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RECAP
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GAME LOG
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- No matter which hitter they send to the
plate, the New York Yankees have the Texas Rangers' number.
Clay Bellinger hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and the
Yankees completed their first three-game sweep at Texas since 1983,
beating the Rangers 5-4 Wednesday for their eighth straight
victory.
|  | | The Yankees' Lance Johnson, who went 4-for-6, watches his seventh-inning double. |
The Yankees' winning streak is their longest since they took
nine in a row in August 1998. This string started with two
victories over the Rangers last week at New York.
"It's very frustrating. We put ourselves in position to win and
didn't," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "They got a home run
from a utility infielder on an 0-2 pitch that was over his head."
Ivan Rodriguez, who was getting a day off, hit the first
pinch-hit homer of his career. The two-run shot with two outs in
the ninth inning came off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (2-0), who
had converted 27 straight save opportunities.
"You never see us get down. We're disappointed after the ninth,
but we're saying let's go, let's get a few runs," said Bellinger,
who had entered the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth. "We know
Mo, that's not going to happen very often."
After Jeff Zimmerman (0-2) got his third straight strikeout to
start the 10th, Bellinger hit a drive into the left-field seats for
his second career homer.
"He can hit a fastball. I'm not sure that Jeff wanted him to
hit that pitch," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "I think he
wanted to move Bell back a little, but he climbed the ladder and
got it."
In the 10th, Rivera retired David Segui on a fly ball with a
runner on third to end it. He earned the victory after blowing a
save for the first time since losing to Atlanta last July 16 -- the
same date he had allowed his last home run, to Andruw Jones.
Little-used Lance Johnson got four hits for the Yankees and
starter Roger Clemens pitched four-hit ball for seven-plus innings
in his longest outing of the season.
Clemens, who hadn't gone past the sixth inning in his first
three starts, struck out five and walked two.
Torre pulled Clemens after he went 2-0 on Chad Curtis leading
off the eighth. Clemens had stiffness in his lower back but nothing
that should cause him to miss his start next week against
Minnesota.
"Skip was concerned and was just being real cautious," Clemens
said. "I was trying to stay in, but as he continued to question
me, I couldn't deny the questions and he made up his mind then."
Jeff Nelson relieved and threw two balls to Curtis, with the
walk charged to Clemens. After a force play, Luis Alicea, who had
homered in the sixth, hit an RBI double.
Johnson, getting his first start of the year, went 4-for-6. He
had batted only three times, all as a pinch-hitter, in the first 13
games.
"What I'm here to do is give guys a day off. Joe knows I'm
going to be ready," Johnson said. "I know what I am capable of
when you get into the game, it makes it more comfortable."
The score was tied 1-1 when Johnson led off the seventh with a
double into the right-field corner and then stole third base
uncontested off Bill Haselman, who had started in place of
Rodriguez.
Johnson scored when Bernie Williams stumbled out of the box but
beat out a relay to first to prevent an inning-ending double play.
An inning later, Johnson added an RBI single.
Williams hit a solo home run in the ninth off Zimmerman for a
4-2 lead. It was his 18th career homer against Texas, his most
versus any opponent.
While the Yankees hadn't swept a three-game series at Texas in
17 years, they have dominated the Rangers since the first game of
the 1996 American League playoffs. New York has won eight straight
and 37 of 48 games since then, sweeping Texas out of the American
League playoffs the last two seasons.
Game notes
New York and Texas both had different leadoff hitters for
the first time this season. Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch
and Rangers shortstop Royce Clayton got the day off. ... A
baserunning mistake by rookie Alfonso Soriano resulted in a 3-2-4-5
double play in the second inning. Segui fielded a grounder right at
first base, then saw Soriano almost at third where another runner
already stood. Segui ran toward third but threw home when Ricky
Ledee started moving that way. Two throws later, Soriano was tagged
out to end the inning.
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RECAPS
Chi. White Sox 5
Seattle 2
NY Yankees 5
Texas 4
Baltimore 3
Tampa Bay 2
Oakland 10
Cleveland 5
Boston 10
Detroit 0
Toronto 12
Anaheim 4
Minnesota 7
Kansas City 6
Cincinnati 5
San Francisco 4
Pittsburgh 5
Florida 1
Montreal 7
Chicago Cubs 3
NY Mets 3
Milwaukee 1
Atlanta 10
Philadelphia 1
St. Louis 4
San Diego 3
Arizona 8
Colorado 7
Houston 10
Los Angeles 3
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