Pettitte got the ball in the top of the first inning and Darren Lewis struck out swinging to start. Jose Offerman singled to center but Carl Everett struck out swinging. Manny Ramirez walked but Troy O'Leary grounded out to second to end the inning. The Yankees pounded Nomo in the bottom of the first as Chuck Knoblauch struck out swinging to start. Derek Jeter walked but was forced at second by Paul O'Neill. One out away from a clean inning....Bernie Williams and David Justice both walked to load the bases. Tino Martinez then pulverized a grand slam all the way to Brooklyn to put the Yankees up for good. Alfonso Soriano flied out to left to end the inning with the Yankees up 4-0.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Jason Varitek doubled to right to start. Shea Hillenbrand singled to left to put runners at the corners but Lou Merloni popped up to first. Mike Lansing struck out swinging and Lewis grounded out to second to end the inning. Nomo struck out Joe Oliver swinging to start the bottom of the second but Scott Brosius got a base hit to left. Knoblauch was plunked and Jeter lined a base hit to center to score Brosius. Knoblauch went to third on the hit and Jeter stole second, but O'Neill grounded out to first. Williams flied out to right to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 5-0. That was it for Nomo who didn't have it at all in his first bad start, allowing 5 runs in 2 innings.
Offerman reached on an error by Jeter to open the top of the third but Everett flied out to center and Ramirez banged into a double play to end the inning. Tim Wakefield took over for the bottom of the third and Justice singled to center to start. Martinez popped up to first, Soriano struck out swinging and Oliver grounded into a force to end the inning.
O'Leary flied out to center to open the top of the fourth but Varitek drew a walk. Hillenbrand banged into a double play to end the inning. The Yankees struck again in the bottom of the fourth although Brosius grounded out to short to start. Knoblauch singled to center and took second on a wild pitch before scoring on a Jeter base hit to left. Jeter swiped second as O'Neill struck out swinging but Williams popped up to second to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 6-0.
Merloni flied out to center to start the top of the fifth inning and Lansing grounded out to third. Lewis also grounded out to third to end the inning. Justice grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fifth before Martinez popped up to short. Soriano doubled to left and Oliver singled him to third, but Brosius flied out to center to end the inning.
Pettitte cruised in the top of the sixth as Offerman flied out to right to start. Everett struck out swinging and Ramirez flied out to left to end the inning. Knoblauch popped up to first to start the bottom of the sixth and Jeter flied out to left. O'Neill grounded out to second to end the inning.
O'Leary grounded out to second to open the top of the seventh before Varitek struck out swinging. Hillenbrand grounded out to short to end the inning. Pete Schourek came in for the bottom of the seventh and Williams grounded out to third to start. Justice flied out to left but Martinez walked. Soriano grounded into a force to end the inning.
Merloni tried to start a rally with a double to left to start the top of the eighth and moved to third on a Lansing grounder. Lewis flied out to right and Merloni took off for home. Oliver threw the ball to Pettitte who tagged out Merloni to end the inning. "El Guapo" Rich Garces came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and Oliver doubled to center to start. Brosius popped up to second but Donzell McDonald pinch hit for Knoblauch. McDonald struck out swinging and Jeter took strike three to end the inning.
Pettitte came back to finish the job in the top of the ninth and Offerman took strike three to start. Everett flied out to right but Ramirez lined a shot into the gap in right. O'Leary doubled to left to break up the shutout but Varitek struck out swinging to end the game. The Yankees had won it 6-1.
Jackass of the Night is Hideo Nomo. He was lit up for 5 runs in just 2 innings to take the loss.
The Good:
Manny Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jason Varitek was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Shea Hillenbrand was 1 for 3.
Lou Merloni was 1 for 3.
Tim Wakefield allowed just 1 run in 4 innings of work.
Pete Schourek pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Rich Garces pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Darren Lewis was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carl Everett was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Mike Lansing was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Not much you can do when Andy Pettitte is locked in but the Sox never even had a chance. Nomo giving up the grand slam ended the game before it even started and the Yankees cruised from there. That was Nomo's first stinker of the season and hopefully it doesn't become a regular occurrence. O'Leary drove in the only run and Manny Ramirez has yet to have a bad game this season. The Sox are in big trouble if he goes into a slump because he's been the straw that stirs the drink so far. Its only one game and Pettitte is a damn good pitcher but winning some of these games goes a long way as the season goes on. If the Sox want to see October again, they're going to have to match the vaunted Yankees rotation and starts like this isn't going to cut it for Nomo. Tomorrow afternoon is another day and Frank Castillo (1-1) looks to rebound the Sox against Mike Mussina of the Yankees. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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