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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) -- The New York Yankees had no intention of rewriting
the ending in baseball's longest-running drama.
The characters change, the story doesn't: Yankees win, Red Sox
lose.
|  | | Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, right, gets a mouthful of champagne. |
MVP Orlando Hernandez pitched shutout ball into the eighth
inning and Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer as the Yankees won their
record 36th pennant and a return trip to the World Series, beating
Boston 6-1 Monday night in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.
"To repeat after the incredible year we had last year is a
great accomplishment," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
"I tried to warn the club in spring training that we cannot
compete against ourselves because it was a once-in-a-lifetime
thing," he said. "We had to earn it this year. It was probably
more satisfying this year."
The wild-card Red Sox brought out all their good-luck charms at
Fenway Park, and yet it did no good against their longtime
tormentors.
Babe Ruth's 82-year-old daughter threw out the first ball --
trying to reverse the Curse of the Bambino -- and Red Sox ace Pedro
Martinez roused the well-behaved crowd of 33,589 from the dugout
and bullpen.
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GAME 5 AT A GLANCE
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Every game a hero
Ramiro Mendoza usually doesn't get the saves. He just saves games. In Game 2, he entered in the eighth inning with a 3-2, the bases loaded and one out. He got of the inning. In Game 5, he entered again in the eighth with the bases loaded and out out. The score was 4-1. He struck out Scott Hatteberg and got Trot Nixon to pop out. Joe Torre let Mendoza finish this one out. He even picked up a save in the box score.
Key number
10. The Red Sox made 10 errors in the series, an LCS record. They made two more in Game 5, both in the seventh inning. Mike Stanley forgot to catch a routine throw from Nomar Garciaparra and Jose Offerman tripped over a ground ball. The miscues led to two unearned runs.
Last word
"I tried to warn the club in spring training that we cannot
compete against ourselves because it was a once-in-a-lifetime
thing. We had to earn it this year. It was probably
more satisfying this year."
-- Torre
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And still, it will be the Yankees heading off to defend their
World Series title while the Red Sox and their fans can only hope for better luck next
century.
"We really had a fine year. I told those kids in there we had a
fine year all year long," Red Sox manager Jimy Williams said.
"They really did a lot for this city this summer."
Game 1 of the World Series will be Saturday night at the home of
the NL champion.
The Yankees played both the Mets and Braves this summer and this will be the
first time World Series opponents have met in the regular season.
From DiMaggio and Dent to El Duque and Derek, the result stayed
the same in this 96-year matchup.
"With the rivalry getting back to where it was, it's sweet to
wrap it up here," said third-base coach Willie Randolph, a
longtime Yankees second baseman.
Coming off its record 125-win season, New York became the AL's
first repeat champion since Toronto in 1992-93 and earned its third
trip to the World Series in four years.
The Yankees will have a chance to win their 25th World Series title. All of
them have come since the Red Sox won their last championship in
1918, two years before they sold Ruth to New York.
"We didn't have all the miracles all the other teams were
having, but we just hung in there," Yankees owner George
Steinbrenner said. "It always feels good to be in the World
Series. No matter how you get there, it feels great."
Certainly it was special to Torre, who missed the first 36 games
of the season while recovering from prostate cancer surgery.
"You're never sure you're going to care once you get back,"
Torre said.
Hernandez, blowing on his hand to keep warm on a chilly night,
improved to 4-0 with an 0.97 ERA in five career starts in the
postseason. Two years ago, his half-brother Livan was MVP of the
NLCS and World Series for the Florida Marlins.
"This is a beautiful moment," El Duque said through an
interpreter. "I've very happy to be pitching in these
situations."
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RALLY KILLER MENDOZA
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BOSTON (AP) -- Boston's bats were quiet and so were the fans. The
end of the season was just two innings away.
Suddenly, those bats came alive, fans rose to their feet and it
seemed the Red Sox would get to play another day, after all. But it
wasn't to be.
Boston failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded, one-out threat in
the eighth inning. A Yankees reliever was the reason: Ramiro
Mendoza.
"He was awesome," New York's Derek Jeter said. "He pitched
well. He really was the MVP of this game."
New York manager Joe Torre used five pitchers to end that rally,
and New York beat the Red Sox 6-1 in Game 5 of the American League
championship series.
The most important of those pitchers was Mendoza.
Trailing 4-1, Boston had the bases loaded with one out when he
replaced Allen Watson. Mendoza struck out pinch-hitter Scott
Hatteberg and got Trot Nixon to pop out to third baseman Scott
Brosius to end the threat.
He got out of another jam in Game 2 last Thursday night when New
York took a 2-0 series lead with a 3-2 victory.
"He saved our you know whats the last week a couple of times,"
Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Series MVP Orlando Hernandez dominated the Red Sox for seven
innings Monday night. He allowed no runs, three singles and struck
out nine. And he seemed to be getting stronger. He struck out the
side in the seventh.
But Jason Varitek, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts to that
point, hit a 1-1 pitch for a homer in the eighth and Nomar
Garciaparra followed with a double.
That was it for Hernandez, but the Red Sox kept going.
Lefty Stanton came in and walked lefty Troy O'Leary. Righty Nelson came in and got righty Mike Stanley to fly to
center for the first out. Lefty Watson entered to pitch to lefty Brian Daubach, but righty Butch
Huskey went up to pinch hit and walked, loading the bases. Watson
left and took Boston's hopes with him because he was replaced by
Mendoza, a righthander.
Boston manager Jimy Williams then sent up lefty Hatteberg to hit
for light-hitting Darren Lewis. Hatteberg hadn't batted in the
series and the rust showed as he struck out swinging.
Now it was up to Nixon, who had struck out twice and walked in
his three previous at bats.
Three on, two outs. Mendoza pitched. Nixon swung and hit a harmless popup that
Brosius caught for the third out.
One inning remained, and Mendoza retired the side in order in the
ninth for his first official save of the series.
Mariano Rivera got credit for the Game 2 save but Mendoza's role
was just as important.
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Hernandez got a no-decision in Game 1, allowing two earned runs
in eight innings.
This time, El Duque shut down the Red Sox on three hits through
seven innings, striking out nine. He left after Jason Varitek
homered to start the eighth and Nomar Garciaparra followed with a
double. He threw a season-high 138 pitches.
Mike Stanton relieved, setting off a series of mix-and-match
moves by Torre and Williams.
Allen Watson wound up walking pinch-hitter Butch Huskey to load
the bases with one out.
Ramiro Mendoza, New York's fifth pitcher of the inning, came in
from the bullpen and kept it at 4-1, striking out pinch-hitter
Scott Hatteberg on a 3-2 pitch that bounced in the dirt and getting Trot Nixon
on a foul pop to third.
Jorge Posada hit a clinching two-run homer off Tom Gordon in the
ninth, and Mendoza closed for a save.
This first postseason meeting between the Yankees and
Boston ended up the same way regular-season duels did for so many
years, from the days when Joe DiMaggio led New York over Ted
Williams and the Red Sox, to the afternoon when Bucky Dent's homer
won a 1978 AL East tiebreaker.
Despite the disappointment, the Red Sox fans did not let their
frustration spill over. Maybe a heavy security presence was
responsible but it was quite a different scene from Sunday night,
when the Fenway faithful littered the field with debris after an
umpire's bad call.
Twice during the series, umpires admitted blowing calls against
Boston. The Red Sox did not help themselves in the five games,
though, by making 10 errors.
Rather, all that promise the Red Sox held -- they rallied from an
0-2 deficit to beat Cleveland in the best-of-5 Division Series,
then roughed up former star Roger Clemens in Game 3 of this series
-- went to waste.
"If you asked me before the season what would I want, I would
say the opportunity to play the Yankees in the playoffs," Red Sox
third baseman John Valentin said. "We had that opportunity."
Chuck Knoblauch led off the game with a single against Kent
Mercker and Jeter homered into a stiff wind for a center-field shot
that made it 2-0. After only eight pitches, Bryce Florie was
warming up for the Red Sox.
"We wanted to score early and give El Duque some breathing
room," Jeter said. "All he needed tonight was two runs."
Notes
The Yankees finished the century with a 1,011-826 edge over
the Red Sox. ... Mercker made three starts in this postseason and
never got past the fourth inning. ... Jeter barely missed another
home run in the third when his opposite-field slice blew foul past
the right-field pole.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
NY Yankees Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
Yankees vs. Red Sox series page
El Duque not intimidated against Red Sox
This time, Jeter homers over the fence
Red Sox flop in the field
Boston police beef up security for Game 5
RECAPS
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Joe Torre says the Yankees starting pitchers shut down the Red Soxs.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Derek Jeter says Joe Torre is a great manager.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jorge Posada discusses Orlando Hernandez's MVP performance.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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