Ichiro agrees to new contract with Yankees

NEW YORK — The Yankees and Ichiro Suzuki finalized a $13 million, two-year contract Wednesday that keeps the 10-time All-Star in the Bronx.

Stay awhile longer: Ichiro Suzuki has finalized a two-year, $13 million deal with the Yankees after reviving his career in New York last season following a trade with Seattle. AP

The 39-year-old, who will make $6.5 million in each of the next two seasons, was obtained in a trade with Seattle on July 23, revived his career and quickly became a fan favorite.

His batting average jumped from .261 with the Mariners to .322 with the Yankees, with five homers, 27 RBIs and 14 steals.

"The Yankees are the kind of team that I always envisioned being a part of," Ichiro said in a statement released by the team. "Everyone in the world of competition has a strong desire to win, but the Yankees also have an atmosphere where losing is not an option. These two observations may sound similar, but I believe it is a rarity to find both coexisting in the same organization."

A 10-time Gold Glove outfielder with speed and a strong arm, Ichiro has 2,606 hits in 12 major league seasons. He figures to see corner outfield time, with the Yankees allowing right fielder Nick Swisher to become a free agent.

"I believe the Yankees organization appreciates that there is a difference between a 39-year-old who has played relying only on talent, and a 39-year-old who has prepared, practiced, and thought thoroughly through many experiences for their craft. I am very thankful, and I will do my best to deliver on their expectations," he said.

New York opened a roster spot by designating right-hander Jim Miller for assignment. Ichiro raises the Yankees' payroll next year to $182 million for 13 players with agreements.

SEATTLE — The Los Angeles Angels got the pitching depth they wanted. The Seattle Mariners got the power bat they so desperately needed.

Two foes in the AL West found a way to work together Wednesday when the Angels traded switch-hitting slugger Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners for left-hander Jason Vargas, filling needs for both teams.

The 29-year-old Morales became expendable after the Angels agreed to a deal last week with free agent slugger Josh Hamilton. The Angels had been looking for a pitcher after losing Zack Greinke and Dan Haren to free agency and trading Ervin Santana.

The Angels added a left-hander to their rotation, while Seattle got a hitter that can instantly take a spot in the middle of its order.

"We were going to try and come up with some type of offense and I think this worked out in a positive way," Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "Both players are at the end of their contracts."

Getting Vargas reunites the lefty with his former Long Beach State teammate Jered Weaver at the top of the Angels' rotation. The duo played college ball together in 2004 and now will be counted on in helping make the big money the Angels spent on Hamilton and Albert Pujols last season pay off.

"I'm back home in California now," Vargas said. "It's perfect."

Vargas grew up in Southern California where his father coached high school baseball. He used to watch his second cousin, infielder Randy Velarde, play for the Angels in the late 1990s.

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Ichiro delivers key hit as Yanks make ALCS

NEW YORK — Yankees-Orioles. Playoffs. Disputed home run to right field. Yankees win.

Sound familiar?

CC Sabathia and his New York teammates saw Nate McLouth's long drive called foul by the slimmest of margins — hello, Jeffrey Maier — and then hung on to beat Baltimore 3-1 Friday in the deciding Game 5 of the AL Division Series.

With Alex Rodriguez benched, the Yankees advanced to the AL Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, starting Saturday night in the Bronx.

"It is still a long way to go," Sabathia said. "I still got hopefully three or four more starts. So the job is not done yet."

Sabathia pitched a four-hitter, wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning. It was his first complete game in 17 postseason starts, and the first for the Yankees since Roger Clemens did it in 2000.

Yet it was another piece of history that this game evoked.

The Orioles were in a foul mood, stung on a close play in right that echoed what happened across the street at the old Yankee Stadium in the 1996 ALCS opener, on a fly ball that still stirs emotions in Baltimore.

This time, with the Orioles trailing 1-0 in the sixth, McLouth sent a 3-1 pitch deep down the right-field line. Eyes turned to right field umpire Fieldin Culbreth, who demonstrably waved foul with both arms.

Baltimore manager Buck Showalter came out to ask for a video review, and most of the umpiring crew went down a tunnel to examine the images. When they ran back onto the field about two minutes later, they didn't make any signal — meaning the original call stood. McLouth struck out on the next pitch, ending the inning.

"I saw it go to the right of the pole," Culbreth said. "There is netting there and it didn't touch the netting. It did not change direction," he added, indicating he did not think the ball grazed the pole.

Added crew chief Brian Gorman: "We saw the same thing on the replay. There was no evidence to overturn the decision."

Showalter?

Not sure.

"I couldn't tell. It was real close," he said.

Back in 1996, the 12-year-old Maier reached over the wall above right fielder Tony Tarasco and deflected Derek Jeter's fly ball. Umpire Richie Garcia called it a home run, which tied the score 4-4 in the eighth inning, and the Yankees went on to win in the 11th.

Sabathia defeated the Orioles for the second time in six days, Raul Ibanez hit a go-ahead single in the fifth off Jason Hammel and Ichiro Suzuki added an RBI double in the sixth in a 1-for-3 outing.

"I thought this would be a tiring series, but I didn't think that we were finished," said Ichiro. "Teams that give you trouble during the regular season give you trouble until the end. But in the end, we could close it out like this. The Orioles are really an incredible team."

Curtis Granderson boosted the lead to 3-0 with a second-deck solo homer against Troy Patton in the seventh, and the Yankees advanced following their decision to bench the slumping Rodriguez, their $275 million third baseman.

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Ichiro earns AL weekly accolade

NEW YORK — New York Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, Major League Baseball announced Monday.

Ichor led the major leagues with 15 hits, six stolen bases, and a .600 batting average from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23.

The 38-year-old figured prominently in the Yankees' three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, including the Sept. 19 doubleheader in which he recorded three hits in the day game and went 4-for-4 with four stolen bases in the evening.

Ichiro also led the majors in on-base percentage (.630) and was third in slugging percentage (.960) with two home runs as the Yankees preserved a narrow lead atop the tight American League East.

The weekly award is Ichiro's fourth of his major league career, and his first since joining the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners in July.

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Ichiro gets 2,500th hit of stellar MLB career

PHOENIX — Ichiro Suzuki wasted little time reaching another milestone after a rare day off.

Milestone man: Ichiro Suzuki singles in the first inning to collect the 2,500th hit of his major league career against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday in Phoenix. KYODO

Ichiro led off the game with his 2,500th career hit and finished 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored and the Seattle Mariners outlasted the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-9 in 10 innings on Tuesday night.

"If you look at me now and if you look at me when I first got here in 2001, if I said my first day that my goal is to hit 2,500, on that day people would say that I was crazy," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "Now looking at (it), things do come true."

Between his nine seasons in the Pacific League and his 12-plus seasons in Seattle, Ichiro has 3,781 hits, the third most among professional players in either country, trailing only Pete Rose (4,256) and Ty Cobb (4,191).

"I was there when (former All-Star Roberto) Alomar got his 2,500th hit, and I remember thinking at the time that it was an astronomical figure," Ichiro said. "So to have come this far means something to me."

The milestone came the night after Seattle manager Eric Wedge had given Ichiro his second day off of the season.

"Yesterday was tough for me," Ichiro said. "It was very regrettable because you want to go out there and perform but I understand the skipper's situation. It depends from here on how I will be given the day off."

Wedge had no doubts spending a night in the dugout helped his right fielder.

"You saw the way he swung the bat today," Wedge said. "From his first swing in his first at-bat when he fouled that pitch back, that got my attention right away. Then he dropped a couple in there and hit a couple hard.

"It is something that he has to understand that it's not a bad thing if you get a day off now and then. I know what he is conditioned for and that he wants to play every day but what we are looking for is getting the most out of everybody over 162 games."

Ichiro capped the Mariners' three-run 10th inning when he used his classic inside-out swing to slice a double just inside the left-field line that easily scored Casper Wells and put Seattle in front 12-9.

Wells had hit a pinch-hit, two-run single off sidewinding right-hander Brad Ziegler to give the Mariners an 11-9 lead.

J.J. Putz (1-4) walked Justin Smoak leading off the 10th, Dustin Ackley looped a single to center, moving pinch runner Munenori Kawasaki to second and Brendan Ryan advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt before Wells came to the plate.

"I was kind of picking up where he released from, which basically was the dirt," Wells said. "I was looking for a pitch that I could handle and hit it hard. You have to have your focus."

Smoak, Ryan and Kyle Seager homered for the Mariners, who have won three of their past four.

Aaron Hill, Gerardo Parra and Paul Goldschmidt homered for Arizona, which saw its six-game home winning streak snapped.

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Ichiro welcomes Iwakuma to Seattle

Kobe — Ichiro Suzuki welcomed Hisashi Iwakuma to the Seattle Mariners with open arms Sunday, saying the right-hander's addition to the team was a "pleasant surprise."

"Playing behind him in right (field) at the WBC, I thought he was the easiest pitcher to play defense for," Ichiro said after working out for two hours as the 38-year-old Seattle veteran tries to rebound from his worst season in the majors.

"I never thought I'd be playing on the same team with him so this has been a pleasant surprise."

Ichiro and Iwakuma, whose one-year contract with the Mariners was announced Friday, played together on Japan's World Baseball Classic-winning team in 2009.

Free agent shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, who was also member of the 2009 WBC team, could be joining Iwakuma and Ichiro, having been invited by the Mariners to spring training.

"I look forward to the day that the three of us including (Kawasaki) can be on the field together," Ichiro said.

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Wedge mulling where to bat Ichiro

Dallas — Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge says he's still figuring out where to bat longtime leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki.

The 38-year-old Ichiro is coming off a season in which he hit .272 with a .310 on-base percentage, by far the lowest marks in his 11-year career with the Mariners.

Ichiro has hit exclusively in the leadoff spot for several years. Wedge says he's met with the All-Star outfielder twice in the offseason.

"I'm going to put out the best nine in the right order, in the order that I see fit to score as many runs as we can," Wedge said Tuesday at the winter meetings. "And if I feel like that's him leading off, then that's what we're going to do. If I feel like that's him hitting the 3-hole, that's what I'm going to do. If I feel like that's him hitting somewhere else, that's what we're going to do."

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Ichiro lends hand as Mariners rout Tigers

Five-finger discount: Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki steals second during the fourth inning of a game against the Tigers on Tuesday in Seattle. The Mariners won 13-3. KYODO

SEATTLE — Doug Fister got more run support from his offense in one inning than he had in three previous starts this season.

He didn't waste it, either.

Fister struck out a career-high seven in 6? innings, and the light-hitting Seattle Mariners capitalized on 11 walks allowed by Detroit, routing the Tigers 13-3 on Tuesday night.

Getting some run support probably felt quite foreign to Fister. Before this start, Seattle had scored three runs for the right-hander this season, only two while he was in the game.

But the Mariners scored four times in the first against the Tigers, and staked Fister to a 6-1 lead by the fifth inning. They finished with a season-high 15 hits.

"He's thrown the ball well all year," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "It was good we could jump out early and he did a great job of keeping the same mind-set you have to have when you go out there and you are a starting pitcher in that type of game."

Seattle backed Fister with some rare clutch hitting and the top of its batting order — Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins — combined to go 7-for-9 and five RBIs. Ichiro finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored.

Figgins got his first hit all season with a runner in scoring position, driving in Ichiro in the fourth. Seattle added five runs in the seventh off Detroit's bullpen, only after reliever Jamey Wright got a key double play to end the top of the seventh and keep the Mariners ahead 6-2.

"That felt good. Regardless of what you do (individually) it's good to put up some crooked numbers," Seattle shortstop Brendan Ryan said. "It's nice to play with a lead for a change."

Orioles 11, Twins 0

In Baltimore, Matt Wieters drove in four runs, Vladimir Guerrero hit a three-run homer, and the Orioles snapped an eight-game losing streak by defeating Carl Pavano and the Twins.

Royals 5, Indians 4

In Kansas City, Alex Gordon had two hits, stretching his hitting streak to 13 games, to lead Kansas City to a win over Cleveland in a clash between the unlikely pacesetters in the American League Central division.

Angels 15, Rangers 4

In Arlington, Texas, rookie first baseman Mark Trumbo homered and drove in four runs to help power Los Angeles to a big win over Texas.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 5 (10)

In Toronto, Travis Snider doubled home the winning run in the 10th inning to lift the Blue Jays over New York.

Rays 2, White Sox 1

In St. Petersburg, Fla., James Shields struck out nine batters to lead Tampa Bay over Chicago, and to its seventh win in eight games.

Athletics 5, Red Sox 0

In Oakland, Brett Anderson struck out eight and outdueled usual A's nemesis John Lackey for his first victory of the season.

David DeJesus got Oakland on the board with a first-inning RBI groundout, then Hideki Matsui added a two-run double and Daric Barton and Kurt Suzuki each hit RBI singles in a four-run eighth. Matsui finished 1-for-4.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Brewers 9, Phillies 0

In Philadelphia, Randy Wolf pitched six crisp innings, Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee homered and the Brewers beat Roy Halladay and the Phillies.

Marlins 6, Pirates 0

In Miami, Josh Johnson allowed two hits in seven innings and drove in the first two runs.

Diamondbacks 5, Reds 4

In Cincinnati, Ryan Roberts made the starting lineup because of an injury and hit two of Arizona's four homers off Sam LeCure.

Astros 6, Mets 1

In New York, Wandy Rodriguez found his form against the punchless Mets, pitching seven sharp innings to lead the Astros to a victory.

Giants 6, Rockies 3

In Denver, starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez gave up two hits over 6? innings one night after fellow San Francisco hurler Tim Lincecum flirted with a no-hitter and the Giants beat Colorado, spoiling Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez's return from the disabled list.

Braves 10, Dodgers 1

In Los Angeles, pitcher Brandon Beachy yielded just two hits over six scoreless innings to record his first career victory in the major leagues.

The right-hander came in with a 5.19 ERA over his three previous outings this season, including a 6-5 loss on Thursday against Florida at Turner Field.

Dodgers starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (2-2) allowed two runs gave up five hits over 6? innings in the losing effort.

Nationals at Cardinals — ppd.

Padres at Cubs — ppd.

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