Hargrove Quits Mariners; Narron Fired By Reds

American League Toronto 1 Seattle 2 - Prior to the game, manager Mike Hargrove announced that he would no longer be coaching the Mariners, saying that he no longer had the drive or commitment to the game that was needed and that he demanded from his players. The entire team, including the front office, was caught off guard by Hargrove's sudden decision.

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Speculation is running rampant about his health, his relationship with superstar Ichiro Suzuki and other potential issues, though it appears that after 35 years in organized baseball, Hargrove, 57, simply couldn't handle the pressure, the press and the grind of a 162-game season. Despite the managerial shake-out, the Mariners went out and won their 8th straight. Jeff Weaver pitched 8 innings without a decision, allowing only Frank Thomas' 501st home run in the 7th. J.J. Putz got the win, as Jose Guillen homered in the 8th and singled in Adrian Beltre with the winning run in the ninth. The Mariners trail the Angels by 4 games in the AL West and will be managed, beginning Monday night, by Hargrove's bench coach, John McLaren Minnesota 0 Detroit 1 - Jeremy Bonderman (right) shut out the Twins for 8 innings and Todd Jones worked a perfect ninth for his 20th save. Bonderman (9-1) allowed just six hits and a walk while striking out 7. The Tigers trail Cleveland by 1 1/2 in the AL Central. Oakland 11 NY Yankees 5 - The Yankees dropped their 2nd of 3 against the visiting A's and Danny Haren improved to 10-2 as the A's hammered NY starter Andy Pettitte for 8 (7 earned) runs on 9 hits in the first 1 2/3 innings, scoring once in the first and 7 in the second. The Yankees, losers of 8 of their last 10, trail Boston by 11 games and 2nd place Toronto by 1/2 in the AL East. The A's remained in 3rd place in the AL West, trailing Seattle by 4 1/2 and the Angels by 8 1/2. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 2 Cleveland 3 - J. Borowski, S (24), Devil Rays lose 7th straight LA Angels 4 Baltimore 3 - F. Rodriguez, S (24) Texas 2 Boston 1 - Red Sox have lost 5 of last 6 Chi White Sox 3 Kansas City 1 - Sox have won 6 of 7 National League St. Louis 11 Cincinnati 7 - The Reds, with the worst record and, arguably, the worst pitching staff in either league, dropped their 16th game in their last 22 and fired manager Jerry Narron after the game. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 22nd home run, but the Reds' used 6 pitchers in another embarrassing performance. The Reds, obviously an unbalanced squad, rank 28th out of 32 teams in ERA, but lead the majors in homers with 119. Advance scout Pete Mackanin will take over as interim manager. NY Mets 3 Philadelphia 5 - The Phillies managed to regain a bit of their dignity by taking the last of their four-game homestand against the Mets. When the series began on Friday, Phillies' fans had dreams of first place, as the Phils were only 3 games out, but the Mets won the first three games before dropping the finale on Sunday. Milwaukee 1 Chi Cubs 5 - Jason Marquis stopped the Brewers' offense on 4 hits over 7 innings, allowing just Corey Hart's 6th inning solo shot as the Cubs took 2 of 3 from Milwaukee. Chicago evened their record at 40-40 and trail the Brewers by 6 1/2. San Diego 0 LA Dodgers 5 - Chad Billingsley struck out 9, and allowed just 3 hits over 7 innings as the Dodgers regained 2nd place in the NL West. The Padres lead by one over LA and 1 1/2 over Arizona. Other NL Scores Atlanta 5 Florida 6, 10 innings - Braves trail NY by 4 in NL East Washington 3 Pittsburgh 2 Colorado 0 Houston 12 - H. Pence, 4-5, 3 R, 1 RBI Arizona 0 San Francisco 13 - R. Klesko, 3-5, HR (5), 4 RBI