Yankees 4 Royals 3
KANSAS CITY – This will make Joe Torre wince and Red Sox fans howl. However, there comes a time in every AL East season when the Yankees’ magic number surfaces. Today, thanks to The Post, is it.
After the Yankees defeated the pesky Royals, 4-3, last night in front of 21,774 at Kauffman Stadium, the defending World Champions magic number was reduced to 23. Any combination of Yankees victories and Red Sox losses equaling 23 gives the Yankees their third straight AL East title.
Torre has spent the past week downplaying questions concerning the post season, making sure to preface every non-committal answer by saying, “If we make it.”
Red Sox fans, who host the Yankees at Fenway Park this weekend for three games, still believe there is enough calendar left for their beloved club to catch the Yankees.
Knowing the Red Sox beat the Mariners earlier in the day, the Yankees kept their six-game bulge intact thanks to strong pitching by Andy Pettitte and timely hitting from David Justice and Jorge Posada. It was the Yankees’ seventh win in nine games and their 10th in the last 14. They trail the White Sox by 3 ½ games for the best record in the AL.
Pettitte, who had a seven-game losing streak stopped in his last outing, improved to 17-7. Pettitte is two wins shy of AL leader David Wells. He went 7 1/3 innings, allowed three runs and nine hits. In Pettitte’s 27 starts the Yankees are 20-7.
One day after absorbing a loss to the Twins, Mariano Rivera bounced back to post his 32nd save by recording the final three outs.
Royals starter Mac Suzuki had a three-game winning streak stopped and is 8-8.
Despite throwing only 94 pitches, Pettitte was lifted with one out in the eighth after giving up a leadoff double to Johnny Damon and fanning pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran. Torre called for Jeff Nelson and had to believe he got an out when Mike Sweeney hit a grounder up the middle that Luis Sojo fielded going toward second base. Sojo’s throw was low but would have been caught by Tino Martinez had he not closed his glove too soon. Damon, who swiped third to hike his AL lead to 40, scored on the play, which was ruled a single. The run cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-3. Nelson retired Jermaine Dye on a foul pop to Paul O’Neill for the second out.
AL Rookie of the Year candidate Mark Quinn fouled off seven straight pitches before his single to right chased Sweeney to third. That brought Joe Randa to the plate. His two-run single in the fourth tied the score, 2-2, but Nelson fanned him on a 2-2 slider that Randa couldn’t hold his swing on. Nelson reacted to the large out by leaping into the air and swinging his right arm.
Derek Jeter’s fly ball to right scored Sojo from third in the seventh, upped the Yankees’ lead to 4-2 and was the end of Suzuki. Lefty Scott Mullen was brought into face switch-hitter Posada, who had two doubles and a single off Suzuki. Mullen kept the deficit at two runs when Posada grounded to the right side.
Thanks to Dye’s third double of the game, Pettitte was looking at a second-and-third jam with one out in the sixth. Sweeney started the threat with his third straight single to center and motored to third on Dye’s double to left-center. After Jeter threw out Sweeney trying to score in the first inning, Sweeney smartly didn’t try to score this time.
Pettitte stiffened to get Quinn looking at a 1-2 pitch and escaped when Randa’s liner found Jeter’s glove.
Posada’s two-out double with Derek Jeter running on a 2-2 count easily scored Jeter and put the Yankees ahead, 3-2, in the fifth. It was Posada’s second double and third hit of the game.
Dye’s second double in four innings, a blooper down the right-field line helped the Royals score twice in the fourth when they tied the score, 2-2.
With one out, Sweeney singled to center like he did in the first. Dye followed by dunking a double just inside the right-field line as Sweeney advanced to third. At 1-1, Pettitte went after Randa with a breaking ball that hung up in the zone and Randa stroked it by Jeter and into center field to score Sweeney and Dye.
After wasting a leadoff walk to Jeter and a single by Posada in the first inning to start the game, the Yankees broke through against Suzuki for two runs in the fourth.
Posada opened with a double to right-center and moved to third when Suzuki uncorked a wild pitch while working to O’Neill, who fanned on a 3-2 pitch for the first out. Clay Bellinger, who replaced Bernie Williams (rib cage problem) in the second inning, drew a walk to put runners at the corners for Justice and his ground single to right scored Posada with the game’s first run. It was Justice’s 100th RBI of the season. Bellinger made third on the hit and scored when Martinez was retired on a grounder behind the mound.
Pettitte retired the first two batters in the opening inning and then relied on Justice, Jeter and Posada to get the third.
Sweeney singled up the middle with two outs and was cut down at the plate trying to score from first on Dye’s double off the left-field wall. Justice grabbed the ball of the wall with his bare hand and fired a strike to Jeter in short left field. With the heavy-legged Sweeney laboring around third, Jeter had plenty of time to make sure his peg was accurate. It was, reaching Posada on one hop in plenty of time for him to block the plate and tag Sweeney for the final out.