Twenty-five years ago, the rubber was meeting the road for the Yankees, and they were making the most of it. They had just taken three out of four in a series with the Red Sox, and had now started a three-game set with the Blue Jays with a win, creating more and more breathing room for themselves atop the East. They continued that trend in this one, though it ultimately went down to the wire, with the Yankee closer toeing the line on the way to his save.
Little did manager Joe Torre and company realize
that this would be the last relatively stress-free time for the Yanks for quite awhile.
September 13: Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2 (box score)
Record: 84-59 (9 GA in AL East)
After Roger Clemens worked a clean first inning, the Yankee bats got right to it in their half. Chuck Knoblauch and Derek Jeter both reached to begin the inning, but a double play stuck them with just one runner on and two outs. Not to worry, Tino Martinez made use of the inning when he launched a two-run homer into right-center field. His 14th on the 2000 season gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in which they would coast for much of this ballgame. They would add some insurance, two innings later, when Knoblauch led off with a double, and was pushed across on a Paul O’Neill line drive up the middle.
While the Yanks built a reasonable lead, The Rocket was keeping the Jays quiet at every turn. They were not without any baserunners, but Clemens did what he needed to keep the run column empty. He allowed singles in each of the second, third, and fourth innings, but some quick outs in the field and a couple of timely double play balls made them moot points.
Clemens continued to cruise through the fifth and sixth innings, each of which he ended with swinging strikeouts, adding to his total of five on the evening. The veteran worked well enough to pitch into the eighth, though that would be when the Toronto bats would show some signs of life. José Cruz Jr. led off the inning with a double, and was promptly scored thanks to Mickey Morandini’s single, giving the Jays their first run of the night. Clemens exited right after, leaving just the lone blemish on his seven strong innings of work in this one.
Still in trouble in the inning, Jeff Nelson retired a single batter, before Joe Torre called on Mariano Rivera for the five-out save. Though he allowed a single to the first hitter he faced, Rivera quickly retired the next two, and had the Yankees headed to the ninth still up by two runs.
The Yankees were kept quiet by Toronto in their half by Toronto reliever Kelvim Escobar, setting the stage for Mo in the ninth. Things got dramatic rather quickly, as Tony Batista led the frame off with a double, but Rivera countered with a pair of Ks to put Toronto on the ropes. After a walk and a Shannon Stewart single, the Yanks were up just one run, with runners on first and third.
With the game on the line, the Yankee closer stayed cool and ended the game with a flyout off the bat of Alex Gonzalez. It locked down his 34th save of the season, and the Yankees’ 84th victory on the year — part of a particularly valuable stretch in early September.
The Yankees’ solid play in recent weeks had pushed their record to a season-high 25 games over .500 at 84-59, good for a nine-game lead over the second-place Red Sox (and 10 up on the Jays). The magic number to clinch the division was shrinking and there was every reason to believe that the dynastic Yanks would close out the AL East in short order. But this win over Toronto was the calm before the storm of an awful end to the season that shook the confidence of Yankees fans to the core.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
