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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- David Justice's home run soared toward the No. 4
train, and New York had its first Subway Series in 44 years.
Fighting off weeks of doubts, the New York Yankees followed the
Mets into the World Series, rallying from a four-run deficit to
beat the Seattle Mariners 9-7 Tuesday night and win the AL
Championship Series 4-2.
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Game 6 at a glance
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Every game a hero
Bottom of the seventh. Runners at the corners. One out. Arthur Rhodes came in to face David Justice. Rhodes threw two balls, Justice fouled off a pitch, checked his swing for ball three ... and then deposited a fastball into the upper deck in right field. Yankees 6, Mariners 4.
Key move
You can't fault Lou Piniella for bringing in Rhodes to pitch to Justice, setting up the lefty-lefty matchup. However, the two hits Jose Paniagua had given up were both seeing-eye singles -- Jose Vizcaino's infield hit and Derek Jeter's four-hopper past a diving Carlos Guillen. Also, consider that Justice slugged .718 vs. left-handers this year ... and, well, it's easy to second-guess, isn't it?
Key play
Besides Justice's home run, the key play came in the sixth. Alex Rodriguez led off with a double against Orlando Hernandez, but Edgar Martinez struck out. After an intentional walk to John Olerud, Raul Ibanez grounded up the middle, with the ball deflecting off Jeter's glove ... right to second baseman Luis Sojo for the force. After another walk, El Duque got out of the bases-loaded jam when Jeter made a diving stop and threw out Mark McLemore. At the time, it kept Seattle's lead at 4-3.
ESPN analysis
El Duque was not himself in this game. His control wasn't there. He walked five and was throwing balls up in the zone. But he was able to give the Yankees innings and keep them in the ballgame until they came up with some offense. After the home run to Guillen, El Duque could have folded his tent. Instead, he got big outs in big situations. If we didn't know before, he proved what a great clutch competitor he is. El Duque absolutely battled and won when he didn't have his good stuff.
-- Brian McRae
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"This city is going to be crazy," Yankees star shortstop Derek
Jeter said.
Yankees manager Joe Torre went even further.
"It's split a few families up, I think," he said. "I have a
feeling the city is not going to be the same for the next 10 days --
and maybe after that."
Despite his worst October outing, Yankees starter Orlando
Hernandez lasted seven innings and became the first pitcher ever to
go 8-0 in postseason play.
With Seattle ahead 4-3 in the seventh inning, Justice hit a
pitch from Arthur Rhodes into the right-field upper deck for a
three-run homer that earned him the series MVP award.
Yankee Stadium shook.
"It was magical," said Justice, one of seven players on the
25-man roster acquired during the season. "It was unbelievable
when I rounded the bases, to see this place erupt."
This pennant meant even more for the Yankees, given how many
people had their doubts after they finished the regular season with
15 losses in 18 games.
"We were written off," Justice said. "We stuck together."
Paul O'Neill added a two-run single and Jose Vizcaino, whose
infield single started the inning, hit a sacrifice fly for a 9-4
lead.
Alex Rodriguez, who went 4-for-5 in perhaps his final game for
the Mariners, homered leading off the eighth and Hernandez left
after a walk.
Mariano Rivera relieved and allowed an RBI double to John
Olerud, then a two-run double by Mark McLemore that hit off first
base as two more runs scored, ending his postseason scoreless
streak at 34 innings over three years.
But Rivera held on in the ninth as the Yankees won their record
37th American League pennant and their third in a row.
Just 24 hours, 38 minutes after Timo Perez caught the final out
of the NLCS at Shea Stadium, about 8 miles away, the final out of
the Yankees tense season ended when Edgar Martinez grounded to
shortstop with a runner on at 12:17 a.m.
And so a half-century after Willie, Mickey and the Duke
dominated baseball, it will be Bernie, Benny and El Duque at Yankee
Stadium starting Saturday night, the first Subway Series since the
Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.
"I was at that last one, when Don Larsen pitched the perfect
game against Brooklyn," Torre said.
|  | | For the third straight season, the Yankees celebrate an American League pennant. |
Even Justice, a New Yorker for less than six months, appreciated
the significance.
"New York can't lose," he said. "Everything is going on
between the city limits."
Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a life-long Yankees fan, made it clear who
he wants to win.
"It's going to be enormously exciting," he said.
The Mets watched carefully from afar as the scene unfolded in
the Bronx. They said all the pressure is on the Yankees.
"When you're the defending champion and the team to beat,
people gun for you all year long and play their best baseball
against you," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said.
Seattle stormed to a 4-0 lead against the two-time, defending
World Series champions, getting consecutive RBI doubles from
Rodriguez and Martinez in the first, and a two-run, upper-deck
homer from light-hitting Carlos Guillen in the fourth.
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Mr. Postseason
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Though he wasn't masterful, Orlando Hernandez did it again. With his victory in Game 6, El Duque raised his career playoff record to 8-0. Below is a rundown of the eight wins (he also allowed three runs in 8 IP in a no-decision in Game 1 of the ALCS last year):
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Date
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Series
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Opp.
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IP
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H
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R
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10/10/98
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ALCS
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Clev.
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7
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3
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0
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10/18/98
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W.S.
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S.D.
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7
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6
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1
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10/5/99
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Div.
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Tex.
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8
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2
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0
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10/18/99
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ALCS
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Bos.
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7
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5
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1
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10/23/99
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W.S.
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Atl.
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7
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1
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1
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10/6/00
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Div.
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Oak.
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7
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4
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2
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10/11/00
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ALCS
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Sea.
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8
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6
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1
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10/17/00
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ALCS
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Sea.
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7
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7
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6
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"The bottom line is they scored more runs than we did,"
McLemore said. "It doesn't matter if we started off 15-0."
But John Halama, a Brooklynite who blanked the Yankees for six
innings in Game 2, was chased in the third, when Jorge Posada hit a
two-run double and O'Neill, fighting the biggest batting slump of his life, singled in a run on the next pitch.
Hernandez and Mariners reliever Brett Tomko both escaped jams in
the middle innings, getting defensive help from their All-Star
shortstops.
And then the game turned in a 39-minute seventh inning -- roughly
the time it takes to go from Yankee Stadium to Shea, if the change
of trains at Grand Central Terminal goes smoothly.
Tomko didn't allow a hit in 2 2/3 innings, but he threw 51
pitches, a high amount for a reliever, and Jose Paniagua relieved
to start the seventh.
Vizcaino, one of the seven players on the postseason roster the
Yankees added during the season, started the inning with a
perfectly placed single in the hole between first and second base.
McLemore got to it, but his throw from short right field was
just a little too late.
Chuck Knoblauch sacrificed him to second and Jeter singled just
between Rodriguez, his rival and pal, and Guillen at third.
Seattle manager Lou Piniella, who like his free agent shortstop
may have spent his final night in a Mariners uniform, then brought
in Rhodes.
In Game 2, the Yankees trailed 1-0 and ha dbeen shut out for 21
innings when Justice doubled off Rhodes, sparking a seven-run
eighth inning that gave New York a 7-1 win and tied the series.
In that game, umpires angered Justice by ruling he didn't check
a swing on a 1-1 pitch.
This time, he got the call on a close 2-1 pitch.
"I was pretty sure he went around," Rhodes said. "2-2, it
makes a difference on my pitch selection."
Fans were on their feet. The upper deck swayed back and forth,
and Justice sent the ball on an arc, a no-doubt homer from the
moment he hit it.
"At 3-1, I came back with a fastball," Rhodes said. "I didn't
want to walk the bases loaded."
Justice, a June acquisition from Cleveland, gave double
high-fives when he met Jeter and Vizcaino at home plate, more
high-fives to Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Luis Sojo by the
dugout, then slammed his helmet down, adrenaline rushing through
his veins.
Hernandez, who had never before allowed more than three earned
runs in a postseason game, gave up six runs and seven hits in
seven-plus innings.
Game notes
The Yankees are the first team to win three straight
pennants since Oakland from 1988-90. Teams have won three straight
17 times, with the Yankees accomplishing it nine times. ... It will
be the 14th Subway Series. The Yankees held a 4-2 edge over the New
York Giants and 6-1 over the Brooklyn Dodgers. ... Dan Wilson's
soft single to right leading off the fifth stopped a record 42
at-bat hitless streak in postseason play and a 26 at-bat hitless
streak in the LCS. Marv Owen went 0-for-31 for Detroit in 1934 and
'35.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
NY Yankees Clubhouse
Stark: Subway Series to be a thriller
Justice takes Rhodes to success
Giuliani joins clubhouse celebration
Stark: Rodriguez left pondering future
Mariners' escape from N.Y. takes longer than expected
RECAPS
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN's Mark Schwarz catches up with ALCS MVP Dave Justice in the Yankees' locker room.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Joe Torre and David Justice talk about getting back to the World Series.
RealVideo: | 28.8
 Derek Jeter talks with ESPN's Peter Gammons about the Yankees' return to the World Series
wav: 637 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Lou Piniella had fun managing the Mariners this season.
wav: 270 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Joe Torre understands the meaning of the Subway Series.
wav: 223 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Buck Martinez and Mark Schwarz take a look at the Yankees' recovery in the playoffs.
wav: 737 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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