grand slam with two outs in the ninth off Bobby Ayala pulled San Diego within 9-6 and made the crowd of 31,882 squirm. But Ayala retired Tony Gwynn on a grounder to end the game.

Not much to the game of baseball when a team gets good hitting, pitching and fielding. Griffey had a run-scoring single in the fourth and an RBI double in the eighth to go with his solo homers. Jay Buhner doubled in two runs in a four-run first and Edgar Martinez delivered three hits.

Fassero was helped by the glove work of Alex Rodriguez, Joey Cora and Griffey.

Rodriguez soared to snatch Chris Jones’ liner in the seventh. Rodriguez’s play saved a run as two batters later Archi Cianfrocco launched a two-run homer for the Padres.

“That was a fun catch,” Rodriguez said. “I looked out at Junior and he was motioning like I only got a foot off the ground.”

Griffey ran down Quilvio Veras’ deep fly to center with runners on first and second to end the seventh. Cora’s diving stop robbed Gwynn of a single in the eighth.

In Fassero’s 30 starts, he’s pitched six-plus innings 24 times, in part because his mind is as sharp as the movement on his lethal forkball. Gwynn said before the game he’s never hit Fassero’s forkball. Never even fouled it off. “He fouled one off tonight,” a grinning Fassero said. “I don’t like to show it to him too much because I know he studies pitchers. If you can get an edge on him, you want to keep it.”

Seattle finished with 11 hits, four doubles and seven walks, encouraging signs to manager Lou Piniella.

“Junior’s our big guy and you need your big guy to get the job done and he’s certainly doing that,” Piniella said. “We’re starting to score more runs. Our offense is starting to crank up again.”

Mariners add six

The Mariners on Monday added six players, including infielder Brent Gates and right-hander Felipe Lira, from Triple-A Tacoma.

The Mariners purchased the contract of left-hander Mark Holzemer and recalled right-hander Rafael Carmona, left-hander Greg McCarthy, Lira and Gates. They recalled catcher Rick Wilkins from injury rehabilitation and activated him from the disabled list.

To make room on their 40-man roster for Holzemer, the Mariners designated right-hander Alex Pacheco for assignment.

Lira was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in five appearances, including one start, with Seattle after being acquired in a trade with Detroit. Gates played in 50 games with the Mariners this season, hitting .243 with two home runs and 12 RBIs.

Notes

Piniella on Randy Johnson’s rehab (tendinitis in his middle finger on his left hand): “It’s progressing, just a little slower than what everybody anticipated, but it’s getting better.” Omar Olivares will start the second game of the series Wednesday as Johnson was scratched… . The Mariners have homered at least once in their last 14 games and in 27 of their last 28. … Ayala was 2-0 with one save and a 1.56 ERA in August.

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