Asked about Mariano Rivera, Doug Mientkiewicz knows he never got
a hit off the New York Yankees’ great closer. He’s glad to find out
he’s not alone.

As Rivera proaches the career saves record, an astounding 454
batters are 0-fer against him.

“So, I have company then?” Mientkiewicz said. “It’s not just me?
Awesome.”

Tied with Trevor Hoffman at 601 saves, Rivera is far more than
an accumulation of numbers. He made the cut fastball famous,
plying a grip that created a fearsome break _ especially to
left-handed hitters who tried to fight the pitch off as it spun in
on their fists.

Chuck Schupp of Louisville Slugger estimated Rivera averaged at
least one broken bat for every two of his 1,038 regular-season
games and 94 postseason pearances. At the rate required for
manufacturing, he thinks Rivera alone has accounted for five to six
trees of busted wood.

Chipper Jones could only chuckle as he watched Rivera break Ryan
Klesko’s bats three times in a four-pitch span during the final
inning of the 1999 World Series, with the Atlanta first baseman
hitting a weak popup to second as the wood shattered.

“That thing was just wicked. I had never seen anything like it,”
Klesko remembered Friday. “You can’t help to laugh. I couldn’t
believe it. It was like a 97 mph Wiffle Ball that has no rotation.
I told Chipper, ‘If he breaks one more of my bats, I’m going to
have none left.’”

In his 17th major league season and two months shy of his 42nd
birthday, the slim Panamanian shows little sign of slowing
down.

Just five pitchers who were primarily relievers are in the Hall
of Fame: Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis
Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006) and Rich Gossage (2008). None
dominated for as long as Rivera has, and none owned October on an
annual basis.

“Everybody knows about Mariano Rivera. He’s one the biggest
names in the game, maybe the greatest postseason pitcher,”
Eckersley said. “I think there’s probably players in awe of him
that played against him. They’re OK with him striking them out. You
can talk all you want about one pitch or whatever they say, but to
be able to put it where he wants to, with all that adrenaline, is
beyond me.”

His demeanor, as much as his accomplishments, have earned him
respect throughout the game, from teammates, to opponents, to
retired players, to media.

“He’s the consummate professional. He acts the way guys should
act,” Gossage said. “Kids should take a page out of his book on how
to act on the mound, not acting like fools jumping up and down,
showing hitters up.”

Rivera, quiet and reserved in the clubhouse and on the field,
shows hitters up quite enough with his pitches. He didn’t even
throw the cut fastball until after he replaced John Wetteland as
the Yankees’ closer in 1997. He was playing around on the side with
teammate Ramiro Mendoza, experimenting, when the ball started
swerving like crazy.

Mendoza said the ball became too unpredictable to catch.

“I don’t want to play catch with him no more,” Mendoza added.
“Too much hurting.”

Rivera came up to the Yankees in 1995, making 10 starts and nine
pearances out of the bullpen. Who could have foreseen what was
getting started on May 17, 1996, when the Angels’ Garret Anderson
grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, ending an 8-5 Yankees’ win that
gave Rivera his first big league save?

Now Rivera is viewed as an almost mythical figure, almost as if
“The Great” is a part of his name.

Mientkiewicz, 0 for 7 against Rivera in his career (regular and
postseason), tells stories about Rivera that define hitters’
frustrations. After making out in his first five plate pearances
against him, Mientkiewicz became tired of using his own bats.

“When I got to Boston in 2004, I started using Billy Mueller’s
bats,” Mientkiewicz said. “I didn’t want to break my good ones _ my
gamers, I’d call them _ because I knew I was going to break
them.”

Mientkiewicz developed his own proach.

“If you swing at the first one and foul it off, do not even
attempt to swing at the second because it’s going to be the one
that’s basically called the ‘neck ball,’” he said. “It’s the one
that rides up and in on you. And if you swing, not only do you miss
it, you get hit in the Adam’s ple, and you embarrass your
family.”

In Game 4 of the 2004 AL championship series, Mientkiewicz pinch
hit just after Mueller tied the score with a ninth-inning single.
Told to sacrifice, he laid down a bunt. He says the ball hit a
finger, that it should have been called a foul. But he made sure
the umpires didn’t notice.

“It was so cold, and it hurt so bad going down the line that I
wasn’t going to show it. If it’s a foul ball, I have to face him
again. I was like, `No way. I’m just running to first. I don’t care
if my nail is falling off and I’m bleeding all over the place. If I
had to do that again, I don’t think that’s humanly possible.’”

That night was one of just five blown saves in the postseason
for Rivera _ to go along with 72 in the regular season. Opponents’
batting average, a minuscule .210 during the regular season,
shrinks to .176 in the postseason.

Edgar Martinez, who spent 18 seasons with the Seattle Mariners
before retiring in 2004, has the highest average against Rivera for
anyone with at least 10 at-bats, going 11 for 19 (.579) with two
homers, including the playoffs. Martinez got nine hits in his first
11 at-bats against him.

“He worked the outside part of the plate. My proach is middle
away,” he said. “I was effective about using 20 inches of the bat.
As a right-handed hitter, it was easier compared to the
left-handers. They see this ball in the middle of the plate end up
in their hands.”

Rivera took notice of Martinez’s success.

“He mentioned it himself. I remember he made a comment,”
Martinez recalled. “It was at an All-Star game.”

While Rivera is a 12-time All-Star, he prefers to be thought of
more as a five-time World Series champion. And in 1998, 1999, 2000
and 2009, he was on the mound for the final out.

Talk to most players, and they will tell you that Rivera has
been the most important stripe forming the pinstriped dynasty of
the 1990s and 2000s. More than Derek Jeter. More than Andy
Pettitte. More than Jorge Posada. More than Bernie Williams.

There is no equal.

“It’s a huge psychological advantage when you’ve got a guy like
Mariano and a great setup corps,” Gossage said, “to know that it’s
a six-inning ballgame. You’ve got the lead, and it’s over.”

In the 2009 postseason, Boston’s Jonathan Pelbon, Minnesota’s
Joe Nathan, the Angels’ Brian Fuentes, Colorado’s Huston Street,
the Cardinals’ Ryan Franklin and the Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton all
blew save chances.

Rivera?

He went 5 for 5. Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge, with three saves,
was the only other closer without a blemish.

“That is so incredible. To be able to do it at that level, with
that pressure. Try to do it in that environment, in New York, with
them expecting to go to the playoffs every year,” Eckerlsey said.
“He’s made differently. There’s a calm to him. And because of that,
there’s a calm to the team.”

© 2011 The . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Mariano Rivera’s 600th save ended with a perfect strike. Only
this one was thrown by his catcher.

Russell Martin cut down Ichiro Suzuki trying to steal second for
the final out Tuesday night and with that, Rivera became the second
major league pitcher to reach the relief milestone.

One save shy of Trevor Hoffman’s career record, the New York
Yankees closer could get his first opportunity to tie the mark
Wednesday night in the series finale against Seattle.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever see it again,” manager Joe Girardi
said after Rivera _ and Martin _ nailed down New York’s 3-2 victory
over the Mariners. “That’s how much of an accomplishment this is
that he and Trevor Hoffman have done. Simply remarkable.”

Thanks to Martin’s quick peg to second, the game ended just the
way Rivera has always preferred: with a chance for him to credit
his teammates.

“It’s an out. It doesn’t depend on me, it depends on the whole
team,” Rivera said. “This is a team job and it don’t matter how you
do it as long as you get him out.”

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter put the tag on Suzuki and smiled
as he brought the souvenir ball to Rivera. One by one, New York
players lined up near the mound to give him hugs and
high-fives.

No loud screams or wild gestures. No outlandish dogpiles. Just a
respectful celebration that was pure Rivera.

Simply do your job and move on.

“I’m not that type of guy. I’m a team player,” Rivera said. “I
tell you guys many times and I’ll continue to tell you, it doesn’t
depend on myself. It depends on my teammates giving me the
opportunity to be able to pitch.”

In a season in which Jeter reached one of baseball’s grandest
milestones with his 3,000th hit, Rivera has also added to his
Yankees legacy. But even he acknowledged the biggest moment coming
up will be save No. 602, when he passes Hoffman to become the most
prolific closer in major league history.

Forget about savoring No. 600. A quick turnaround is part of the
job.

“I don’t think like that. We need another game tomorrow,” Rivera
said. “We’re in a pennant race.”

What’s most amazing to some is that Rivera has racked up all
those saves _ plus 42 more in the postseason _ primarily on the
strength of one dominant pitch: his sizzling cut fastball. And he’s
done it in pressure-packed situations with the Yankees always in
contention.

That wasn’t lost on his teammates, especially those who at one
time or another had to face Rivera from the other side.

“Just to think, about every game Mariano has ever pitched has
been a meaningful game,” Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez said.
“Every one of those saves meant something.”

That biting cutter was in play again Tuesday night as Rivera
notched his 41st save of the season in 46 chances. But Jeter
scoffed at the idea that the right-hander has reached the 600 mark
with just one pitch.

“First of all, it’s not one pitch,” he said. “He throws a
cutter, he throws a two-seam, he throws a four-seam. It’s all one
speed, he throws it hard, but (Rivera) has perfected fastballs. I’m
not surprised by it.”

Robinson Cano provided the Yankees offense with a homer and two
RBIs, while A.J. Burnett (10-11) won for the first time since Aug.
15 thanks to a season-high 11 strikeouts. New York stayed four
games in front of second-place Boston in the AL East after the Red
Sox thumped Toronto 18-6.

The 41-year-old Rivera, a 12-time All-Star, entered with a
one-run lead in the ninth inning. He struck out pinch-hitter Wily
Mo Pena before Suzuki served a soft single into left field.

Rivera fanned rookie Kyle Seager and, with Dustin Ackley at the
plate, Suzuki broke for second.

“I wish that I didn’t throw him out so (Rivera) could get a
punchout or something like that,” Martin said.

Rivera was almost forced to wait another night after the Yankees
battered nemesis Felix Hernandez in the series opener, ending his
chances of breaking the record in Seattle.

He didn’t have much time to get ready as New York went down
quickly in the top of the ninth. Rivera came on to pitch with most
of the Yankees fans in attendance standing and many snping
pictures. Nearly the entire Yankees dugout stood on the top-step
railing.

“I noticed there were a lot more people standing on the top step
tonight. We need some big dugouts,” Girardi said. “This is a guy
who I believe is the best closer that’s ever been in the game and
I’ve had the fortune of catching him, coaching him and managing
him, and it’s a treat.”

© 2011 The . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SEATTLE () – Alex Gordon hit a pair of RBI doubles and four Kansas City pitchers combined to hold the Seattle Mariners to six hits in the Royals 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon.

Rookie left-hander Everett Teaford (1-0) pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, walking one and striking out five to pick up his first big league victory in his first career start after 23 relief pearances.

Blake Wood took over in the seventh and tossed two hitless innings, retiring six straight, four on strikeouts.

Greg Holland gave up a two-out RBI double to Ichiro Suzuki in the eighth.

Joakim Soria pitched the ninth to pick up his 28th save in 35 opportunities.

Kansas City got a break in the third inning when Alcides Escobar stroked a two-out single to left and Gordon lifted a routine fly to Mike Carp. The left fielder battled to track the ball in the sun, finally losing it to his right.

Escobar never broke stride, scoring without a throw and Gordon was credited with a RBI double.

Anthony Vasquez (1-3), who entered with a 9.00 ERA in his three previous starts, went six-plus innings – his longest career outing – allowing seven hits, two runs with two strikeouts and no walks.

Vasquez put down a couple of minor threats in the middle innings. In the fifth with one out, he hit Chris Getz and Escobar followed with a single to center. He then struck out Gordon and Melky Cabrera lined out to center when Casper Wells made a nice sliding catch.

In the sixth, Eric Hosmer launched a one-out double into the right-center g, but Jeff Francoeur popped out to second and Yamaico Navarro bounced out to short.

Vasquez, however, couldn’t esce a self-induced jam in the seventh. Brayan Pena opened with a single to center then Getz laid down a sacrifice bunt. Vasquez booted it, putting runners on first and second with no outs.

Shawn Kelley took over. Escobar struck out when he failed to put down a bunt with two strikes. Gordon followed with his second double, a shot against the left-center wall. Pena scored while Getz held up at third and Kelley got out of the jam without more damage.

The Royals displayed their defensive prowess in the fourth. With Dustin Ackley on first, Carp lined out to right-fielder Jeff Francoeur. He quickly threw to first to double off Ackley.

It was the Royals’ 50th outfield assist, most in the majors. It also was the most in the big leagues since 2002 and three short of the club record.

Notes: Seattle hosts the AL East-leading New York Yankees for three games beginning Monday. The Mariners will start their ace, RH Felix Hernandez (14-11, 3.15), Monday, followed by lefties Charlie Furbush (3-8, 4.84) and Jason Vargas (8-13, 4.49). The Yankees have a 2.5 game lead over Boston. Hernandez is 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA in 10 career starts against the Yankees. … The Royals have Monday off before beginning a six-game homestand against Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox. Bruce Chen (10-7, 4.30) takes the mound. He is 1-4 with a 6.59 ERA in 15 career starts against the Twins. … Royals DH Billy Butler singled in the fourth to break a 0-for-17 slide. … The Mariners struck out 12 times. In the four-game series, Royals pitchers struck out 51 Mariners. … RH Steve Delabar made his big league debut for the Mariners in the ninth. He is the 12th player to debut this season for Seattle.

(Sports Network) – The Tampa Bay Rays continue to play host to the hless
Seattle Mariners in a three-game series from Tropicana Field.

Since being acquired from Detroit, Seattle’s Charlie Furbush has been solid at
home. In his two starts at Safeco Field, Furbush is 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA. He
was outstanding on Sunday against Boston, limiting the Red Sox to just one run
on four hits. On a down note, Furbush is 0-3 on the road this season with an
8.20 ERA.

Furbush was strong in his only previous start versus the Rays this season, as
the rookie hurler permitted a mere one earned run in 5 1/3 innings of action.

Expected to get the ball for the Rays tonight is Jeremy Hellickson, who has
been a solid starter for the club this season. The righty is 10-8 with a 3.22
ERA, but he is coming off a poor performance against the Yankees on Saturday
that saw him yield four earned runs on eight hits in just 4 1/3 innings of
action. At home this season, the hurler owns a 2.70 ERA.

Hellickson is 2-0 lifetime versus Seattle with a 1.26 ERA, and both of those
starts came this season. He has allowed just eight hits in 14 1/3 innings to
the Mariners.

Yesterday, Ben Zobrist singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth
inning to send the Rays to a 3-2 win over the Mariners in the opener of this
series.

Earlier in the inning, Johnny Damon reached on an infield single with two outs
that should have ended the inning, but third baseman Adam Kennedy took too
long to get the ball to first and Evan Longoria followed with an RBI single to
left to knot the game at 2-2. Zobrist then hit a single to center for the go-
ahead run.

John Jaso also added an RBI for the Rays, who ran their winning streak to
three games.

Juan Cruz (5-0) earned the win in 2/3 of an inning in relief and Kyle
Farnsworth worked a perfect ninth to notch his 22nd save of the season.

Tampa Bay has allowed the fewest runs in the American League (477).

Felix Hernandez (11-11) was excellent in defeat, giving up three runs on six
hits while fanning nine and walking three over eight frames.

Kyle Seager cracked his first major league home run for the Mariners, who have
lost three straight.

Seattle’s Mike Carp extended his hitting streak to 18 games.

The Rays ctured seven of nine over the Mariners in 2010.

The Sports Network

NEW YORK — Conan O’Brien’s show was blaring on the TVs in the visitors’ clubhouse after another loss, yet there was little laughter. The late night host can take heart, though. There’s only one thing that can lift the Mariners’ mood right now.

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each homered and drove in three runs, Freddy Garcia stifled his former team and the New York Yankees handed snakebit Seattle its 16th straight loss with a 10-3 victory Monday night.

“They’re staying together with this thing, it’s just a hell of a thing we’re going through right now,” manager Eric Wedge said. “We just got to keep showing up and doing different things and trying different things to try and get back on track.”

A rain delay of 1 hour, 57 minutes was the only thing that slowed this loss for Seattle. The game was barely under way when Teixeira crushed any pregame hopes Seattle had of jumping out early and snping the streak, hitting a rare homer into the second deck in left field after Curtis Granderson walked in the first. In the third, Jeter hit his first homer since connecting for hit No. 3,000 on July 9. He also tripled in the eighth.

Five Yankees had RBIs in the fourth against Jason Vargas (6-9), an inning in which the Mariners made two errors and were on the wrong side of what peared to be a missed call at first base — one of two calls to go against Seattle.

“You don’t blame things,” said Adam Kennedy, who made one error in the fourth. “But it’s true, when things are going bad that’s what hpens.”

After scoring 29 runs in the past six games and still breaking the franchise’s 1992 record of 14 losses in a row, the Mariners went down meekly against Garcia (9-7). With only the occasional player standing at the railing at the top step of the Seattle dugout until the game was well out of hand in the eighth, the Mariners mustered just three hits through the first six innings.

Garcia got his start with Seattle in 1999, was a two-time All-Star and went to the AL championship series twice in his 5 1/2 seasons in the Pacific Northwest. He hasn’t been an All-Star since but has been a steady addition to the Yankees’ rotation this season.

He gave up eight hits and three runs in a season-high 7 2-3 innings, helping New York improve to 3-1 in a 13-game stretch against teams currently below .500.

“You don’t want to be the guy,” Garcia said about being the one to lose to a team on a losing streak. “You go out there and do the best you can do every time you go out there.”

The Mariners were at .500 on July 5, 2 1/2 games back in the AL West and an early season surprise. But everything has fallen art since. Their skid is the longest in the majors since Kansas City lost 19 in a row in 2005.

Ichiro Suzuki cut the lead to 2-1 with a sacrifice fly in the third after the first two runners reached. The rally was halted when Franklin Gutierrez was thrown out trying to advance on a ball that bounced in the dirt.

The Yankees put it out of reach in the fourth. After Vargas struck out Nick Swisher to start the inning, Russell Martin reached when third baseman Kennedy couldn’t handle his tough grounder down the line. Andruw Jones then was called safe on a toss play to Vargas at first base, but replays peared to show Vargas won the race to the base.

Eduardo Nunez and Brett Gardner followed with RBI singles. Jeter then hit a grounder to second. Dustin Ackley made a poor throw home for another run.

Granderson had one of his two sacrifice flies and Teixeira made it 8-1 with a single.

“It’s one thing when you know you’re kind of all over the place and they get to you, but other than that home run in the first to Teixeira, they just battle you and battle you and don’t give up at-bats and don’t give in,” Vargas said. “I did my best out there to try to limit what was going on but nothing was going right for us.”

Vargas lost his fourth straight start, giving up eight runs — four earned — and seven hits in four innings.

Justin Smoak had an RBI single in the seventh and Brendan Ryan a run-scoring double in the eighth.
 
Notes
Yankees manager Joe Girardi says Alex Rodriguez (knee surgery, July 11) is on target to return mid-August. … RHP Rafael Soriano (May 17, elbow inflammation) pitched a scoreless inning for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … INF Chone Figgins was not in the Seattle lineup because he was tending to a family emergency. … Mariners RHP Shawn Kelly (elbow surgery Sept. 1) will fly to Triple-A Tacoma to make a rehab pearance Wednesday. … LHP Eric Bedard, out since June 28 with a left knee sprain is set to start for Seattle Friday.
 
– Howie Rumberg/The

The 2011 MLB All-Star Game rosters were announced on Sunday while many were away enjoying the lengthy holiday weekend. For the Seattle Mariners, the pickings were slim, with only two players selected to initial All-Star Game rosters. Felix Hernandez, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, made the cut, with Brandon League also earning a nod for his work as the Mariners’ closer this season.

Here is the full American League roster, courtesy of Baseball Nation.

Starters: Alex Avila (C, Detroit Tigers), Adrian Gonzalez (1B, Boston Red Sox), Robinson Cano (2B, New York Yankees), Alex Rodriguez (3B, New York Yankees), Derek Jeter (SS, New York Yankees), David Ortiz (DH, Boston Red Sox), Jose Bautista (OF, Toronto Blue Jays), Curtis Granderson (OF, New York Yankees) and Josh Hamilton (OF, Texas Rangers).

Position Players: Matt Wieters (C, Baltimore Orioles), Jacoby Ellsbury (OF, Boston Red Sox), Carlos Quentin (OF, Chicago White Sox), Asdrubal Cabrera (SS, Cleveland Indians), Miguel Cabrera (1B, Detroit Tigers), Howie Kendrick (2B, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Michael Cuddyer (OF, Minnesota Twins), Russell Martin (C, New York Yankees), Matt Joyce (OF, Tampa Bay Rays), Adrian Beltre (3B, Texas Rangers), Michael Young (IF, Texas Rangers).

Pitchers: Chris Perez (RP, Cleveland Indians), Jose Valverde (RP, Detroit Tigers), Aaron Crow (RP, Kansas City Royals), Josh Beckett (SP, Boston Red Sox), Mariano Rivera (RP, New York Yankees), Gio Gonzalez (SP, Oakland Athletics), Felix Hernandez (SP, Seattle Mariners), Justin Verlander (SP, Detroit Tigers), Brandon League (RP, Seattle Mariners), David Price (SP, Tampa Bay Rays), James Shields (SP, Tampa Bay Rays), Jered Weaver (SP, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), C.J. Wilson (SP, Texas Rangers).

Thanks to the fan vote, the American League roster is full of New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Of the position players voted into the game, six of the nine players hail from New York or Boston. Jose Bautista was the leading vote-getter among position players.

Of note, Ichiro did not make the cut, either as a starter or reserve. Thus far, the Mariners’ right fielder has struggled, lacking the form Seattle fans are accustomed to. Sadly, the American League will miss-out on its typical, expletive-filled pre-game speech from the colorful outfield.

For more on the All-Star Game rosters, head over to Baseball Nation. For more on the Mariners, visit SB Nation’s Lookout Landing.