Clemens took the mound in the top of the first and got Jeff Frye to ground out. Seeds were planted for the end of the game when Trot Nixon looked at strike three and disagreed with home plate umpire Ed Rapuano. Clemens barked at Nixon to sit down and shut up.Trot didn't appreciate that at all. Brian Daubach popped up to end the inning. Pedro Martinez matched Roger in the bottom of the first. Chuck Knoblauch popped up but Derek Jeter singled. Paul O'Neil grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Clemens turned up the heat to strike out Nomar Garciaparra to begin the top of the second. Carl Everett singled but was picked off. Mike Stanley whiffed to end the inning. Pedro cruised in the bottom of the second. Bernie Williams popped up, Jorge Posada struck out and Tino Martinez flied out to end the inning.
Roger stayed strong in the top of the third inning. Troy O'Leary flied out, John Valentin grounded out and Jason Varitek struck out to end the inning. Pedro got mad when he walked Shane Spencer to begin the bottom of the third. Ricky Ledee struck out, Scott Brosius popped up and Knoblauch lined out to end the inning.
Roger struck out both Frye and Nixon to start the top of the fourth then got Daubach to ground out to end the inning. The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the fourth when Jeter stroked a leadoff double. Pedro turned up to heat to strike out O'Neil, get Williams to pop up and strike out Posada to end the inning.
Nobody was touching Clemens in the top of the fifth inning. Nomar and Everett both struck out before Stanley flied out to end the inning. The Yankees threatened again in the bottom of the fifth. Tino Martinez and Spencer both flied out but Ledee singled. Ricky stole second but Brosius popped up to end the inning.
The pitcher's duel continued in the top of the sixth. O'Leary whiffed but Valentin singled....only to be thrown out at second trying to steal. Varitek watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Pedro matched Roger in the bottom of the frame. Knoblauch lined out then both Jeter and O'Neil struck out to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the seventh. Frye grounded out but a pissed off Nixon tripled into the gap. Unfortunately he was stranded as both Daubach and Nomar struck out to end the inning.
Pedro kept pace in the bottom of the seventh. Williams flied out, Posada grounded out and Tino Martinez flied out to end the inning.
The Sox couldn't do anything against Roger in the top of the eighth. Everett whiffed then both Stanley and O'Leary popped up to end the inning. Clemens had done his part, that's for sure.
Pedro kept the Sox in it during the bottom of the inning when Spencer struck out. Ledee flied out and Brosius struck out to end the inning.
The deadlock was finally broken in the top of the ninth. Valentin grounded out and Varitek tried to catch the Yankees asleep with a bunt...it failed. Frye thought he was hit with a pitch but Rapuano said no, it hit the bat. Jimy Williams came out to argue but to no avail. Frye singled off Clemens anyway and that brought up Nixon. On a 2-1 count Nixon blasted a two run home run to right to take the lead 2-0 amidst a chorus of cheers from Red Sox fans. Daubach grounded out to end the inning but the Sox were 3 outs away from victory.
It was up to Pedro to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth. It didn't look good when Pedro hit Knoblauch on an 0-2 count to begin the inning then Jeter followed with a single to right. Sox manager Jimy Williams bounded out of the dugout to check on Pedro and Martinez told him to beat it. Pedro blew away O'Neil on a 95 mph fastball on an 0-2 count. Williams then nearly ended the game with a shot to right but Nixon caught the fly ball at the wall. Knoblauch moved to third to put runners at the corners. Jeter swiped second as Posada was hit on a 1-2 count to load the bases. Frye nearly screwed up by double clutching on a grounder by Tino Martinez but got him at first just in time to end the game. The Sox had won an instant classic 2-0.
We have Co-Heroes of the night and both are obvious. Hero number 1 is Pedro Martinez. He tossed a complete game 4 hit shut-out, hitting 2 men and walking another while striking out 9.
Hero Number 2 is obviously Trot Nixon. His two run home run was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Carl Everett and John Valentin were both 1 for 3.
The Bad:
Brian Daubach was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Nomar Garciaparra was 0 for 3 with a hat trick. Mike Stanley and Troy O'Leary were both 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Jeff Frye was just 1 for 4 but scored the go-ahead run in the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Talk about an instant classic. Unlike the 1999 LCS dud, THIS was the pitcher's duel everyone expected last October. This lived up to the hype and then some as both teams had chances to win in the ninth, only one team delivered though. Pedro is the best and tonight cemented it. The Sox need to find a second starter for him in a bad way by hook or crook. His brother Ramon and Pete Schourek are too inconsistent, Brian Rose is awful and Jeff Fassero can only go 6 innings before tiring. If they can somehow get a solid number 2 than this team should be a favorite to make the playoffs because there's no stopping Pedro. Lost in all this was the Sox had taken 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium to come out 1 game on top in the AL East at 28-18 on the season. The Sox rode the Martinez brothers to their victories but are going to have to step it up with other starters if they hope to topple the repeat champs for supremacy in the AL East. The Sox have an off-day tomorrow and they come back home on Tuesday to face the Kansas City Royals. Jeff Fassero goes for the Sox opposite old friend Jeff Suppan at 7:05 PM.
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