The Yankees’ West Coast trip 25 years ago started out rough, as they dropped two of three to the Angels, but they had since rebounded with a couple of good wins to start their three-game set in Texas. The most recent of these games saw them put up double-digit runs, a stark contrast from the series finale. The Rangers were in a distant last place in the West, but didn’t look the part in this one, as Brian Sikorski and the Texas pitching staff shut the Yankees out from wire to wire.

August 16: Yankees 0, Rangers 5 (box score)

Record: 65-51 (1st in AL East, 4.0 games ahead)

The Bombers were taking on a cellar dweller that was starting a pitcher making his Major League debut — it was far from the cake walk that it might seem to be. The 26-year-old right-hander brought his A-game in this one, and it was evident rather quickly. They had perhaps their best chance against Sikorski in the top of the second, when David Justice led the inning off with a single, followed by a Tino Martinez double. Sikorski answered with a pair of strikeouts, before a walk loaded the bases, though he ultimately escaped the inning without any damage in the run column.

On the Yankee side of things, Orlando Hernández was on the bump, and would not fare nearly as well as his counterpart. The Rangers first got to El Duque in the third inning, when a pair of knocks and a sacrifice bunt got things started. Luis Alicea cashed in on the opportunity with a single up the middle to put the Rangers up 1-0. They would double that lead in the next inning, when Rafael Palmeiro led things off with his 30th home run of the season, a towering blast into right field.

Hernández was tagged once again in the fifth, when he recorded two quick outs, but followed by allowing a pair of baserunners. Rusty Greer completed the rally when he shot a triple the other was into left field, under the glove of an outstretched Luis Polonia. The three-bagger put the Rangers up by four with the Yankees yet to make a mark in the run column.

While the Texas offense was building their lead, their rookie starting pitcher was really finding his groove. After Derek Jeter led off the Yankees’ half of the third with a triple, Sikorski followed by setting down 13 consecutive Yankee batters. He wouldn’t allow another baserunner until the seventh inning, though the Yankees still wouldn’t make anything of it. In the end, he worked through 7+ stellar innings against the Yankees, he allowed just four hits and struck out five. This turned out to be one of just five career MLB starts for Sikorski, who pitched five years in Japan after 2000 before returning for 30 so-so games out of the bullpen for San Diego and Cleveland in 2006.

For New York, Hernández also pitched seven, much rockier innings, but he allowed twice as many hits as Sikorski, with the scoreboard reflecting just that. The Rangers were able to scratch across another run thanks to an RBI groundout in his final inning, bringing the Texas advantage up to 5-0.

Mike Venafro relieved Sikorski after he allowed a leadoff walk in the eighth, and the Texas reliever promptly a double-play ball to stymie any hopes of a possible Yankees rally. He went back out for the ninth inning, where he sat down Justice and Martinez on strikes in quick order, before recording the final out on a Jorge Posada grounder.

After a pair of convincing wins in Arlington, the Yankees wrapped up their series in the Lone Star State with a whimper of a loss. With a multi-game lead in the East still intact however, they could accept that any team is susceptible to an evening with holes in the bats. They’d head home next for another dance with the Angels.

Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.