It was a marathon game that felt like it would never end; It seemed as if no team wanted to win. But after four hours and 45 minutes, rookie Derek Jeter had had enough. He sent everyone in the Bronx home happy with his first career walk-off hit – a single up the middle with the bases loaded and two outs off Boston reliever Joe Hudson in the 10th inning. The Yankees came away with a wild 12-11 victory.
Between these two bitter rivals, 30 runners were left on base and 15 pitchers were used in today’s contest. Jeter wanted to make sure he still kept his dinner plans with his father, Charles, after the game. “We were out there for a long time,” Jeter said. “I was trying to get out of there. It was too long. I’m just glad that it’s over.” (Via NY Times)
Jeter went 3-for-6 on the afternoon and raised his batting average to .318. The former minor league player of the year has arguably become the Yankees’ player of the year for 1996. He’s certainly the frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year. For manager Joe Torre, Jeter is becoming a favorite of his. “How many times are you going to say, ‘What about that kid, Derek Jeter?’ ” (Via NY Times)
Jimmy Key started the game for New York against Mike Maddux. Key – who lasted just 4.2 innings – allowed six runs and gave way to a trio of relievers who failed to do their jobs. Overall, Key, Ricky Bones, Dave Pavlas and Jeff Nelson gave up a combined 11 runs.
The Yankee offense was frustrating to watch as well. Including Jeter’s walk-off which ended the game, New York went just 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position. They left 20 runners on base – including the bases loaded three times. However, they found ways to comeback from deficits four different times, scoring 11 runs over the final six innings. Tim Raines hit two of the Yankees’ four home runs, with Cecil Fielder and Paul O’Neill adding the others.
After Jose Canseco‘s double off Key in the fifth pushed Boston’s lead to 6-1, a Raines homer and a Jeter two-run double cut the deficit to 6-4. Bones came on for the Yanks and surrendered two runs, which made it 8-4. Raines homered again and Fielder hit a two-run shot, making it 8-7 in the sixth. Nelson allowed three which gave Boston an 11-7 advantage, but Tino Martinez hit a two-run single which was part of a three run seventh to make the score 11-10.
In the eighth inning, O’Neill smoked a line drive off second baseman Jeff Fryman’s glove with the bases loaded. It was scored a single, and the Yankees had tied the game at 11. “Once we tied the game up and with Wetteland and 50,000 people screaming for us, I figured something good was going to happen,” Â O’Neill said (Via NY Times).
Wetteland came on and pitched the only 1-2-3 inning of the game in the ninth. The Yankees left two on base in the bottom of the ninth, but loaded the bases with a single and two walks for Jeter in the tenth to set up his first career walk-off hit.
“It seemed like no one wanted to take the game,” Jeter said. “It was one of those games where you figured the team that batted last would win.” (Via NY Times)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Red Sox 0 0 0 1 5 2 3 0 0 0 11 14 1
Yankees 0 0 1 0 3 3 3 1 0 1 12 20 0
Batting AB R H RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
Raines LF 6 3 3 2 1 0 .275 .373 .451
Boggs 3B 5 3 1 0 2 1 .313 .390 .392
ONeill RF 5 2 4 2 1 1 .303 .409 .477
R.Rivera PR-RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279 .400 .456
Fielder DH 6 1 1 3 1 1 .249 .351 .481
Martinez 1B 5 1 1 2 2 1 .287 .358 .459
Williams CF 4 0 3 0 3 1 .306 .393 .531
Jeter SS 6 0 3 3 1 0 .318 .374 .431
Girardi C 6 0 2 0 0 0 .294 .345 .373
Sojo 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .213 .246 .269
Duncan PH-2B 2 1 2 0 0 0 .339 .351 .496
Fox PR-2B 0 1 0 0 0 0 .194 .275 .271
Strawberry PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 .253 .353 .478
Kelly PR-2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 .200 .111
2B:Jeter (24);Williams (25)
HR:O'Neill (19);Raines 2 (8);Fielder (38)
RBI:Fielder 3 (116);Jeter 3 (75);Martinez 2 (111);
O'Neill 2 (89);Raines 2 (32).
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Key 4.2 8 6 6 2 2 4.63
Bones 0.1 2 2 2 0 1 6.14
Pavlas 1.1 1 1 1 1 0 2.84
Nelson 0 2 2 2 1 0 4.50
Polley 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 7.97
Weathers 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 5.72
Lloyd 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 4.18
Wetteland W (2-3) 2 0 0 0 2 1 3.02
