--DH Ken Griffey Jr.'s 614th career homer came on Sunday in Minnesota, and the shot off Twins LHP Jose Mijares was the 100th homer Griffey has hit off a rookie pitcher. According to Elias Sports Bureau, other rookies to have been stung by Griffey include RHP Kevin Appier (1990), RHP Mariano Rivera (1995), RHP Eric Gagne (2000), RHP Ben Sheets (2001) and RHP Jeff Francis (2005).
--1B Russell Branyan's error in the seventh inning Tuesday led to three unearned runs against RHP Mark Lowe. The Mariners went on to lose the game 7-1. They are now 11-7 when they play error-free baseball but 5-10 when they make one or more errors. --Griffey's Sunday homer was his 26th in the Metrodome. That's the most he's had as a visitor in any ballpark. And it will be his last, as the Mariners have already played twice in Minneapolis this season and the Twins move into a new stadium next season. And the homer was his seventh on Mother's Day. In baseball history, the only men who have hit more Mother's Day homers than Griffey -- Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson, both with nine.
BY THE NUMBERS: 26 -- Metrodome home runs by Ken Griffey Jr., including a game-tying shot in the eighth inning Sunday. That's the most for him in any road ball park.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The test is all year, not six games." -- DH Ken Griffey Jr., on the Mariners' recently ended six-game losing streak.
