After the Yankees had been linked in trade talks to superstars Sammy Sosa and Juan González only for both deals to fall through, they pivoted and brought David Justice to the Bronx. That proved to be a pivotal move as the Bronx Bombers chased their third consecutive World Series title.
O=n July 6th, 2000, at Yankee Stadium, Justice served a sign of things to come. His bat helped lead the Yankees to victory. That too was a portent, as he carried a big stick down the stretch and into the playoffs.
July 6: Yankees 13, Orioles 9 (box score)
Record: 42-37, .532 (0.5 GB)
You would have been forgiven for thinking this one was over early. Before the Orioles were even done their second time through the order, they’d chased Yankee starter Ed Yarnall and run up a 7-0 lead. The Yanks must have been feeling a bit of shell-shock.
To quote Thanos though, they “should have gone for the head.” The Bronx Bombers shook off the haymakers Baltimore landed, and started throwing bombs of their own. After Bernie Williams led of the second with a single, Orioles starter Sidney Ponson walked four consecutive Yanks.
A groundout and an RBI single followed and all of a sudden, the Oriole lead was down to 7-3 and Ponson was no more for this game. And then Derek Jeter and Paul O’Neill went, to borrow from the great John Sterling, “a back to back… and a belly to belly!” Jeets’ three-run blast and Paulie’s solo dinger amazingly knotted the game at seven.
New York took the lead for good in the fourth. Paulie was standing on second having driven in the go-ahead run when Bernie Williams stepped to the dish and clubbed a two-run bomb. Up next… our man David Justice. For the second time in three innings, the Yankees hit back-to-back jacks. Justice’s was his first in pinstripes.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, Baltimore led 7-0. After Justice snuck one down the line into the short porch, New York was up 13-7.
It was this point in the game, from the third inning onward, that the bullpen came through. Yankee relievers pitched eight frames, including 3.2 scoreless innings from Mike Stanton, who ended credited with the win. By the time the Orioles scored again, it didn’t really matter.
Two seventh-inning runs closed the Orioles’ gap to 13-9. But it was now late in the game, and a certain greatest of all time closer loomed in the Yankee ‘pen. After Randy Choate and Jeff Nelson got the Yanks through the eighth, Joe Torre turned to his future first-ballot Hall of Famer and Mo was more than up to the task. Two groundballs and a flyball out. Good morning, good afternoon, good night.
What once seemed like it could be an embarrassing loss for the Yankees turned into quite an enjoyable game. I can see myself being in an absolute state of high dudgeon at Yankee Stadium early that day, only to feel quite differently a few minutes later.
From here, the Yankees headed to the old Shea Stadium to face the Mets. And while they were riding four wins in five games, they were not resting on their laurels. Torre announced before this game that the struggling David Cone was headed to the bullpen and moved Andy Pettitte into his spot in the rotation.
And after… Torre dropped the real bombshell. Former Met, 35-year-old Dwight “Doc” Gooden, would start the Subway Series opener. It would mark the first time the former Met phenom would face his old club. Keep tuning in to our retrospective to see how it all played out.