Yankees win round 2 of rumble in the Bronx

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Posted 7:35AM on Sunday, July 21, 2002

NEW YORK - This time up, Robin Ventura only needed a weak grounder with the bases loaded to win it. Ventura's one-out roller left Boston without a play, and Alfonso Soriano streaked home in the 11th inning Saturday to give the New York Yankees a 9-8 victory over the Red Sox. On what was looking like a lost afternoon for the Yankees - closer Mariano Rivera walked off with tightness in his right shoulder and a late lead disappeared - they came back to end Boston's four-game winning streak. A sellout crowd of 55,526 that took turns shouting for the AL East rivals for more than four hours saw the Yankees load the bases in the 11th. Soriano led off with a double against Wayne Gomes (1-2), Derek Jeter was intentionally walked, Enrique Wilson sacrificed and Bernie Williams was intentionally walked. That brought up Ventura, one of the best bases-loaded hitters ever - a .354 average with 15 slams in such situations - and he hit a slow grounder in the hole to the right side that second baseman Rey Sanchez fielded. But Sanchez had no chance to turn a double play and instead threw home, and Soriano easily beat it. The play was scored a fielder's choice. No matter that it was not a hit for Ventura because it was good enough to increase New York's division lead to three games over Boston. Steve Karsay (5-4) pitched three scoreless innings for the win. He retired Doug Mirabelli with the bases loaded to end the ninth and 11th innings, both times after intentionally walking Shea Hillenbrand. After Rivera walked off as the Red Sox rallied for five runs and an 8-6 lead in the eighth, the Yankees came back to tie it in the bottom half. Dustin Hermanson, pitching for the first time since going on the disabled list in early April, could not hold Boston's lead. Nick Johnson hit an RBI double and scored with two outs when Soriano singled sharply on an 0-2 pitch. The Yankees took a 6-3 lead into the eighth, and Rivera was summoned with no outs and runners on second and third. Manny Ramirez was called out on a check-swing - Red Sox manager Grady Little was ejected for arguing with first-base umpire Charlie Reliford - and Jason Varitek followed with a two-run single. With a 2-1 count on Hillenbrand, Yankees manager Joe Torre and a trainer bolted from the dugout to check on Rivera. After a short discussion on the mound, Rivera left. Ramiro Mendoza relieved and gave up RBI singles to Brian Daubach and Jose Offerman and a sacrifice fly to Trot Nixon. Orlando Hernandez started for the Yankees, pitching while he appeals his five-game suspension for hitting Toronto's Carlos Delgado with a pitch Monday night. After giving up two early unearned runs, Hernandez baffled Boston's batters. He retired 14 of 15 hitters - even using a mini-blooper pitch that Ramirez took for a ball. Rolando Arrojo, who had already beaten the Yankees twice this year, lasted only four innings and left trailing 5-2. Williams sliced his 12th homer in the second, and Shane Spencer's two-run triple capped a three-run fourth. On Spencer's drive, center fielder Johnny Damon jumped above the fence to pull back the ball, but it bounced out of his glove. Daubach hustled over from left field and almost caught the carom. Notes: Yankees OF Raul Mondesi went to the hospital for a CT scan, which was negative. He is still feeling the aftereffects of crashing into the right-field wall at Cleveland on July 12. Mondesi returned to the stadium during the game. ... Hermanson was activated from the disabled list before the game. He had been out with a strained right groin since slipping on a wet mound in his Boston debut April 3. ... Trying to keep things civil, ushers asked fans wearing T-shirts displaying insulting words to wear them inside out.