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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- When the Yankees and Royals finally started
after a 3-hour, 33-minute rain delay Thursday night, Don Zimmer
knew what was ahead.
"See you at a quarter to two," New York's bench coach told
closer Mariano Rivera.
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Rocket burst
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Roger Clemens has been on a roll since July
2: |
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W-L
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5-0
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IP
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49.1
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Hits
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37
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R
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11
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ER
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11
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BB
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17
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SO
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43
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ERA
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2.02
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Zimmer was right.
On a night Roger Clemens pitched into his 38th birthday, Paul
O'Neill ended it with a run-scoring single in the ninth inning, giving the
Yankees a 3-2 victory over Kansas City in a game that ended at 1:55
a.m. ET Friday.
"What a way to finish," said Luis Polonia, who scored the
winning run after going 1-for-3 with two walks in his first game
with the Yankees since 1995.
New York trailed 2-1 after seven innings, going 0-for-7 with
runners in scoring position.
But Scott Brosius walked with two outs against Jerry Spradlin
(4-4) -- the seventh Yankees walk -- and came around when second
baseman Carlos Febles dropped a popup to short right by
pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill.
Febles, shifted over to second base, had a long run to get to
Hill's pop and the ball bounced onto the wet grass as Brosius
circled the bases and easily beat Febles' throw. Hill was tagged
out in a rundown between second and third.
"I didn't hear anything. There was a lot of noise from the
fans," said Febles, who tried to make the catch in front of right
fielder Jermaine Dye. "I had no idea where he was."
Febles said the wet field wasn't a factor.
"I just missed it," he said.
"That's the breaks of the game," added Royals manager Tony
Muser. "It was difficult conditions and he did the best he
could."
Polonia walked leading off the ninth, took second on Derek
Jeter's hard comebacker off Spradlin and scored on O'Neill's soft,
opposite-field single to left, just the sixth hit for New York.
"The only way to make it good is to win," O'Neill said. "We
got a gift tonight."
Rivera (5-3) pitched a hitless ninth for the victory, getting into a
discussion with plate umpire John Hirschbeck, who called close
pitches balls on 2-2 and 3-2 to Febles.
"I've never seen him that animated," Yankees manager Joe Torre
said. "He obviously thought it was a strike. The umpire obviously
didn't. I didn't want it to go on too long because we needed
another inning out of him."
Just a few thousand fans of the announced crowd of 33,829 were
still in attendance when the game ended.
Clemens remained unbeaten in eight starts since June 9 against
the Mets and struck out nine, but wasted a 1-0 lead when he allowed
four consecutive hits in the sixth, including run-scoring singles by Joe Randa
and Dave McCarty.
"Going out there at 10, 10:15, I felt a little sharper,"
Clemens said. "I don't know if there's anything to it."
Tino Martinez drove in the Yankees' first run with a
second-inning homer, his first in 15 games since July 17.
New York has just eight hits in the last two games and Bernie
Williams (4-for-25) and Derek Jeter (4-for-26) are both slumping.
Mac Suzuki, who has won just twice in his last 11 starts, became
the second consecutive Royals' starter to walk six, allowing five hits
in seven innings.
Game notes
To make room for Polonia, who signed before the game, the
Yankees designated infielder Wilson Delgado for assignment. ... Kansas
City suspended outfielder Carlos Beltran without pay for failing to go to
Haines City, Fla., for rehabilitation. The players' association
planned to file a grievance Friday. ... David Cone, in Florida
trying to straighten his pitching out, is scheduled to start
against Seattle on Saturday. ... New York said ticket stubs could
be exchanged for free tickets for next Tuesday or Wednesday against
Oakland, Aug. 17 vs. Anaheim, Aug. 22-23 vs. Texas or Sept. 1 vs.
Minnesota.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Kansas City Clubhouse
NY Yankees Clubhouse
El Duque claims Yanks questioned severity of injury
El Duque to come off DL and start Sunday for Yanks
RECAPS
NY Yankees 3
Kansas City 2
Toronto 3
Texas 1
Cleveland 5
Tampa Bay 1
Florida 4
Houston 3
San Diego 6
Chicago Cubs 5
Arizona 8
Atlanta 4
San Francisco 10
Pittsburgh 2
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