League Championship Series

NEW YORK -- Four games into the 2000 playoffs, the Seattle Mariners still don't know what it's like to lose. Last night, they became the latest team to threaten a dynasty. Freddy Garcia shut out the New York Yankees on three hits through 6 3/4 innings, and Alex Rodriguez homered to give the Mariners a 2-0 victory in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees have been in this predicament before, having lost the opener of the Division Series and facing elimination by the Oakland Athletics.

NEW YORK - The intangibles that have made the New York Yankees death on opposing teams in October kicked in again yesterday. So did their offense, which vented its frustration on a bullpen that had been impenetrable. And in one inning, an entire series changed course. Drawing close to slipping into crisis mode, the Yankees erupted for seven runs in the eighth, the last two coming on a homer by Derek Jeter, to defeat the Seattle Mariners, 7-1, and salvage a split of the first two games of the American League Championship Series.

SEATTLE -- The likelihood of a Subway World Series gets better with each passing day. The New York Mets seem well-positioned to win the National League pennant and the New York Yankees took another step toward their third straight World Series appearance last night. Left-hander Andy Pettitte pitched a resourceful 6 2/3 innings and the Yankees took advantage of a balanced offensive attack to score an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Safeco Field.

NEW YORK - There was no surrender in the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. No signs of panic from a club that ventured into hostile territory needing at least two wins to assure a trip home and the continuation of the National League Championship Series. Momentum was lost for the New York Mets somewhere between St. Louis and Shea Stadium. Andy Benes helped strip them of it, buckling down each time the Mets threatened and leading the Cardinals to an 8-2 victory in Game 3 before 55,693. No longer in danger of being swept, the Cardinals can even the series tonight behind Darryl Kile.

NEW YORK - Wild cards heading into the postseason, the New York Mets became kings last night. And in Queens, no less. They sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning, building an early lead for Mike Hampton and reserving a spot on October's biggest stage by capturing the National League Championship Series with a 7-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium. A Yankees win in the Bronx tonight will turn a long-anticipated Subway Series into reality. There will be more references to the 7 train than a John Rocker interview.

CHICAGO - There was an undercurrent of understandable angst at Wrigley Field last night, with the Chicago Cubs facing the possibility of losing the first two home games of the National League Championship Series. It took only one game for Cub Fever to turn into Cub fatalism, but it took only a few innings to push that feeling back into the Second City's collective subconscious. The Cubs erupted for eight runs in the first three innings and made things easy for youthful pitching ace Mark Prior on the way to a 12-3 victory over the Florida Marlins that evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece.

SEATTLE - Future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens had a couple of rough outings in the Division Series, but he showed again last night why he probably is the best pitcher of his generation. Clemens delivered the most dominating postseason performance of his great career, surrendering just one hit and striking out 15 batters to carry the New York Yankees to a 5-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Safeco Field. The sellout crowd of 47,803 couldn't have enjoyed watching the Mariners fall behind three games to one in the best-of-seven playoff, but Clemens still made it an evening to remember.

NEW YORK - How soon before the price of subway tokens goes up? They'll be in heavy demand the next two weeks. The New York Yankees made sure of it last night, closing out the American League Championship Series when David Justice hit a three-run homer off former Oriole Arthur Rhodes in the seventh inning for a 9-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 6 and setting up the long-awaited showdown with the Mets beginning Saturday in the Bronx. The Yankees were trailing 4-3 before sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring six runs in the seventh.