|
|
|
|
 |
|
Scores Schedules Standings Statistics Transactions Injuries: AL | NL Players Weekly Lineup Message Board Minor Leagues MLB Stat Search Clubhouses |
| Sport Sections |
|
|
| |
Friday, Sep. 22 7:05pm ET
Slumping Yankees lose 6th straight | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Paul O'Neill was so frustrated that he didn't even sound angry. "It was embarrassing tonight," he said. "Right now, anything that can possibly happen that can go wrong is going wrong." Hideo Nomo matched his season high with nine strikeouts and Deivi Cruz drove in three runs as the Detroit Tigers sent New York to its first six-game losing streak in three years, beating the Yankees 9-6 Friday night. O'Neill, returning to the lineup after a week off to rest his injured right hip, went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a sacrifice fly. Tino Martinez also was 0-for-4, leaving his hitless streak at a career-high 28 at-bats. "We have to start winning some games," Bernie Williams said. "There's no doubt about that." On Sept. 13, New York held a nine-game lead in the AL East, the division race seemingly over. But the Yankees have lost eight of nine since then, getting outscored 69-25. New York's division lead remained at 4 1/2 games over second-place Toronto only because Tampa Bay beat the Blue Jays 3-2, lowering the Yankees' magic number to six. "Right now, we have to get that edge back," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. The two-time defending World Series champions, who last lost six straight to Philadelphia and Baltimore from Sept. 1-6, 1997, haven't even led in 54 consecutive innings. Jorge Posada is 4-for-25 with 11 strikeouts and Chuck Knoblauch is 4-for-28 -- although he did walk three times against Nomo (8-11), who allowed three runs and four hits in six-plus innings. Only Derek Jeter, who matched his career high by going 4-for-5, and David Justice, who drove in three runs, seem immune to the slump. "He's a tough pitcher to face when you have your timing and I didn't have any tonight," O'Neill said. Reliever Jeff Nelson was booed after getting over to first too late on a ninth-inning grounder. He was immediately replaced by Ted Lilly, who threw a run-scoring wild pitch, then failed to get over in time on another grounder, which Martinez threw away for a run-scoring error. Torre then took out Lilly. "Obviously, I wasn't happy with the ninth inning," Torre said. "There's no excuse for not covering the base." Detroit improved to 7-2 against the Yankees this year. "We do well against them, but we can't beat the Minnesota Twins," Bobby Higginson said. "I'm not sure what it means." After Cruz's two-run homer put the Tigers ahead in the fifth, Justice hit a two-run single in the bottom half -- the first time the Yankees scored multiple runs in 43 innings. But the Tigers quickly came back in the sixth against Denny Neagle (7-6), who blamed his problems on a mechanical adjustment he made after the fifth: opening up his shoulder in an attempt to get a better break on offspeed pitches. Damion Easley reached on a bunt single and took third on Bobby Higginson's one-out single, straining his left quadriceps on his slide. Neagle walked Dean Palmer, then threw a wild pitch behind Billy McMillon's head, allowing the go-ahead run to score. McMillon walked, finishing Neagle. "It was just a dumb mechanical mistake," Neagle said. "I knew that and I shouldn't have done it." Cruz blooped Jason Grimsley's first pitch just over second baseman Jose Vizcaino and in front of Williams in center, making it 4-2. Pinch-hitter Rich Becker had an RBI grounder and Hal Morris hit an opposite-field pop to left that seemed catchable but fell beyond the reach of Justice as two more runs scored. The crowd at Yankee Stadium, used to excellence, booed as the Yankees slowly returned to their dugout after the inning. "I would have booed the hell out of myself," Neagle said. O'Neill hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh off C.J. Nitkowski, and Williams singled in a run. Matt Anderson allowed an RBI double to Williams and a run-scoring single to Justice in the ninth before Todd Jones struck out Posada for his league-leading 41st save in 44 chances. Williams chose to put Friday behind and look ahead to Saturday, when Roger Clemens pitches against Dave Mlicki. "It might," he said, "only take a game for us to start getting it back together."< Game notesBefore the fifth, the Yankees' previous multirun inning was a four-run seventh in Sunday's 15-4 loss to Cleveland. New York trailed 15-0 at the time. ... Before Justice's hit, Yankees' left-handed hitters were 0-for-10 against Nomo. ... Nomo also struck out nine against the White Sox on April 30. ... Cruz's homer was his second in five career at-bats against Neagle. ... Neagle allowed six runs, four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. ... Easley left in the middle of the sixth. His replacement, Jose Macias, made a diving stop behind second against Posada on a grounder that ended the seventh. ... Detroit has won the season series from New York for the first time since 1991 (8-5). | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Detroit Clubhouse NY Yankees Clubhouse Cone could wind up in Yankees' postseason bullpen
RECAPS Baltimore 3 Boston 1
Detroit 9
| |||||