St. Petersburg, Fla. — On this date in 2004, Mariano Rivera recorded career save No. 300. Facing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tampa, it was a 7-5 New York Yankees victory.
The Bronx Bombers lineup provided pop with home runs from Ruben Sierra, Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui, and Derek Jeter.
After Javier Vazquez pitched to the scoreboard for six innings, Paul Quantrill and Tom Gordon served as a bridge to the ninth inning.
In the ninth, Rivera yielded a single to Aubrey Huff but fanned ensuing batter and ex-teammate, Tino Martinez. Some nice glove work by Tony Clark at first base enabled Rivera to retire Jose Cruz and Julio Lugo for the save.
