Next stop: Subway Series!
Delirious New York fans climbed aboard the Yankee-Met Express yesterday after the Bombers banged out a hang-tough, come-from-behind 9-7 win against the Seattle Mariners in The Bronx.
The Yankees have a shot at winning their third World Series in a row – as the boys from The Bronx and Queens square off for Big Apple bragging rights.
“Oh, my God, Justice is served!” exulted fan Brett Phillips, 23, after Yank slugger David Justice blasted a seventh-inning three-run homer that gave the Bombers the lead.
“It couldn’t be better. We want the Mets!”
Vinnie Alonzo, 40, who was also at the Stadium, said, “They [the Yankees] had a lot of heart. They didn’t give up on themselves!
“They were able to do what they had to do when they had to do it. I think this team shows a lot more heart than Yankee teams of the past.
Valerie Lally, 28, of Manhattan, said, “This city is going to be one big party!”
The World Series will start Saturday, when the Mets – who beat the Cardinals for the National League pennant – travel to Yankee Stadium.
It will be the 14th Subway Series since the Yanks played the first one against the New York Giants in 1921, and the first since the Brooklyn Dodgers played the Yanks in 1956.
“It’s going to be a tremendous Series, all emotion,” said Mike Forrello, 42, from New Jersey.
“No one can say who will win in a Series like that!”
In last night’s game, the Mariners led 4-0, but the Yanks fought back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth.
In the seventh, Justice slammed a homer that gave the Yanks the lead. The Bombers added three more runs during the clutch inning to put the game out of reach and clinch the American League Championship Series four games to two.
Yank starter Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez gutted it out after early troubles, and came away with the win to preserve his postseason unbeaten record, which now stands at 8-0.
“What a great series, what a great game – and we’re moving on,” said Justice, who was named the ALCS Most Valuable Player.
“The Mets and Yankees! New York’s going to be on fire for the next … week and a half.”
Manager Joe Torre said, “You never get used to it. It’s always brand new when it happens, believe me.