CAP'N CLUTCH SAVES YANKS
CAP'N CLUTCH SAVES YANKS
JETER'S SINGLE IN 9TH RESCUES YANKS 'PEN
By GEORGE KING
June 3, 2006 -- BALTIMORE - Johnny Damon anointed Derek Jeter the MVP last night, and it was impossible to disagree with him.
"He has been that good," Damon said of the Yankee captain.
And that clutch.
In his first game back after missing two due to a jammed right hand, Jeter drove in the game-winning run with a ninth-inning, two-out single to right that helped lift the Yankees to a 6-5 win over the Orioles in front of 48,168 at Camden Yards.
Jeter - who went 3-for-4, batting in the third spot for the first time in almost three years, scored a run and drew a walk - was given a second chance to be the hero when Damon kicked the ball out of second baseman Brian Roberts glove on a steal attempt with two outs in the ninth. Initially, umpire Lance Barksdale called Damon out and that would have ended the inning.
"It was a combination. I hit his glove and it created a force and he tried to show the ball," said Damon, who singled with one out off hard-throwing Chris Ray. "The umpire called me out and I told him the ball was on the ground behind second base. Then Derek came up with that huge hit."
Jeter stroked 3-2 pitch to right that scored Damon easily and put Kyle Farnsworth in a position to redeem himself after Thursday night's meltdown in Detroit.
"This would have been a tough game to lose," Jeter said of the Yankees' sixth win in seven games, a victory that kept them one-half game behind the AL East-leading Red Sox. "We had the lead a couple of times."
The Yankees played without Alex Rodriguez, scratched due to a bad stomach, and Gary Sheffield, who was put on the DL Thursday. And Jorge Posada didn't start because he was being rested.
Even though Farnsworth was charged with a blown save when third baseman Miguel Cairo failed to turn Melvin Mora's bad-hop grounder into a double play in the eighth, he atoned for Thursday's night debacle by retiring the O's in order in the ninth to get the victory.
"You don't want to sit around day after day," said Farnsworth, who adjusted his delivery with the emphasis on not rushing toward the plate. "I wanted to get back on the mound."
While Damon executed a clutch kick with his injured right foot, Jeter delivered when it mattered most and Farnsworth worked the ninth like Mariano Rivera, there were other contributors.
Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer in the sixth after Andy Phillips homered with the bases empty in the fifth. After three shaky innings Jaret Wright settled down to allow three runs (two earned) across six frames.
"To win a game on the road in which we came back three times, it was a case of bend but not break," manager Joe Torre said.
Because Torre has been with Jeter every step of the way, he never takes what he sees for granted. Nor is the manager ever surprised Jeter delivers at the most important time.
"You appreciate him all the time," Torre said of Jeter, who is batting .346 and also delivered a two-out RBI single in the seventh. "He is very special. Something happens when a must situation comes up and there he is, twice in a row."
Of course, the ball had to spill out of Roberts' glove to give Jeter a chance. And there is always the possibility of a ball being smoked right at a fielder like Jeter did in the second, when he banged into a double play.
Yet, when it mattered the most Jeter delivered, something he has been doing since 1996.
george.king@nypost.com
JETER'S SINGLE IN 9TH RESCUES YANKS 'PEN
By GEORGE KING
June 3, 2006 -- BALTIMORE - Johnny Damon anointed Derek Jeter the MVP last night, and it was impossible to disagree with him.
"He has been that good," Damon said of the Yankee captain.
And that clutch.
In his first game back after missing two due to a jammed right hand, Jeter drove in the game-winning run with a ninth-inning, two-out single to right that helped lift the Yankees to a 6-5 win over the Orioles in front of 48,168 at Camden Yards.
Jeter - who went 3-for-4, batting in the third spot for the first time in almost three years, scored a run and drew a walk - was given a second chance to be the hero when Damon kicked the ball out of second baseman Brian Roberts glove on a steal attempt with two outs in the ninth. Initially, umpire Lance Barksdale called Damon out and that would have ended the inning.
"It was a combination. I hit his glove and it created a force and he tried to show the ball," said Damon, who singled with one out off hard-throwing Chris Ray. "The umpire called me out and I told him the ball was on the ground behind second base. Then Derek came up with that huge hit."
Jeter stroked 3-2 pitch to right that scored Damon easily and put Kyle Farnsworth in a position to redeem himself after Thursday night's meltdown in Detroit.
"This would have been a tough game to lose," Jeter said of the Yankees' sixth win in seven games, a victory that kept them one-half game behind the AL East-leading Red Sox. "We had the lead a couple of times."
The Yankees played without Alex Rodriguez, scratched due to a bad stomach, and Gary Sheffield, who was put on the DL Thursday. And Jorge Posada didn't start because he was being rested.
Even though Farnsworth was charged with a blown save when third baseman Miguel Cairo failed to turn Melvin Mora's bad-hop grounder into a double play in the eighth, he atoned for Thursday's night debacle by retiring the O's in order in the ninth to get the victory.
"You don't want to sit around day after day," said Farnsworth, who adjusted his delivery with the emphasis on not rushing toward the plate. "I wanted to get back on the mound."
While Damon executed a clutch kick with his injured right foot, Jeter delivered when it mattered most and Farnsworth worked the ninth like Mariano Rivera, there were other contributors.
Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer in the sixth after Andy Phillips homered with the bases empty in the fifth. After three shaky innings Jaret Wright settled down to allow three runs (two earned) across six frames.
"To win a game on the road in which we came back three times, it was a case of bend but not break," manager Joe Torre said.
Because Torre has been with Jeter every step of the way, he never takes what he sees for granted. Nor is the manager ever surprised Jeter delivers at the most important time.
"You appreciate him all the time," Torre said of Jeter, who is batting .346 and also delivered a two-out RBI single in the seventh. "He is very special. Something happens when a must situation comes up and there he is, twice in a row."
Of course, the ball had to spill out of Roberts' glove to give Jeter a chance. And there is always the possibility of a ball being smoked right at a fielder like Jeter did in the second, when he banged into a double play.
Yet, when it mattered the most Jeter delivered, something he has been doing since 1996.
george.king@nypost.com
posted by Walking Contradiction at 1:13 AM
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