Even the best teams have stinkers. With a seven-game division lead with fewer than 20 games left, the 2000 Yankees had no reason to stress out about a disaster against Cleveland, as they dropped their second straight game for the first time since mid-August. Unbeknownst at the time, though, this loss was a harbinger of potential disaster, as the Yankees would enter a freefall that caused them to almost miss the postseason entirely.
September 15: Yankees 1, Cleveland 11 (box score)
Record: 84-61 (1st
in AL East, 7.0 games ahead)
Making his first start since suffering a dislocated left shoulder on September 5th, David Cone had a very mixed outing. Cleveland jumped out to an early lead, as Omar Vizquel worked a one-out walk and came around to score on a Roberto Alomar double. Following that, however, Cone settled in, tossing two scoreless innings in which he struck out Kenny Lofton and Jim Thome. With two outs in the fourth, however, he fell apart a bit. After plunking Russell Branyan, Alomar and Lofton each singled, plating Branyan and giving Cleveland a 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, against Cleveland starter Dave Burba, the Yankees’ bats struggled to get anything going. Across the first three innings, they managed just one hit, a Derek Jeter single with one out in the first. Burba lost the zone in the bottom of the fourth, walking the bases loaded with two outs for Luis Sojo. For a moment, it looked like the Yankees would take advantage of the opportunity, as the utilityman hit a deep fly ball down the left field line; unfortunately, it hooked foul, and later in the at-bat, he struck out to leave the bases loaded.
Following a scoreless fifth, though, everything unraveled for the Yankees in the sixth. Cone walked Branyan to lead off the inning, and a pair of singles loaded the bases with nobody out. Vizquel grounded into a 4-6 fielder’s choice, as the Yankees failed to complete the double play, that scored one run. A Roberto Alomar sacrifice fly then scored Sandy Alomar. After Cone walked Manny Ramirez, Joe Torre turned the game over to Jason Grimsley. That changed nothing, as Grimsley walked Thome to load the bases for David Segui. He deposited a 3-1 pitch into the upper deck for a grand slam. Just like that, the Yankees found themselves in an 8-0 hole.
With the game out of hand, Craig Dingman came on to pitch for the seventh, and it was more of the same. Sandy Alomar led off with a single, going to third two batters later on a Vizquel single. A Roberto Alomar fielder’s choice scored Sandy, and Ramirez did what he would do a bunch of times with the Red Sox later in his career — hit a home run in Yankee Stadium. Cleveland 11, Yankees 0.
Looking to avoid injury, both teams took advantage of the 40-man rosters and removed several of their important players — Alfonso Soriano replaced Jeter at shortstop, Ryan Thompson replaced Paul O’Neill, and Luis Polonia replaced Scott Brosius. Not surprisingly, then, the last few innings went rather quietly, with Glenallen Hill’s solo shot in the ninth inning far too little, far too late, bringing the game to its final score of 11-1.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
