Jeter's blast is magic trick
Jeter's blast is magic trick
Lowers boom, number to 3
BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
TORONTO - There was laughter in Joe Torre's voice yesterday afternoon but also a bit of an edge. That grain of truth to every joke was obvious when Torre - asked if his players were growing impatient to finally clinch their ninth straight AL East title - quipped that "the manager sure is."
That is what losing three of four games to the Red Sox will do. Although it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Yanks eventually will have their champagne showers, everyone would prefer that it be sooner than later and last night's 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays brought them one step closer.
Not that it was easy. Derek Jeter, whose 25-game hitting streak ended Sunday, began a new one by blasting a two-run homer in the seventh inning for a 4-3 lead and the Yanks tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth, hoping to cruise to victory.
With a sapped bullpen, however, they had to endure Ron Villone giving up two singles and Octavio Dotel serving up a three-run homer to Troy Glaus in the bottom of the inning before Mike Myers got one out and Jose Veras ended it with the tying run on first.
Still, considering that the Yankees got to their hotel here around 4 a.m. yesterday after finishing back-to-back doubleheaders with the Red Sox, then started rookie Darrell Rasner last night and played more than half the game without Johnny Damon after he was ejected in the fourth, they were ecstatic to cut their magic number to three even with the nervous finish.
"Our job's not done yet," Damon said. "We need to win our division and we hope to do it soon."
Jeter's blast came off Jays starter A.J. Burnett, who was brilliant through five frames but faltered in his last two. After Alex Rodriguez pulled the Yanks to within 3-2 with a two-run shot an inning earlier, Burnett gave up a two-out bloop double to Damon's replacement, Aaron Guiel, and then watched Jeter swat a 96 mph fastball over the left-center field fence, turning a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
It was only the second time since 2002 that Jeter had swung at a 3-0 pitch, according to Stats Inc. - the other was in his last at-bat Sunday - but it came at the perfect time.
"I got the green light - you have to get the OK before you can swing at it," Jeter said. "If you get ahead in the count, you have to be selective with the pitch you swing at. I didn't try to hit a home run, but fortunately, it went out."
The blast was Jeter's 14th of the season and he's now got 95 RBI. Damon's productivity in front of him in the lineup is one reason for Jeter's high RBI total, but yesterday it was Guiel who scored on Jeter's blast since Damon already had been sent for an early shower.
His ejection was abrupt. The affable center fielder was stepping into the on-deck circle after Hideki Matsui was called out on a check swing by home plate umpire Bill Miller, and began complaining that Miller should ask for help from the third base ump.
A crowd microphone picked up Miller saying something about Damon staying out of "my business" and then he gave Damon the thumb. It was the first time Damon was ejected since Aug. 30, 1997, when he was with the Royals and charged the mound after being hit by a pitch.
"The only thing I wanted out of it was for him to get help," Damon said. "I'm not saying I was right, I'm not saying I was wrong but there are four umpires out there for a reason."
As Damon headed back toward the clubhouse, he passed Rasner (3-0), who sat at the end of the bench with a jacket on between innings. The 25-year-old threw 45 pitches in relief on Thursday and was forced into the start by the pair of doubleheaders.
It looked like he might not make it out of the first inning after he loaded the bases with nobody out. But with Torre one hitter away from getting a reliever up, Rasner steeled himself and got two pop-ups and a strikeout to escape.
It was a telling moment, as Rasner pitched with poise and allowed three runs in six gutty innings to earn the victory. Afterward, he described it as "a struggle." One look around the clubhouse showed that most of his teammates felt the same way.
Originally published on September 19, 2006
All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.
Lowers boom, number to 3
BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
TORONTO - There was laughter in Joe Torre's voice yesterday afternoon but also a bit of an edge. That grain of truth to every joke was obvious when Torre - asked if his players were growing impatient to finally clinch their ninth straight AL East title - quipped that "the manager sure is."
That is what losing three of four games to the Red Sox will do. Although it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Yanks eventually will have their champagne showers, everyone would prefer that it be sooner than later and last night's 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays brought them one step closer.
Not that it was easy. Derek Jeter, whose 25-game hitting streak ended Sunday, began a new one by blasting a two-run homer in the seventh inning for a 4-3 lead and the Yanks tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth, hoping to cruise to victory.
With a sapped bullpen, however, they had to endure Ron Villone giving up two singles and Octavio Dotel serving up a three-run homer to Troy Glaus in the bottom of the inning before Mike Myers got one out and Jose Veras ended it with the tying run on first.
Still, considering that the Yankees got to their hotel here around 4 a.m. yesterday after finishing back-to-back doubleheaders with the Red Sox, then started rookie Darrell Rasner last night and played more than half the game without Johnny Damon after he was ejected in the fourth, they were ecstatic to cut their magic number to three even with the nervous finish.
"Our job's not done yet," Damon said. "We need to win our division and we hope to do it soon."
Jeter's blast came off Jays starter A.J. Burnett, who was brilliant through five frames but faltered in his last two. After Alex Rodriguez pulled the Yanks to within 3-2 with a two-run shot an inning earlier, Burnett gave up a two-out bloop double to Damon's replacement, Aaron Guiel, and then watched Jeter swat a 96 mph fastball over the left-center field fence, turning a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
It was only the second time since 2002 that Jeter had swung at a 3-0 pitch, according to Stats Inc. - the other was in his last at-bat Sunday - but it came at the perfect time.
"I got the green light - you have to get the OK before you can swing at it," Jeter said. "If you get ahead in the count, you have to be selective with the pitch you swing at. I didn't try to hit a home run, but fortunately, it went out."
The blast was Jeter's 14th of the season and he's now got 95 RBI. Damon's productivity in front of him in the lineup is one reason for Jeter's high RBI total, but yesterday it was Guiel who scored on Jeter's blast since Damon already had been sent for an early shower.
His ejection was abrupt. The affable center fielder was stepping into the on-deck circle after Hideki Matsui was called out on a check swing by home plate umpire Bill Miller, and began complaining that Miller should ask for help from the third base ump.
A crowd microphone picked up Miller saying something about Damon staying out of "my business" and then he gave Damon the thumb. It was the first time Damon was ejected since Aug. 30, 1997, when he was with the Royals and charged the mound after being hit by a pitch.
"The only thing I wanted out of it was for him to get help," Damon said. "I'm not saying I was right, I'm not saying I was wrong but there are four umpires out there for a reason."
As Damon headed back toward the clubhouse, he passed Rasner (3-0), who sat at the end of the bench with a jacket on between innings. The 25-year-old threw 45 pitches in relief on Thursday and was forced into the start by the pair of doubleheaders.
It looked like he might not make it out of the first inning after he loaded the bases with nobody out. But with Torre one hitter away from getting a reliever up, Rasner steeled himself and got two pop-ups and a strikeout to escape.
It was a telling moment, as Rasner pitched with poise and allowed three runs in six gutty innings to earn the victory. Afterward, he described it as "a struggle." One look around the clubhouse showed that most of his teammates felt the same way.
Originally published on September 19, 2006
All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.
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