To begin the month of September, the 2000 New York Yankees stepped into a series with the Minnesota Twins, who, despite their poor record, had given the Bombers some fits along the way, especially early.
The September series would be the last time the two squads would face each other during the season, and the Yankees made sure to take advantage of it and get the final month of regular-season baseball started on a hot note, which began with an impeccable pitching performance from Orlando “El Duque”
Hernández. The Yankees starter needed to find his stride again, which he did, and Denny Neagle, who came to the Bronx from the Cincinnati Reds in the middle of July and had struggled since the move with a 4.88 ERA, pitched one of his best games in pinstripes, and on Old-Timers’ Day to boot.
September 2: Yankees 13, Twins 4 (Final/8 innings) (box score)
Record: 76-56 (1st in AL East, 6.0 games ahead)
It wasn’t a long outing for Neagle, but it was an effective one. He worked through the first and second innings without a hitch, and Twins starter Eric Milton did the same through the first but allowed a couple of baserunners in the bottom of the second, which the Yankees were unable to convert on.
However, Neagle did give up the first run of the game in the top of the third, as Torii Hunter and Chad Moeller both smacked singles through the left side of the infield with one out, and with two outs, Jay Canizaro hit a line drive single to center and scored Hunter, who had advanced from first to third on the Moeller hit. Matt Lawton grounded out to mitigate the damage, and the Yankees came right back.
Scott Brosius stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom half of the inning and saw one pitch before sending a solo home run into the left field seats, tying the game. Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Paul O’Neill all managed to get on base via two singles to right field, sandwiching a walk and loading the bases with no outs for Bernie Williams. No. 51 was plunked by Milton, scoring a run and putting the Yankees on top before Glenallen Hill drove a long drive into the left-center field gap that would’ve been a bases-clearing double had it not been for a truly absurd circus catch by Hunter, a future nine-time Gold Glove winner.
It still went for a sacrifice fly to left-center field, though. And an errant throw by the Twins catcher Moeller on a dropped third strike double steal brought home an unearned run, putting the Yankees up 3-1 before Milton worked the final out of the inning.
Minnesota managed a run back via a sacrifice fly of their own against Neagle. Once again, the Yankees punched back in a big way.
Milton worked two straight outs to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, but the trio of Jeter, Posada, and O’Neill were not going to go down so easily. The first two both singled with line drives to the outfield, and O’Neill smashed an 0-2 pitch to deep right field for a three-run home run to put the Bombers up 8-2.
Neagle allowed a two-run home run in the top of the fifth to make the score 8-4, but he was able to pitch into the fifth inning before being removed from the game in favor of Jason Grimsley after giving up two singles. The new man on the mound worked two straight outs to get out of the jam.
Jeter and Posada once again worked in tandem to deliver the Yankees two more runs, thanks to a walk and a two-run home run. Three more runs came home in the same inning after the Yankees loaded the bases again to put the home team up 13-4.
The game would go into the eighth, with Grimsley pitching and working two outs before allowing two baserunners. However, with the game at 13-4 and in the eighth, rain began to fall, eventually forcing the hands of those in charge to call the game a bit early and deliver a win for New York.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
