November 1st, 2001
World Series, Game 5
Arizona Diamondbacks at New York
Yankees
Yankee Stadium, New York
Since
we looked at Game 4 of the 2001 World Series yesterday, there’s no way we can
move on without looking at Game 5 today. The fifth game would prove to be just
as dramatic, with the Series now tied at two games a piece, with the winner to
take a three games to two lead back to the desert for Game 6 and, possibly,
Game 7.
For
the Yankees, who now had all the momentum and a jacked-up Yankee crowd behind
them, Mike Mussina would get the start on the hill while the Diamondbacks would
counter with Miguel Batista. Both pitchers would get into a little trouble
early on but the game remained scoreless through four innings.
With
everything stacked against them (the momentum, the Yankee mystique, the fans,
the media, the broadcasters) the D-backs were the first on the scoreboard in
the top of the fifth. Centre fielder Steve Finley led off the inning with a
solo home run off of Mussina. Two outs later, catcher Rod Barajas also went
deep, another solo shot to give Arizona a 2-0 lead.
Even
worse for the Yankees, they were having no luck against Batista as inning after
inning, the right-hander stymied the New Yorkers. Batista’s line for the game
would be 7 2/3 innings pitched, no runs, five hits three walks and ten strike
outs. He was lifted with two out in the eight inning after surrendering a walk
and a single, but left-handed reliever Greg Swindell got Tino Martinez to fly
out and preserve the 2-0 lead.
No
runs for Arizona in the ninth meant for the second night in a row, they would
take a two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth. And again, D-Back manager Bob
Brenly would call on his closer, Byung-Hyun Kim, to get the final three outs.
Yankee
catcher, Jorge Posada, got the Yankee fans into it when he led off the inning
with a double. But Kim quickly got a ground out from Shane Spencer and struck
out Chuck Knoblach. Now with two out, and Posada still on second, Kim would
face Yankee third baseman Scott Brosius.
On
the second pitch of the at bat, Brosius belted a high fly ball over the wall in
left for a game-tying two-run home run. Unbelievable that New York could pull
off the same comeback with two out in the ninth inning two nights in a row, but
it had happened. With Yankee Stadium going berserk, Kim would be removed from
the game. He wouldn’t pitch in the World Series again.
The
Yankees failed to score again in the inning and for the second night in a row,
the game would go into extras. Neither team scored in the tenth or eleventh,
although the Diamondbacks loaded the bases in the top of the eleventh, but
couldn’t get any runs out of it. After Arizona went in order in the top of the twelfth,
the Yankees came up to the plate for their turn.
Now
facing relief pitcher Albie Lopez, Knoblach led off the inning with a single.
Brosius dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving Knoblach into scoring position.
That brought Soriano to the plate with a chance to give the Yankees the Series
lead. On the fourth pitch he saw, Soriano did just that with a single to right
field. Knoblach came racing around third and slid into home with the
game-winning run. The Yankees had come back two nights in a row and now needed
one more win for their fourth straight World Series title.
But
the D-Backs wouldn’t have any of it. After thrashing New York, 15-2, in Game 6,
Arizona provided some ninth-inning magic of their own in the seventh game.
Trailing 2-1, they Diamondbacks rallied for two runs off of Yankee closer
Mariano Rivera to win the game and the World Series, denying the Yanks their
chance at four-in-a-row.
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