It was Jose Vizcaino’s game to win. After Joe Torre named him as his starting second baseman for the kickoff game of the Subway Series, it was all up to him, and Vizcaino came through with a bases-loaded, two-out single in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Yankees a 4-3 victory over the Mets.
“I’d like to believe we find a way to win,” Torre said. “I heard Derek Jeter quoted today. Instead of blaming us for not doing it an easy way, I think you have to credit the other teams that are good. The Mets are certainly a good team.”
“I thought it was a heck of a game,” Mets manager Bobby Valentine said. “Two teams that battled their way to get here, battled their way tonight; and we gave them a pretty good run for their money in their home ballpark. We came up a little short. They did a good job.”
With one out in the 12th, Tino Martinez started things off for the Yankees with a single. Jorge Posada followed with a double and Paul O’Neill was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Luis Sojo popped up to leave the potential deciding at-bat of the game to Vizcaino and the second baseman answered the call, delivering the RBI single the Yankees needed to take a 1-0 lead over the Mets in the World Series.
Torre originally inserted Vizcaino into the lineup because of his prior numbers against Mets starter Al Leiter: a .467 average (7-for –15) with one RBI , two walks, and three strikeouts. Coming into the game, Vizcaino had a .529 on-base percentage and a .533 slugging percentage.
It was Turk Wendell, a former teammate of Vizcaino and the Mets fifth reliever of the night, who would give up the deciding hit. For the evening, Vizcaino was 4-for-6.
“In that situation, bases loaded, he just wants to get the first pitch for a strike,” Vizcaino said. “So I was just trying to hit the ball and just looking for the first pitch, a strike. He was able to throw me that pitch, what I wanted, what I was looking for, and I was able to get the hit to left field.”
It was a classic pitchers duel – on both sides for most of the game.
Leiter and Andy Pettitte went out for out in Game 1 of the World Series, each able to pitch out of jams through five innings. Their bullpens were effective, too, sending the game into extra innings.
Things began to change when David Justice laced a two-run double to left center field in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Leiter unraveled in the sixth, giving up a leadoff single to Vizcaino. Although Chuck Knoblauch failed to execute on a sacrifice bunt, Jeter drew a walk on four straight pitches to put two on with one out. Justice then worked his post-season magic.
With the count 1-1, Justice drove Leiter’s next offering into the gap in left center and Knoblauch and Jeter raced around to score.
In the top of the seventh, the Mets would return the favor, scoring three runs on four hits.
In the seventh, Pettitte retired Robin Ventura to start the inning but Benny Agbayani and Jay Payton singled, and Todd Pratt drew a full-count walk.
Pinch hitter Bubba Trammel singled to tie the game at 2-all. With two out and runners on second and third, Torre went to the bullpen, bringing in Jeff Nelson to pitch to Edgardo Alfonzo.
An infield hit by Alfonzo scored the go-ahead run.
The score would remain 3-2 until the ninth.
But the Yankees were not done. They tied the game in the ninth off Armando Benitez. After O’Neill drew a full-count walk, pinch-hitter Luis Polonia, who had previously been 1-for-2 against Benitez lifetime, singled to advance O’Neill. Vizcaino singled to load the bases.
Knoblauch hit a sacrifice fly to knot the game at 3-each. Jeter struck out to send the game into extra innings.
The Yankees and Mets both squandered opportunities to score. The Mets stranded eight and the Bombers left 15 on base.
By Stephanie J. Geosits.