Garciaparra Has a Fine Evening

BOSTON — The look on his face said it all--the usually unflappable Nomar Garciaparra was still beaming.

Garciaparra hit two grand slams and a two-run homer to become the first AL player with 10 runs batted in since 1975, leading the Boston Red Sox past the Seattle Mariners, 12-4, Monday night for their fifth win in a row.

The 1997 AL rookie of the year rarely talks about personal accomplishments, but the businesslike approach changed for one night.

“It was amazing,” Garciaparra said. “I’ve never hit three home runs in a game before--not in Little League, college, nowhere. I’m glad I waited until the big leagues to do it.”

Garciaparra, who tied a team record for RBIs, hit his first slam off Brett Hinchliffe (0-2) in the first inning. He then sliced a two-run shot around the right-field foul pole off Hinchliffe in the third.

After fouling out in the fourth and walking in the sixth, Garciaparra hit his second grand slam--and his fifth homer of the year--off Eric Weaver in the eighth for a 12-3 lead.

“He probably could have thrown anything in that last at-bat and I was going to put a good swing on it,” Garciaparra said of his first-pitch shot into the left-field screen. “The last one, with the bases loaded, I was probably going to swing at anything.”

Garciaparra, whose previous career high was five RBIs, began the game with only one lifetime slam--also against Seattle last Sept. 2.

Garciaparra became the first major leaguer to drive in 10 runs since Mark Whiten had 12 RBIs and four homers for St. Louis on Sept. 7, 1993, at Cincinnati. The last AL player to do it was Fred Lynn for Boston on June 18, 1975.