July 15, 1996: Yankees drop series opener in Boston
RELIVE the 1996 Yankees season | Fresh off a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees dropped their series opener in Boston by a score of 8-6 tonight. Rookie pitcher Ramiro Mendoza, who hadn't started in the two weeks leading up to today's game thanks in part to the all-star break, gave up five runs on six hits over two innings. His ERA through nine starts this season now stands at 8.05. "His location wasn't good," Torre said. "Against this ball club, if your location isn't good, you're going to get nailed, and he did." - via NY Times. The Yankees jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning off Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield when Darryl Strawberry and Tino Martinez each collected RBI singles, and Mariano Duncan hit into an RBI groundout. Mendoza responded in the bottom half of the first by balking in a run, setting the tone for his night. In the second inning, he allowed a double to Reggie Jefferson, a walk to Mike Stanley and then a Troy O'Leary RBI double. After recording an out, Jeff Frye drove in two with a double of his own, and then scored on Jose Valentin's single to right-center. All of a sudden, the Yankees were down 5-3 and Mendoza's night was over. Torre said that Mendoza is still pencilled in as the fifth starter, but that they're still hoping to find other options if need be. "We're still looking for someone in that five hole and hopefully it will happen." - via NY Times. Martinez and Duncan each drove in a run to tie the game in the top of the third, but Boston reclaimed the lead in the bottom half on Jefferson's solo homer off Mark Hutton. The Yankees were able to get to Wakefield, as he allowed six runs on 13 hits over five innings, but a combination of relief pitchers Vaughn Eshelman, Joe Hudson, Mike Stanton and Heathcliff Slocumb held the Yankees to just one hit over four innings. "We're human beings," Duncan said. "That's what I said to the guys when the game was over. We lost one game. We haven't lost the series." - via NY Times. Jimmy Key gets the start for the Yankees tomorrow against Roger Clemens. Notes:
Wade Boggs was held out of the lineup with a bruised hand, which he suffered on a slide against Baltimore on Sunday. Joe Torre expects him to be back in the lineup tomorrow.
Ruben Sierra, who is hitting .188 (12 for 64) since June 23, sat against the knuckleballer Wakefield tonight.
Pat Kelly will begin a rehab assignment with Columbus tomorrow.
*For the rest of the second half, we will be recapping every Yankees game from 1996 as they happened. So check back every day as we remember that magical season. Box score and current stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Yankees 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 14 1
Red Sox 1 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 X 8 13 0
Batting AB R H RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
Jeter SS 4 1 2 0 1 0 .280 .356 .391
B.Williams CF 5 1 3 0 0 0 .318 .399 .543
ONeill RF 3 0 0 0 2 0 .316 .439 .463
Strawberry DH 4 2 2 1 1 1 .273 .360 .591
Martinez 1B 5 2 4 2 0 0 .284 .339 .466
Duncan 2B 5 0 2 2 0 1 .319 .339 .463
Leyritz C-3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 .243 .335 .350
G.Williams LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 .311 .369 .497
Fox 3B 3 0 0 0 0 3 .197 .290 .279
Girardi PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 .292 .359 .3562B:Jeter (13,off Wakefield);Martinez 2
(19,2 off Wakefield)
RBI:Duncan 2 (30);Martinez 2 (66);
Strawberry (5);Leyritz (25)Fielding:
DP:1.Martinez-Jeter
E:Duncan (11)Pitching IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Mendoza 2 6 5 5 1 2 8.05
Hutton L (0-1) 3.2 4 3 2 2 3 5.31
Nelson 2.1 3 0 0 0 1 4.53