Oct 3, 2002 5 min read

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Behind Mark Mulder’s steady pitching and a whole lot of timely hitting, everything was back to normal for the Oakland Athletics. David Justice’s bases-loaded triple highlighted Oakland’s 14-hit barrage, and Mulder pitched six strong innings as the A’s beat the Minnesota Twins 9-1 Wednesday to even their AL division series at one game apiece.

Eric Chavez had a three-run homer, and rookie Mark Ellis got three hits as Oakland emphatically replied to the Twins’ 7-5 comeback victory in Game 1 with a tremendous offensive game against Joe Mays (0-1) and the Twins’ bullpen.

Each of the first seven hitters in Oakland’s lineup got an extra-base hit as the A’s jumped to an 8-0 lead after four innings. Justice, the most prolific run-producer in playoff history, added three more RBIs to his record total during Oakland’s five-run fourth.

“That much offense lets any pitcher take a big, deep breath,” said Mulder, who allowed five hits. “After we got a big early lead, I couldn’t let them get back in it like they did in Game 1. Once I got a couple of zeros, I felt good.”

The A’s, who won 103 games and the AL West to earn their third straight trip to the playoffs, showed they wouldn’t let one loss distract them from their plan to improve on consecutive first-round series losses. Time after time in the early innings, the A’s came up with the timely hits that eluded them a day earlier.

Miguel Tejada, their MVP candidate, had only an RBI double – but the A’s haven’t relied on one hitter since Jason Giambi left last winter to join the Yankees. Five players drove in a run, and leadoff hitter Ray Durham scored three times as Oakland rolled.

“With our offense, we just look for certain guys to check in from time to time,” Chavez said. “Everybody knows our team is built on pitching. We’ve just got to ride their coattails as far as they’ll take us. Today, we were able to make it easier.”

The Twins were on an emotional high after winning in their first playoff appearance in 11 years, but they were brought back to reality by the A’s dominant victory. Minnesota got just seven hits, scoring its only run on Cristian Guzman’s homer in the sixth.

“We belong. Today, it might not seem that we belong, but they came out with a whooping stick,” All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter said.

Game 3 is Friday at the Metrodome, where 23-game winner Barry Zito will face Rick Reed, one of the Twins’ two postseason veterans. The crowd should be much better – and a lot louder – than the ones in Oakland, where there were thousands of empty seats in the Coliseum’s upper deck for both games.

Playing in the postseason for the 10th time in the last 12 years with his fourth different team, Justice had another remarkable October day. His triple down the right-field line broke the game open, with three runners scampering home.

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said he was embarrassed by his team’s effort, and his players agreed.

“That wasn’t emotionally draining,” Doug Mientkiewicz said with a grimace. “That was, ‘Please hurry up before they score 40 runs against us.”‘

With two hits in his major league-record 109th postseason game, Justice passed Pete Rose for second place in career postseason hits. Justice has 88 hits – second only to the Yankees’ Derek Jeter – and 63 RBIs, tops in major league history.

Justice’s teams have made the postseason in every year since 1990 – including 1996, when he was injured – except for the strike-shortened 1994 season. He has talked about retiring after the season, but he would like to add a third World Series ring to the ones he won with the Braves in 1995 and the Yankees in 2000.

When asked if he’s the new Mr. October, Justice said: “Don’t get Reggie (Jackson) riled up. I’ve always assured him he’ll always be Mr. October.”

Mulder (1-0) – who went 19-7 and finished the season on a six-game winning streak – wasn’t overpowering, but he mostly stayed out of trouble while striking out three. He didn’t allow a runner to reach third base in the first five innings.

The Twins hit just .252 against left-handers in the regular season, and they struggled against Mulder – though Guzman broke up Mulder’s shutout bid with a solo homer in the sixth.

Mays missed three months of the regular season with an elbow injury, and he won just once in six September starts. He never looked comfortable against the A’s, allowing nine hits and six runs in 3 2-3 innings.

Chavez got Oakland started with a three-run homer to right in the first inning. It was the first postseason homer for Chavez, who drove in two runs in Game 1.

Tejada, who had just one hit in his first seven at-bats, got Oakland going in the fourth with an RBI double. After Chavez and Jermaine Dye walked, Justice cleared the bases – and Ellis drove home Justice with a double. Notes:@ Dye was awarded a walk in the fourth when Twins reliever Tony Fiore licked his hand with a 3-0 count. … A’s catcher Ramon Hernandez went hitless in four at-bats. He’s 0-for-18 over the past two postseasons. … Three Twins got their first playoff hits: Matthew LeCroy, Dustan Mohr and Denny Hocking.