Following their dominant 4-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 2, the New York Yankees returned to the Bronx flying high for the first time since their September swoon began. Having stolen home-field
advantage away from the AL West champions, the Bombers handed the ball over to postseason legend Orlando Hernández. But Oakland was not prepared to roll over, as they sent out young star Tim Hudson, who finished the year as the runner-up to Pedro Martinez for the AL Cy Young in his sophomore season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fans in the Concrete Jungle were treated to an action-packed pitchers’ duel, as both offenses put pressure on the pitchers with a combined 19 baserunners, but proved unable to put together the big inning that seized control of the game. Fortunately for the Bronx faithful, their team eked out the win, and after an awful September, they were suddenly a win away from a date with the sweeping Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series.
October 6: Yankees 4, Athletics 2 (box score)
Playoffs: 2-1 lead in the ALDS (88-75 overall)
After both starters traded one-two-three innings in the first, the middle of the Athletics order scratched across their first run since the eighth inning of Game 1. Miguel Tejada began the mini rally by working a one-out walk, then advanced to second two batters later when Ben Grieve worked a walk. That put him in position to score on Jeremy Giambi’s single to right field, giving the A’s an early 1-0 lead.
That lead, however, did not last longer than a half inning. Bernie Williams led off the inning with a double. After Tino Martinez struck out, Paul O’Neill reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners. Glenallen Hill then pounded a ball off the plate. Hudson fielded the ball like a punt returner, according to Buster Olney in the New York Times, then failed to throw Williams out at home. Two batters later, Scott Brosius worked a walk to load the bases. Jeter then grounded the ball into the hole between shortstop and third, and although Tejada got to the ball, he proved unable to field it cleanly. Everybody was safe, and the Yankees had themselves a 2-1 lead.
For his part, Hudson buckled down and struck out Jorge Posada to limit the damage and keep the Athletics in the game. And, as the game went on, that would prove to be critical. Both pitchers allowed leadoff singles and put a pair of runners on in the third, but managed to generate enough soft contact to emerge unscathed. A Luis Sojo walk, an E2 that allowed Brosius to reach, and a Jeter groundout to short scratched across another run in the fourth, and Terrence Long got that run right back with a solo shot to lead off the fifth. Aside from those two innings, though, both starters traded zeroes as they worked around trouble.
The Bombers finally broke through again in the bottom of the eighth. Martinez got the ball rolling with a one-out single, then advanced to second when O’Neill grounded out to third. Following a Hill walk, Luis Sojo — still starting at second in place of Chuck Knoblauch — blooped a single into center field; Martinez raced around to score, extending the Yankees lead to 4-2.
With Hernández laboring, Joe Torre turned the ball over to Mariano Rivera to start the eighth, looking for six outs from his closer. He faced just seven batters, allowed just one baserunner (Grieve, who reached on an E3), and slammed the door to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the series.
With the win, the Yankees took control of the series, putting themselves just one game away from their third straight ALCS appearance. As both pitchers battled through trouble to put together strong starts — Hudson was credited with a complete game, allowing just four runs on six hits, and El Duque surrendered just two runs on four hits in seven innings — it was the Yankees’ postseason experience, combined with the youth and inexperience of the Athletics that would prove to be decisive.
Speaking to reporters after the game, 22-year-old Eric Chavez (who had been a bit brash before the series) admitted that the bright lights and Yankee Stadium crowd got to the team a bit, and as Jack Curry wrote in the Times, that showed itself repeatedly, and gave the Yankees back the momentum for the first time in three weeks.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
