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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tino Martinez and the New York Yankees wasted no
time in wrecking Kevin Appier.
|  | | Tino Martinez, center, is greeted at home plate by Bernie Williams, left, and David Justice, right, after hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning against Oakland Athletics pitcher Kevin Appier on Wednesday. |
Martinez hit a grand slam and an RBI double as the Yankees dealt
Appier his worst loss ever, routing the Oakland Athletics 12-1
Wednesday.
A night after Bernie Williams and David Justice homered on
consecutive pitches for a ninth-inning win, the Yankees went to
work early against Appier (10-9).
Appier gave up a career-high 10 runs in only 3 2/3 innings.
Making his 303rd start in the majors, he gave up seven hits and
hurt himself with six walks.
"Ape couldn't seem to make a pitch, as simple as that," A's
manager Art Howe said. "He was just missing, but that was the
problem -- he was just missing."
Normally a good talker win or lose, Appier left the clubhouse
before reporters had a chance to speak with him.
"He just had a little difficulty today," Athletics catcher Sal
Fasano said. "We're not going to chastise him. He just didn't have
his stuff."
Andy Pettitte (13-6) took a shutout into the eighth inning and
won his fourth straight start. Jorge Posada and Williams hit solo
home runs as New York sent the A's to their fourth loss in a row.
Appier was 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA in seven previous career starts
at Yankee Stadium. Among those was a victory May 30 in which
Martinez homered.
Posada hit a solo homer in the second, then the Yankees added
five runs in the third. A bases-loaded walk to Justice set up
Martinez's eighth career slam -- New York was 1-for-25 with runners
in scoring position over five games until that drive to right
field.
"He gave me a pitch middle in, and I put a good swing on it,"
Martinez said.
Appier retired the first two batters in the fourth before
Williams singled, Justice walked and Martinez doubled home a run.
After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Doug Jones relieved and
gave up Scott Brosius' three-run double that made it 10-0.
The 10 earned runs were charged to Appier, who had twice
permitted nine runs in a game since breaking into the majors in
1989.
"He works really hard to keep the ball down in the zone,"
Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He had a couple of problems
pitching from behind and he had to give Tino a pretty good pitch to
hit."
Williams homered into the black-painted section beyond the
center-field fence in the sixth. It was the 19th ball hit into that
area since the remodeled Yankee Stadium opened in 1976, including a
shot by Reggie Jackson in the 1977 World Series.
Williams and Danny Tartabull are the only players to hit three
balls into the black area.
"I knew I hit it hard, but I didn't know it was going that
far," Williams said.
Brosius tied a career high with four hits, while Williams and
Posada each scored three runs.
Pettitte blanked the A's on four hits until Fasano homered to
start the eighth. The left-hander allowed seven hits in eight
innings to improve to 8-3 lifetime against the Athletics, including
a two-hitter May 29.
Game notes
Yankees SS Derek Jeter was hitless in three at-bats,
leaving him in a 7-for-49 slump. ... Jose Canseco did not play for
New York. He is scheduled to get his first start for the Yankees on
Thursday afternoon at DH. ... A's SS Miguel Tejada made a couple of
nifty plays. In the sixth, he made an outstanding stop of Luis
Sojo's grounder and flipped to 2B Frank Menechino, trying for a
force play on Brosius. Menechino thought it was the third out and
rolled the ball toward the mound, but umpire Mark Carlson called
Brosius safe. Pitcher T.J. Mathews had to scramble for the ball to
prevent Clay Bellinger from scoring from third. ... Tejada scuffed
his right shin when he was thrown out at the plate in the ninth.
He's expected to play Thursday. ... The Yankees have averaged 8.3
runs in Pettitte's 22 starts.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Oakland Clubhouse
NY Yankees Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 6
Texas 4
Baltimore 5
Detroit 2
NY Yankees 12
Oakland 1
Tampa Bay 5
Minnesota 4
Chi. White Sox 19
Seattle 3
Kansas City 5
Toronto 3
Boston 4
Anaheim 2
Florida 5
St. Louis 3
Colorado 4
Pittsburgh 3
San Francisco 9
Milwaukee 3
Cincinnati 10
Atlanta 6
Philadelphia 3
San Diego 2
NY Mets 12
Houston 5
Montreal 4
Arizona 3
Chicago Cubs 5
Los Angeles 4
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