Hernandez got the ball in the top of the first inning and the Sox immediately rallied. Offerman led off by ripping a base hit to center before John Valentin hit one in the hole at short. Jeter tried to throw Offerman out at second but airmailed the throw, scoring Jose all the way from first and advancing Valentin to third. Brian Daubach pounded a base hit to right to score Valentin with another run. Nomar Garciaparra popped up to left but Troy O'Leary drew a walk. Mike Stanley flied out to the right field wall to move Daubach to third but Jason Varitek popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Mercker got the ball in the bottom of the first and Chuck Knoblauch popped up to Varitek in foul territory only for him to muff the ball for an error. The error proved harmless as Knoblauch grounded out to short although Derek Jeter drew a walk. Paul O'Neill hit a rocket to Offerman but he couldn't throw Paul out at first for an infield base hit. Williams grounded back to Mercker but both runners moved over. Nomar then jumped 10 feet in the air to rob Chili Davis of a hit to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Darren Lewis drew a walk to start. Lewis swiped second easily and Trot Nixon advanced Darren to third with a bloop single to right center. Offerman then squibbed a hit past Scott Brosius and Hernandez to score Lewis with another run. At this point the Sox were up 3-0 with 2 on and nobody out and the Sox let the Yankees off the ropes. Valentin popped up to center, Daubach popped up to third in foul territory and Nomar flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox should have blown the doors off Hernandez yet only led 3-0.
Naturally the Yankees wasted no time getting back in the game in the bottom of the second inning. Tino Martinez popped up to right before Jorge Posada grounded out to short. Shane Spencer started the rally with a bloop single to left and Scott Brosius pounded a home run just over the head of Troy O'Leary to cut the lead. Knoblauch was robbed at the wall by O'Leary to end the inning but the Yankees had cut it to 3-2.
Hernandez settled down in the top of the third inning as O'Leary struck out swinging to start. Stanley dumped a base hit to left but Martinez reached into the stands to catch a pop up by Varitek. Jeter made a jumping catch to rob Lewis of a hit to end the inning. The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the third when Jeter doubled past Lewis to the wall to start. O'Neil whiffed at strike three outside but Williams hit one off the glove of Valentin. Nomar tried to throw out Jeter going back to second but threw the ball away for an error to allow Derek to go to third. Mercker got a big out when Davis lined out to Offerman and Nomar made a leaping catch to rob Martinez of an rbi double to end the inning.
Nixon led off the top of the fourth by striking out swinging to start. Offerman popped up to left but Valentin caught Spencer asleep in left with a double. Daubach whiffed to end the inning and waste another baserunner. Mercker held on in the bottom of the fourth as Posada grounded back to the mound to start. Spencer was frozen for strike three on a borderline call but Nixon dove and missed a line drive catch of Brosius. Offerman made the heads up play to trail him and threw the ball back into the field to hold Scott to a triple as Nixon gathered his bearings. Knoblauch walked and Jimy Williams ran out to the mound to tell Mercker to get one more out or else he'll kick his ass. Mercker did manage to get Jeter to ground into a force to end the inning. Mercker on two days rest held the Yankees to 2 runs in 4 innings, making one mistake to Brosius.
Offerman got a heroes welcome in the dugout after saving Nixon's ass but the offense failed to get anything done in the top of the fifth. Nomar flied out to center to start and O'Neill made a diving catch to rob O'Leary of extra bases. Stanley flied out to right to end the inning. Rich Garces was first out of the bullpen in the bottom of the fifth and O'Neill grounded out to second to start. Williams flied out to center and Davis grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Varitek tried to start a rally in the top of the sixth with a base hit to right over the head of Knoblauch. Lewis tried to bunt Varitek over to second but did it too hard and Varitek was thrown out at second. Lewis was thrown out at second trying to steal on the Nixon strikeout to end the inning. Garces returned for the bottom of the sixth and Offerman nearly cleaned out Nixon on the fly out by Martinez. Posada flied out to center and Spencer whiffed to end the inning.
Hernandez cruised in the top of the seventh inning as Offerman flied out to center to start. Valentin flied out to the right field wall and Daubach flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox had done nothing against Hernandez since the second inning. The Yankees tied the game against Derek Lowe in the bottom of the seventh inning as Brosius put himself a double away from the cycle with a base hit to left to start. Knoblauch dropped down a bunt to move Brosius to second and Jeter sliced a base hit to right. Nixon threw to the plate and the ball beat Brosius...but it went under the legs of Varitek. Brosius tagged the plate to tie the game. Jeter advanced to second on the throw and Nomar bobbled a grounder by O'Neill for an error. Williams beat out a double play ball and stole second, but Davis whiffed to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Hernandez returned for the top of the eighth and Nomar hit one up the elevator shaft to start. O'Leary grounded out to first and Stanley flied out to center to end the inning. Hernandez was down 3-0 with no outs in the second and allowed nothing the next 6 innings, unbelievable. Lowe returned for the bottom of the eighth and Martinez took strike three to start. Posada grounded out to second and Spencer was rung up for strike three to end the inning.
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera took the mound in the top of the ninth and the Sox went quietly. Varitek grounded out to second, Lewis was frozen for strike three and Nixon grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Lowe returned for the bottom of the ninth and Brosius was denied the cycle with a called strike three to start. Knoblauch beat out an infield single to third but was erased on the force by Jeter. That was it for Lowe as Sox manager Jimy Williams wanted lefty Rheal Cormier to face O'Neill. O'Neill grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox got screwed in the top of the tenth as Offerman led off with a base hit to right. Valentin hit a grounder to third and Brosius flipped to second but Knoblauch dropped it...BUT THEY CALLED OFFERMAN OUT! Jimy Williams bolted out of the dugout and was told by Rick Reed that the ball came out in the transfer throw. An irate Tim McCarver on commentary showed on the replay Knoblauch never caught the ball to begin with. What should have been first and second and nobody out was now one out and a man on. Naturally Daubach banged into a double play to end the inning when he should have been bunting to end the inning. What a bag job!
Rod Beck came on for the bottom of the tenth with diminished velocity and Bernie Williams sent the second pitch he threw into the centerfield bleachers to win the game. The Yankees took Game 1 4-3.
Jackass of the Night is Rod Beck. Yeah the Sox got screwed in the top of the tenth but how do you give up a walkoff home run to Bernie Williams?
The Good:
Jose Offerman was 3 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Kent Mercker held the Yankees to 2 runs in 4 innings on just two days rest.
Rich Garces tossed two scoreless innings.
Rheal Cormier got the only man he faced.
The Bad:
Nomar Garciaparra was 0 for 4 with 2 errors.
The Ugly:
John Valentin was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Brian Daubach was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 but walked.
Mike Stanley was just 1 for 4.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 4 with an error.
Darren Lewis was 0 for 3 but walked, stole a base and scored a run.
Trot Nixon was just 1 for 4.
Derek Lowe allowed the tying run in 2 2/3 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
With all that happened, the key to the game was really the top of the second inning. They had Hernandez down 3-0 with 2 on and nobody out and couldn't score. Forget the top of the 10th inning and forget Beck, had the Sox knocked Hernandez out or even scratched out one more run they probably win this game. This is why the Yankees are the champs, they always make the clutch pitch, get the clutch hit or make the clutch catch. Mercker did the best he could on two days rest but still, that should have been Tim Wakefield making the start. Varitek's error was huge but the Sox couldn't generate any offense...until the tenth. If the Sox lose in 6 or 7 games, that bad call by Rick Reed is going to haunt them big time. Supposedly after the game he apologized and admitted he made a bad call but that doesn't help the Sox now. Still, the Sox went toe to toe with the Yankees and they needed a bad call to scrape by with a win. If the Sox can take Game 2 on the mound, they got Pedro going in Game 3 and the Sox can get cooking. The Sox look to bounce back in Game 2 tomorrow night when Ramon Martinez takes on David Cone at 8:00 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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