The Mariners' Edgar Martinez hits a two-run homer in the 10th inning.(AP)

Martinez said Cameron's stolen base changed his approach.

"When Mike was at second, I tried to make contact and make my swing a little shorter," Martinez said. "By him being at second, I was able to wait more for the pitch and make a better swing."

Cameron, traded by the White Sox two years ago to Cincinnati and acquired by the Mariners in the Ken Griffey Jr. deal in February, singled in the tying run in the seventh.

He singled again to start the 10th. Rodriguez popped out before Cameron, once projected as Chicago's next star, was nearly picked off first.

In a strange but effective move, manager Lou Piniella came out of the dugout and talked to Cameron at first. After a pitchout, Cameron stole second.

"He said, 'Relax,'" Cameron said. "Whatever he told me, it worked. The only time you see that is Little League.

"I can't tell you exactly what he said. It's a secret we have to keep under the sheets. I guess it was a moment of truth. He wanted to shore things up and make sure I was comfortable."

Martinez, who led the AL with 145 RBI and had a career-high 37 homers, hit a two-run homer to left field to silence a crowd of 45,290 that came to see the White Sox's first playoff appearance in seven years. Olerud followed with a homer to center.

"I was thinking Lou was telling Mike, 'If you get a jump go ahead and take it,'" Martinez said. "I think he was telling him, 'Don't be afraid.'"

Jose Mesa, who escaped a jam in the White Sox ninth, was the winning pitcher and Kazuhiro Sasaki pitched the 10th for the save. Foulke took the loss.

"Walking off the mound wasn't the difficult part. Giving up the home run to Edgar was the difficult part," Foulke said. "It was a bad change-up."

Game 2 in the best-of-5 series will be Wednesday at Chicago.

Seattle won eight of its final nine road games in the regular season, including a win over Anaheim on the final day to clinch the wild card.

The White Sox, who led the majors in scoring and had the best record in baseball, stranded 10 runners.

"We had a lot of missed opportunities. We had a chance to blow it open early. I had chances and I tried to do too much," Frank Thomas said.

Charles Johnson, the only White Sox player with a World Series ring, led off the bottom of the ninth with a single. Two outs later, Mesa intentionally walked Thomas and retired Magglio Ordonez on a fly ball.

Foulke, who saved 34 games this season, had given up just one run in his previous 14 2/3 innings of the regular season.

Cameron hit a two-out, bases-loaded single in the seventh to tie it at 4. David Bell was thrown out by right fielder Ordonez trying to score from second on the hit, ending the inning.

"I'm just glad we're in the playoffs. We're playing the White Sox, the team I used to play for," Cameron said. "I want to win against them like I would anybody else."

Ray Durham homered and Chris Singleton and Ordonez had RBI triples as the White Sox took a 4-3 lead after falling behind early 3-0.

Durham's homer to left-center off Freddy Garcia tied the game in the third.

Chicago loaded the bases in the fourth to drive out Garcia before reliever Brett Tomko retired Jose Valentin and Thomas on short fly balls. It was that kind of day for the White Sox, who couldn't provide the big hit when they needed it.

The Mariners jumped on Chicago starter Jim Parque for two first-inning runs. Rickey Henderson singled and Cameron was hit by a pitch. Rodriguez -- who had three hits -- then singled for a 1-0 lead.

Olerud's grounder made it 2-0. Joe Oliver homered leading off the second for a 3-0 lead.

But the White Sox, who scored 978 runs during the season, got two back in the bottom half, thanks to the speed of Singleton.

Paul Konerko walked and one out later Singleton hit a line drive to right that went over Jay Buhner's head as he was falling down for a triple.

When Garcia threw a wild pitch between Oliver's legs, Singleton scored.

Parque, pushed into the starter's role when Mike Sirotka needed an extra day to rest his sore elbow, went six innings. He allowed three runs and six hits and retired his final 10 batters.

Seattle jumped on reliever Bob Howry in the seventh, loading the bases on Bell's double and two walks. Cameron, the White Sox's 18th-round pick in the 1991 draft, greeted Chad Bradford with a tying single before Ordonez made his strong throw to the plate.

Notes

• The White Sox have five players on their roster with previous playoff experience and they're all position players. The Mariners have 13 who have been in the playoffs before, including four pitchers.
• Backup C Mark Johnson was left off the roster in place of Josh Paul, even though Johnson spent the entire season with the White Sox and Paul didn't. Paul is a faster runner and can play the outfield, manager Jerry Manuel said.
• Sirotka and Seattle's Paul Abbott will start Game 2.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service