The Yankees had just opened their series at home with a loss to the Orioles on Independence Day. A late rally was not enough to propel them past fourth-place Baltimore, but they’d get another crack at the Birds the following day, with Andy Pettitte on the bump. The offense would be more potent and more timely in this one, netting a good win to get them within close proximity to first place in the East.
July 5: Yankees 12, Orioles 6 (box score)
Record: 41-37 (0.5 GB in AL East)
Pettitte and Pat Rapp for the Orioles kept things quiet for the first inning and a half, before the Yankees made their early and decisive impact on this game. After Bernie Williams doubled and Jorge Posada was hit by a pitch, the stage was set for Scott Brosius with two outs. He cashed in by belting a 1-0 pitch deep over the left-center wall for a three-run blast, giving the Yankees a quick 3-0 advantage in this one.
Meanwhile, now with some insurance, Pettitte continued to pitch a clean game. He set the Birds down in order in the third, before working around a walk in the fourth and a couple of baserunners in the fifth. In the bottom half of that inning, José Vizcaíno led things off with a single, but was quickly erased on a double play ball. Derek Jeter salvaged the inning, however, when he belted a solo shot the other way, his eighth long ball of the season.
Pettitte kept Baltimore out of the run column again in the sixth, before his teammates put this game largely to bed in the bottom half. Bernie led off with another double, and was eventually scored via Tino Martinez single. A walk to Posada allowed back-to-back singles from Brosius and Vizcaíno to score two more, before another free pass loaded the bases for Jeter. The Yankee shortstop managed an RBI groundout, but the big blow came from Paul O’Neill, who laced a double down the right field line to score another pair.
When the sixth inning came to a close, the Yankees now held a commanding 10-0 lead. Pettitte came back out for the seventh, and would run into his first trouble against the O’s. Charles Johnson hit a solo homer to get them on the board, before a triple and a walk pushed Pettitte from the game. Now against Jason Grimsley, three hits and a productive groundout suddenly had Baltimore scoring six in the inning (four of which were tabbed to Pettitte). But, one of the perks of a ten-run lead is the breathing room, which the Yanks took full advantage of.
New York plated two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, when Félix José singled into left-center, scoring Knoblauch and Jeter. They were now doubling-up the Orioles, 12-6, and needed just three outs to seal the deal.
Craig Dingman was the man for the job on this day, and he quickly induced a trio of outfield flyouts to lock things down. The win was an important one, keeping the Yankees easily within striking distance in the competitive East. It was also a solid team effort, Pettitte pitched well for the most part, and eight-of-nine Yankee hitters recorded a hit (the one exclusion being Posada, who reached base four times).
The win snapped a five-game home losing streak, a good monkey to get off one’s back. The Yankees had one more game on deck at home against the Orioles, as they hoped the bats would stay hot against their division rivals.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.