After a tumultuous end to June, the 2000 Yankees got their July off on the right foot, winning four of their first five games. With a bit of momentum on their side, they headed across town to Queens for a four-game set with the New York Mets heading into the All-Star break.

July 7: Yankees 2, Mets 1 (box score)

Record: 43-37 (1st place in AL East, 0.5 games ahead)

If you thought you’d be in for a high-scoring affair after the first inning, you’d have been forgiven. Chuck Knoblauch led off the top of the first inning by working a walk against Mets starter Al Leiter, although he would get caught stealing for the first out of the inning. Derek Jeter, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back singles, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead before two outs were recorded in the top of the first. While Leiter managed to get Tino Martinez to fly out and whiff Shane Spencer, it looked like the Yankees offense was about to pick up right where it left off against the Baltimore Orioles.

That would be the last time the Yankees had runners on base until Jeter singled to lead off the sixth inning, and the last time the Yankees sent up more than the minimum three (Jeter was immediately picked off first base) until Scott Brosius singled to lead off the eighth. Leiter threw an absolute masterclass, befuddling Yankees hitters and striking out eight batters in eight innings of work. With 130 pitches thrown, it was an outing the likes of which we rarely see these days.

Fortunately for the Yankees, Orlando Hernández — and their defense — were better. El Duque coasted through the first four innings, stranding both baserunners that he allowed. Only in the fifth did the Mets begin to threaten, as Todd Zeile and Jay Payton each worked a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Benny Agbayani then laced a line drive up the middle… which Hernández picked out of the air for the first out. The athletic pitcher than spun around, threw to ball to Jeter at second to double up Zeile for the second out. Jeter then rifled the ball to first for… the throw was slightly off line, and Payton probably would have been safe anyway, so it wasn’t a triple play. Nonetheless, great infield defense stopped a potential rally in its tracks.

The Mets would not threaten again until the bottom of the eighth, when Melvin Mora’s one-out triple gave the team from Queens its first runner on third all evening. The next batter, offseason acquisition Derek Bell, hit a deep fly ball to right field that would have been a game-tying home run if O’Neill had not reached over the wall and reeled it in.

Although Mora still tagged up to cut the lead to one, the lead was secure with one of the game’s all-time greats.

After eight innings of one-run ball, Hernández turned the ball over to Mariano Rivera. The Yankees’ closer allowed a little bit of excitement by putting the tying run on first on a two-out knock from the veteran Zeile. But true to form, Mo slammed the door shut on a fly ball from Payton that fittingly landed in the glove of the defensive star of the game, O’Neill, who gave the Yankees the win.

Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.