The Yankees came into this game having split the first two games of a three-game set against the Expos who, despite their negative -12 run differential, sat six games above .500 and in second place in the National League East.
To win the series, the Yanks tuned to Orlando Hernández. “El Duque” was coming off a seven-inning, one-run performance against Atlanta and, outside of a couple starts, had been outstanding for New York in the first third of the 2000 season.
In Montreal, he made one mistake in the first inning. After that, he locked the Expos lineup down and eventually the Yankees’ bats broke out, propelling the Bronx Bombers to the series win and sole possession of first place in the AL East.
June 7: Yankees 7, Expos 2 (box score)
Record: 32-23, .582 (1 GA)
The Expos got to Hernández once, in the first inning. He made mistake of leaving a pitch over the heart of the plate to future Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero with a man on. Vlad absolutely obliterated the offering to dead center field. A gigantic home run. Faster than you can say “une biere, s’il vous plait” to the guy on the concourse, the Expos led 2-0.
From there though, El Duque etait en feu. Over the next six frames, he allowed two lonely baserunners, one via a walk and the other who managed a single off him. That was plenty of time for the offense to figure it out against (infamous) future Yankee Carl Pavano.
The Yanks got one run back in the third, on a Ricky Ledée single that scored Clay Bellinger, cutting the Montreal lead to 2-1. Bellinger had been hit by a pitch then stole second. Ledée likewise snagged second after he reached. The Yankees ran early and often on Pavano, notching four stolen bases off the Montreal starter.
In the fifth, the Bronx Bombers finally broke through. A hit and an error put two men on for Paul O’Neill. His single off Pavano brought home the tying run. Bernie Williams then stepped to the dish. His single through a drawn-in infield plated two more, giving New York its first lead of the game at 4-2. After a Tino Martinez triple scored Bernie, Jorge Posada came to the plate. His opposite field home run scored two more, giving the Yankees a five-run lead, and it chased Pavano from the game.
El Duque, as mentioned, was on cruise control. The Expos finally put a little bit of pressure on him in the eighth, with a pair of two-out singles. But the Yankee hurler gained a measure of revenge from earlier in the game, retiring Guerrero to snuff out Montreal’s last best chance.
In a non-save situation, Joe Torre turned to Allan Watson for the ninth, with Hernández’s pitch count at 114. For his part, Watson only need 13 more pitched to close out the Expos and clinch the series victory for the Yankees.
Buster Olney noted the Yankees’ penchant for scampering around the bases in the next day’s New York Times, remarking that the baserunning did an excellent job of keeping Pavano off balance.
For the Yankees, who’d been scuffling, the win meant a 4-2 record on a road trip that saw them play the top two teams in the NL East, the Braves and the Expos. Over those six contests, the club collectively hit .317, clubbed 32 extra-base hits, and averaged 6.1 runs per game. For their efforts, they now sat a game up on the Boston Red Sox in the AL East as they prepared to return home and host the Mets in the Subway Series after a day off.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.