Liter22
06-12-2002, 06:35 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Byung-Hyun Kim didn't let this lead get away.
Kim, pitching at Yankee Stadium for the first time since his World Series meltdowns last year, got six outs to preserve the Arizona Diamondbacks' 9-5 victory over New York on Wednesday.
Arizona starter Miguel Batista outpitched Mike Mussina again, getting home-run support from backup catcher Rod Barajas and Steve Finley just as he did in Game 5 of last year's Fall Classic.
Finley homered twice, his 15th career multihomer game, and drove in five runs as Arizona won at Yankee Stadium for the first time in six tries -- including last year's Series.
Kim entered to start the bottom of the eighth inning and was greeted by sarcastic cheers from 50,864 Yankees fans who fondly remember the three dramatic home runs he gave up in the World Series.
But the South Korean sidearmer was not fazed. With a light drizzle falling, he struck out Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada on 12 pitches to quiet the crowd.
The Yankees put two runners on in the ninth before Kim struck out Marcus Thames and got Shane Spencer to ground into a game-ending double play for his 17th save in 19 chances.
As teammates congratulated Kim in the infield, he took the baseball thrown for the game's final pitch and heaved it into the netting just beyond the left-field fence. It landed near the same spot as Scott Brosius' home run that tied Game 5 last fall.
The right-hander has bounced back nicely from his November nightmare, working 11 consecutive scoreless innings over nine appearances.
Batista (4-3) threw 7 2/3 shutout innings against the Yankees last November and left with a 2-0 lead on the strength of home runs by Barajas and Finley, only to see Kim blow on Brosius' two-out, two-run homer in the ninth.
The Yankees eventually won on Alfonso Soriano's 12th-inning RBI single.
The night before, Tino Martinez connected off Kim to tie it with two outs in the ninth, and Derek Jeter took him deep in the 10th to win it for the Yankees.
Spencer hit a three-run homer off Mike Morgan in the seventh Wednesday to cut it to 6-5, but Morgan got out of the inning. Alex Cintron, who has five hits since being recalled from the minors Tuesday, added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 7-5.
Finley hit a two-run shot in the ninth.
Batista gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.
Mussina (9-3), clearly missing his best stuff, allowed six runs and a season-high 10 hits in five innings, matching his shortest outing of the year and ending a six-game winning streak.
He did not walk a batter but was consistently behind in the count, giving up home runs to Barajas and Finley on 2-0 pitches.
Barajas lifted a fly to left field with two outs in the second inning and a firm breeze carried it over the fence for a two-run homer, his first since last year's World Series.
Mark Grace's double put runners at second and third in the fourth, and Tony Womack's two-out RBI infield single made it 3-0.
Finley hit a three-run shot in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Quinton McCracken added three hits for the Diamondbacks.
Giambi drove in two runs.
The Yankees finished a 6-6 homestand, leading into their Subway Series showdown with the New York Mets on Friday night.
Game notes
The Diamondbacks went 4-2 at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. They open a nine-game homestand Friday night. ... Arizona is 36-0 when leading after eight innings. ... The 37-year-old Grace saw his first regular-season action at Yankee Stadium and went 2-for-4. Grace homered into the upper deck in Game 4 of the World Series last year. ... Williams went 58 plate appearances without an extra-base hit before consecutive doubles in the fourth and sixth innings. ... Yankees OF Rondell White did not play for the third straight game because of a ruptured tendon in his left middle finger. ... Mussina had won 14 of 16 decisions dating to last season.
:jump: :jump: :jump: :jump: :dance2:
:fro: :evillol:
Box Score from todays game (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=220612110)
and here is the game log (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gameLog?gameId=220612110)
Kim, pitching at Yankee Stadium for the first time since his World Series meltdowns last year, got six outs to preserve the Arizona Diamondbacks' 9-5 victory over New York on Wednesday.
Arizona starter Miguel Batista outpitched Mike Mussina again, getting home-run support from backup catcher Rod Barajas and Steve Finley just as he did in Game 5 of last year's Fall Classic.
Finley homered twice, his 15th career multihomer game, and drove in five runs as Arizona won at Yankee Stadium for the first time in six tries -- including last year's Series.
Kim entered to start the bottom of the eighth inning and was greeted by sarcastic cheers from 50,864 Yankees fans who fondly remember the three dramatic home runs he gave up in the World Series.
But the South Korean sidearmer was not fazed. With a light drizzle falling, he struck out Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada on 12 pitches to quiet the crowd.
The Yankees put two runners on in the ninth before Kim struck out Marcus Thames and got Shane Spencer to ground into a game-ending double play for his 17th save in 19 chances.
As teammates congratulated Kim in the infield, he took the baseball thrown for the game's final pitch and heaved it into the netting just beyond the left-field fence. It landed near the same spot as Scott Brosius' home run that tied Game 5 last fall.
The right-hander has bounced back nicely from his November nightmare, working 11 consecutive scoreless innings over nine appearances.
Batista (4-3) threw 7 2/3 shutout innings against the Yankees last November and left with a 2-0 lead on the strength of home runs by Barajas and Finley, only to see Kim blow on Brosius' two-out, two-run homer in the ninth.
The Yankees eventually won on Alfonso Soriano's 12th-inning RBI single.
The night before, Tino Martinez connected off Kim to tie it with two outs in the ninth, and Derek Jeter took him deep in the 10th to win it for the Yankees.
Spencer hit a three-run homer off Mike Morgan in the seventh Wednesday to cut it to 6-5, but Morgan got out of the inning. Alex Cintron, who has five hits since being recalled from the minors Tuesday, added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 7-5.
Finley hit a two-run shot in the ninth.
Batista gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.
Mussina (9-3), clearly missing his best stuff, allowed six runs and a season-high 10 hits in five innings, matching his shortest outing of the year and ending a six-game winning streak.
He did not walk a batter but was consistently behind in the count, giving up home runs to Barajas and Finley on 2-0 pitches.
Barajas lifted a fly to left field with two outs in the second inning and a firm breeze carried it over the fence for a two-run homer, his first since last year's World Series.
Mark Grace's double put runners at second and third in the fourth, and Tony Womack's two-out RBI infield single made it 3-0.
Finley hit a three-run shot in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Quinton McCracken added three hits for the Diamondbacks.
Giambi drove in two runs.
The Yankees finished a 6-6 homestand, leading into their Subway Series showdown with the New York Mets on Friday night.
Game notes
The Diamondbacks went 4-2 at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. They open a nine-game homestand Friday night. ... Arizona is 36-0 when leading after eight innings. ... The 37-year-old Grace saw his first regular-season action at Yankee Stadium and went 2-for-4. Grace homered into the upper deck in Game 4 of the World Series last year. ... Williams went 58 plate appearances without an extra-base hit before consecutive doubles in the fourth and sixth innings. ... Yankees OF Rondell White did not play for the third straight game because of a ruptured tendon in his left middle finger. ... Mussina had won 14 of 16 decisions dating to last season.
:jump: :jump: :jump: :jump: :dance2:
:fro: :evillol:
Box Score from todays game (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=220612110)
and here is the game log (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gameLog?gameId=220612110)