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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) – The Yankees' usually unhittable closer gave up earned five runs – against a team that had been 0-6 against New York this
year.
|  | | In 339 previous relief outings, Mariano Rivera had never been roughed up as badly as he was Sunday against the Orioles. |
And the Baltimore Orioles, the team with the fewest home runs in
the major leagues, hit three Sunday to beat the Yankees 10-5 in 11
innings.
But even after hammering Mariano Rivera, the Orioles weren't
comfortable. Not with three outs to go.
"You hope that five is going to be enough in this place, but
we've seen that evaporate, too," said Jeff Conine, whose three-run
homer to left-center capped the big 11th.
After Paul O'Neill hit a tying, two-run homer in the New York
ninth, Baltimore bounced back when shortstop Derek Jeter misplayed
a potential inning-ending double-play grounder, allowing Baltimore
to score the go-ahead run in the 11th.
Watching from the stands was Jeter's 21-year-old sister,
Sharlee, who underwent her final chemotherapy treatment for
Hodgkin's disease Friday. On Saturday, Jeter hit the game-winning
homer for the Yankees.
"The ball stayed down and I came up," Jeter said. "I wish I
had a better explanation."
Rivera had never been roughed up like this in 339 previous
relief appearances since making his major league debut in 1995. He
had given up four earned runs against Atlanta on July 16, 1999.
"It's not going to be the last time," said Rivera, who wasn't
worried about the shaky performance.
Baltimore built a 5-3 lead on Chris Richard's tying three-run
homer in the fourth and Greg Myers' go-ahead two-run shot off
Orlando Hernandez in the eighth.
But Ryan Kohlmeier blew a save for the second time in nine
chances when Chuck Knoblauch walked with one out in the ninth and
O'Neill homered deep into the right-center field bleachers with two
outs, his first home run since April 24.
Then in the 11th, Brook Fordyce singled to center with one out
against Rivera (1-3) and Brady Anderson moved him to third with a
single to right.
Jerry Hairston hit an easy grounder to shortstop, perfect for a
double play. But Jeter, who has had difficulty fielding this year,
bobbled the ball.
While Jeter flipped to second for the force, Hairston easily
beat Alfonso Soriano's relay throw to first.
"I'm thinking, `My God, I'm dead,' " Hairston recalled. "But
that's a tough play, really. The ball gets out there in a hurry and
the hitter's in the shadow."
Mike Kinkade's RBI single made it 7-5 and Conine homered on a
fastball that Rivera left over the plate. The three home runs
raised Baltimore's total to 26, still the fewest in the major
leagues.
"You know what's coming every single time and it's still that
difficult to hit,"' Conine said, referring to Rivera's cutter.
"Countless times you see him come in and nobody ever gets the bat
on the ball."
B.J. Ryan (2-0) entered in the 10th and struck out the side, and
finished off the Yankees in the 11th. New York had been 15-0
against teams with sub-.500 records.
After the game, the Yankees were shaken when they learned Bernie
Williams' father, 73-year-old Bernabe Williams Sr., had a heart
attack and was in grave condition. New York's center fielder
planned to return to Puerto Rico rather than accompany the team to
the West Coast.
"It puts a lot of things in perspective," said O'Neill, who
played the final game of the World Series in 1999 just hours after
his father died.
The game was a matchup between two winless starters, but neither
Hernandez nor Jose Mercedes were able to stop their streaks.
Hernandez had his best outing of the season but stretched his
regular-season winless streak to 10 starts since beating Cleveland
last Sept. 16. He gave up eight hits in seven innings, struck out
five and walked one, throwing 137 pitches.
"Being able to throw that many pitches shows my arm is
healthy," Hernandez said.
Mercedes, winless in eight starts since defeating Hernandez on
the final day of last season, allowed three runs and nine hits in 6
2-3 innings. He gave up all three runs in the third, when Williams
had an RBI single and Jorge Posada hit a two-run single.
"I don't think I'm pitching bad; it's just bad breaks every
time," Mercedes said.
Richard's homer, off a low, outside pitch, was a pop to left
field that kept on carrying and went over David Justice.
"I hit it about as good as I can hit a ball the opposite way,"
Richard said, "which means I got good backspin on it. When the
wind is blowing hard, sometimes backspin will help in a carry a
little bit more."
Game notes
New York dropped out of first in the AL East, falling a
half-game behind Boston. ... Richard was 10-for-22 on the six-game
trip with three doubles, three homers, five RBI and 10 runs. ...
Knoblauch was hit twice by Mercedes pitches, a day after Jason
Johnson hit him. Knoblauch hadn't been hit by any pitches before
Saturday. ... New York's Scott Brosius was ejected by plate umpire
Mike Everitt for animatedly arguing a called third strike in the
ninth.
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Williams to return to Puerto Rico following father's heart attack
RECAPS
Boston 5
Oakland 4
Tampa Bay 7
Cleveland 0
Anaheim 14
Detroit 2
Baltimore 10
NY Yankees 5
Seattle 7
Toronto 5
Chi. White Sox 6
Texas 3
Minnesota 7
Kansas City 3
Milwaukee 4
Pittsburgh 1
St. Louis 13
Chicago Cubs 4
Montreal 14
Colorado 10
San Francisco 6
NY Mets 3
Los Angeles 3
Atlanta 1
Arizona 6
Philadelphia 1
Florida 10
San Diego 4
Houston 4
Cincinnati 3
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