The 2000 World Series had gotten off to a roaring start, with the Bombers taking each of the first two games by a margin of one run. Game 3 was not as much of a fun for those in pinstripes, as they dropped
another close ballgame, to make this series a lot more interesting. 25 years ago today, the Yankees and Mets played in an all important Game 4, which decided whether this series was tied up, or of the Yankees could take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
It was an “all hands on deck” affair, but thanks to some early scoring, the Yankees would claim yet another nailbiter of a game, and head into Game 5 with a chance complete the three-peat.
October 25: Yankees 3, Mets 2 (box score)
Record: Yankees lead World Series 3-1 (97-77 overall)
Speaking of early scoring, it does not get any earlier than what the Yankees got in Game 4. On the very first pitch of the game, Derek Jeter took a pitch from Bobby Jones and deposited it over the left field wall. His seventh hit of the series to this point set the tone in this one, and gave the Yankees a lead right from the get-go.
With a lead in his back pocket, Yankees starter Danny Neagle worked a scoreless first inning with a pair of strikeouts, before the Bronx bats got back on the horse in the second inning. With one out, Paul O’Neill sent a triple down the left field line, before being pushed across later thanks to a Scott Brosius sacrifice fly.
An inning later, the Yanks got some Déjà vu when Jeter began this inning’s action with a triple into the right-center field gap, as his red hot Fall Classic continued in Game 4. Later in the inning, the Yankee built up to a 3-0 lead when Luis Sojo plated him with a timely groundout.
It wouldn’t be right for a game in this series not to be uncomfortably close, and the Mets held up their end of the deal once the bottom of the third inning rolled around. Against Neagle, Timo Pérez led the inning off with a single through the middle. Two batters later, Mike Piazza brought the Mets right back into Game 5, when he belted a two-run homer deep into the left field seats.
The Piazza blast made this game a lot more interesting in a flash, as the Mets were now within one run. Thankfully, the Yankees were no strangers to slim margins in this series, as each of their previous two wins had been by just one run. Despite the five total runs in the first three innings, the early traffic would not be a precursor to the rest of the game. In fact, all of the scoring in this one was ultimately contained to the first third of the ballgame.
Neagle worked through another scoreless frame in the fourth, but in the fifth, after recording the first two outs quickly, the left-hander was lifted from the game. It was because the ever-dangerous Piazza was due up as the tying run, and Joe Torre wouldn’t let him beat Neagle again — even an out away from qualifying for an elusive World Series win. He opted for David Cone, who induced an easy pop out on a 1-2 pitch to get the Yankees into the sixth still leading.
Bobby Jones left after the fifth inning as well, as the rest of this game would be decided by the respective bullpens. Both units would do everything in their power, but they Yankees already had that lead in tow. Jeff Nelson came in for the Yanks after Cone recorded just the one all-important out, and did quite well, working an easy sixth inning before being lifted mid-way through the seventh. Torre opted for Mike Stanton to finish off that frame, and he did just that with a pair of swinging strikeouts.
Mariano Rivera came on for the eighth inning, looking to lock down a six-out save. The all-time great postseason hurler did just that, easily working around a single in the eighth inning. In the ninth, things went even smoother, as he began the frame with a strikeout, induced a quick groundout, before capping off Game 5 with a perfectly dotted cutter on the outside corner to Matt Franco.
The Yankees had now won their third game of the 2000 Fall Classic, and their third by a margin of just one run. The Bombers were proud owners of a 3-1 lead, well on their way to completing the three-peat. After a nerve-wracking but successful beginning to the series, they’d have a chance to put a bow on it with one more game due up in Queens.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
