With the game tied in the seventh inning against the Royals, manager Joe Torre opened his bag of tricks.
After Wade Boggs singled and Derek Jeter moved him to third with a single of his own, Joe Girardi stepped up to the plate and executed a perfect safety-squeeze. Boggs sprinted home, and the Yankees took a 3-2 lead. They went on to win 5-2, earning a split in the four-game series.
Jimmy Key tossed six innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on three hits. In the sixth, he surrendered a leadoff triple to Jose Offerman and then retired Tom Goodwin, Bip Roberts and Mike Macfarlane to keep the game tied. ”That was the turning point of the game,” Key said. (Via NY Times)
Rookie sensation Derek Jeter set the table for the offense in the leadoff spot, going 4-for-5 on the day; he’s now slashing .305/.369/.418 on the season, and is a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. Mariano Rivera came in for two scoreless innings before handing the ball over to John Wetteland, who converted his 38th save.
Even though the Yankees went 3-4 on this roadtrip and have dropped 12 of their last 21 games, they remain 10 games ahead of the second place Baltimore Orioles. ”They’re a great group,” Torre said of his ballclub. ”They grind, and they know they have to work hard to win.” (Via NY Times)
New York will now play 16 of their next 19 games at Yankee Stadium. Torre understands the importance of winning in August as the season winds down.
”In August, you look at where the lead is,” Torre said. ”What we’re trying to do is take games off the schedule and stay in first. We’re looking forward to being more games ahead than there are games left. Then we’ll really have some fun.” (Via NY Times)
The Yankees begin a series with the White Sox tomorrow. Kenny Rogers starts against Kevin Tapani.
Notes:
- David Cone is scheduled to throw off a mound for the first time since May 2 next week. Cone underwent surgery on his shoulder to remove an aneurysm earlier in the season. He expects to be back in September.
- Cecil Fielder will play his first game as a Yankee at Yankee Stadium tomorrow night. Girardi and Fielder swapped numbers so Fielder can have his old 45 back. Girardi will now wear 25.
Box score and current stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 5 12 1
Royals 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0
Batting AB R H RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
Jeter SS 5 3 4 0 0 0 .305 .369 .418
Girardi C 4 0 2 1 0 0 .317 .371 .392
ONeill RF 5 0 1 1 0 1 .305 .422 .467
Fielder 1B 1 1 0 0 4 1 .249 .357 .484
B.Williams CF 4 0 1 2 1 1 .303 .387 .519
Duncan 2B 4 0 2 1 0 2 .335 .349 .479
Fox 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200 .286 .267
Leyritz DH 2 0 0 0 0 2 .245 .338 .353
Strawberry PH 2 0 0 0 0 1 .213 .330 .375
G.Williams LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 .284 .333 .455
Howard 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0 .189 .214 .264
Boggs PH-3B 2 1 1 0 0 0 .308 .385 .389
2B:O'Neill (26).
RBI:B.Williams 2 (70);O'Neill (62);Duncan (39);
Girardi (34).
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Key W (9-8) 6 3 2 1 2 3 4.66
Rivera H (22) 2 1 0 0 2 0 2.22
Wetteland S (38) 1 1 0 0 0 1 3.33
