Locked in a scoreless tie in the sixth inning, Frank Thomas belted a moonshot to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead, causing the Comiskey Park crowd to erupt. It looked as if the Yankees were on their way towards getting swept, but they rebounded and showed why they’ve been a resilient team all year.
Andy Pettitte hunkered down and didn’t allow anything else, striking out nine over seven innings. The Yankees viewed this game as a must-win. “Of course we needed one,” said Pettitte (17-7). “We had lost two in a row. We haven’t been playing good baseball. Things are going to come around again. We’re going to click again.” (Via NY Times)
Tino Martinez responded right away with a solo shot in the seventh, and Darryl Strawberry  doubled home Bernie Williams to take the lead 2-1. Derek Jeter added an insurance run in the eighth, connecting on his seventh home run of the year. Mariano Rivera stepped in for the injured John Wetteland and pitched two scoreless innings, earning the save.
The Yankees, Joe Torre thought, used Thomas’ home run and the crowd reaction as motivation. “It’s like somebody slapped them in the face,” Torre said. (Via NY Times)
The Yankees are off tomorrow before coming home to face the Mariners.
Box score and current stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 9 0
White Sox 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 8 0
Batting AB R H RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
Jeter SS 4 1 2 1 0 1 .314 .372 .429
Boggs 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 .315 .393 .400
ONeill RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .300 .415 .457
Fielder DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 .249 .354 .484
Fox PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .190 .273 .253
Martinez 1B 4 1 2 1 0 0 .305 .369 .479
B.Williams CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 .296 .375 .520
Strawberry LF 2 0 2 1 1 0 .259 .367 .537
G.Williams LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 .275 .324 .441
Leyritz C 4 0 0 0 0 2 .246 .339 .351
Kelly 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .222 .300 .222
2B:B.Williams (17);Strawberry (6)
HR:Martinez (18);Jeter (7)
RBI:Martinez (88);Strawberry (23);Jeter (50)
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Pettitte W (17-7) 7 7 1 1 0 9 4.30
Rivera S (4) 2 1 0 0 0 2 2.05
