April 16, 2000
New York Yankees 8, Kansas City Royals 4
NEW YORK (AP) - Jason Grimsley pitched effectively in his first start in four seasons, and Jim Leyritz got his first hit of the year, a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, as the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-4 on Sunday to wrap up a 5-0 homestand. Leyritz was 0-for-11 before the homer. Leyritz, starting consecutive games for the first time this season, led off the seventh against Chris Fussell (1-1) with a long drive to right-center to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Leyritz's homer put the Yankees back in front after Jeff Nelson (3-0) blew a 4-2 lead that cost Grimsley a win in his first start since Aug. 19, 1996. Grimsley allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings. Mike Sweeney went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Royals. He hit a two-run homer, his league-leading seventh.
April 15, 2000
New York Yankees 7, Kansas City Royals 1
NEW YORK (AP) - For 6 1/3 innings, it appeared Ramiro Mendoza would pitch one of those commonplace perfect games at Yankee Stadium. Then the Kansas City Royals found a hole. Carlos Febles lined a single off diving third baseman Clay Bellinger's glove with one out in the seventh, and Mendoza fell short of perfection Saturday in the New York Yankees' 7-1 win over the Royals. One out later, Jermaine Dye hit a smash into left for an RBI double. That was it for Mendoza, who allowed just the two hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out six. Mendoza (2-0) went to three balls just once, going to 3-0 on Carlos Beltran in the first before striking him out. Shane Spencer homered and drove in four runs to lead New York's offense against Jose Rosado (1-1).
April 14, 2000
New York Yankees 7, Kansas City Royals 5
NEW YORK (AP) - Roger Clemens became the first Yankees starter other than Orlando Hernandez to win, and New York stopped the streaking Kansas City Royals 7-5 Friday night. Clemens (1-1) threw 104 pitches, 53 of them balls. Still, he improved to 19-7 against Kansas City, allowing five runs, seven hits and four walks in six innings. Jorge Posada hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the second, Ricky Ledee put the Yankees ahead 3-2 with an RBI double in the third. Bernie Williams chased Jay Witasick (0-3) with a two-run double in the fourth -- a pop down the third-base line that third baseman Joe Randa pulled off of, allowing it to drop between himself and shortstop Rey Sanchez. Derek Jeter's two-run single off Brad Rigby put the Yankees up 7-3 in the fifth, but Gregg Zaun hit a two-run homer off Clemens in the sixth.
April 13, 2000
New York Yankees 5, Texas Rangers 1
NEW YORK (AP) - Orlando Hernandez shut down Texas on three singles for eight innings and Jorge Posada hit a tiebreaking triple with the bases loaded, leading the New York Yankees past the Rangers 5-1 on Thursday night. The Yankees, who have won nine straight playoff games against Texas on their way to three World Series titles since 1996, completed a two-game sweep. New York made it a rough homecoming for Kenny Rogers (1-2), who gave up eight hits in Texas' first complete game this year. Back at Yankee Stadium for the first time since pitching in pinstripes in 1997, he walked two in the sixth to set up Posada's hit. Hernandez (2-0) struck out four, walked two and lowered his ERA to 1.13 and the only run he allowed was unearned.
Yankees place Pettitte on 15-day DL
NEW YORK (AP) - Andy Pettitte, who struggled in his first start
of the season for the New York Yankees, was placed on the 15-day
disabled list Thursday because of a strained muscle on the left
side of his back. The move was made retroactive to April 8, a day
after he lasted only five innings and allowed five runs in a loss
at Seattle. Reliever Darrell Einertson was recalled from Triple-A
Columbus. Pettitte originally hurt himself March 18 while trying
to avoid David Justice's flying bat in a spring training game
against Cleveland. Pettitte felt pain in the game at Seattle and
during an in-between workout session. "I've thrown now for a
month with it, and every start about 70 pitches or so, it starts
aggravating me," Pettitte said. The 27-year-old left-hander was
14-11 with a 4.70 ERA last season.
April 12, 2000
New York Yankees 8, Texas Rangers 6
NEW YORK (AP) - Tino Martinez's two-run triple in the seventh inning carried the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers 8-6 Wednesday in their 2000 home opener. The Yankees rallied in the seventh inning after third baseman Wilson Delgado's throwing error gave the Rangers a 6-5 lead. Paul O'Neill and Bernie Williams, whose three-run homer gave the Yankees a 4-2 lead in the fifth, led off the seventh with singles off Mike Munoz (0-1). Martinez then hit a long drive to right-center for his third hit of the game, scoring both runners. Jeff Nelson (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his fourth save. The day included the Yankees raising their record 25th World Series flag before the game.
Pitching coach Stottlemyre returns to Yankees
NEW YORK (AP) - When Mel Stottlemyre jogged out of the dugout
during pregame introductions Wednesday, the New York Yankees'
home opener was a success. It didn't matter that their 8-6 win
over Texas didn't come for nearly four more hours. What mattered
was that their pitching coach was back at work, one day after
beginning chemotherapy for bone marrow cancer. "It was difficult
seeing him before the game because it was my first chance to talk
to him since he announced it," said starting pitcher David Cone,
who has pitched 11 of his 14 major league seasons with
Stottlemyre as his coach. "But during the game it was a lot
easier because we both had our jobs to do." Stottlemyre, who is
receiving medication in his chest through a catheter, was
restricted in his duties. But he did spend most of the game
sitting next to manager Joe Torre in the dugout.
April 10, 2000
Yankees call off home opener a day ahead of time
NEW YORK (AP) - Anticipating bad weather, the New York Yankees
postponed Tuesday's home opener on Monday, 18 hours before the
game was scheduled to be played. With rain and possibly some snow
forecast for Tuesday, the team called off the game, pushing back
the opener against the Texas Rangers to Wednesday. When it is
played, the game will have somber overtones as the team reflects
on the health of pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, who has been
diagnosed with multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone marrow. He
will begin a four-month series of chemotherapy treatments Tuesday
and is expected to be with the team Wednesday when the Yankees
raise their 25th World Series banner. New York split the season's
first six games in Anaheim and Seattle and will have David Cone
on the mound for his fourth straight home opener. Hall of Famer
Yogi Berra will throw out the first ball.
April 9, 2000
Seattle Mariners 9, New York Yankees 3
SEATTLE (AP) - Jamie Moyer got lots of support in his second start. Roger Clemens didn't get any. Moyer allowed three hits in eight innings and the Seattle Mariners took advantage of three New York Yankees errors for a 9-3 victory on Sunday. Before the game, Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre announced he has a form of blood cancer that he said was diagnosed about a year ago. The 58-year-old coach will begin treatment in New York immediately but expects to keep working with the team. Moyer (1-1) struck out four and walked none. He threw 93 pitches, 63 for strikes, and retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced. The Mariners broke the game open against Clemens (0-1) by scoring six runs in the fifth inning to take a 7-2 lead. Five of the runs were unearned after Carlos Guillen reached on catcher Jorge Posada's throwing error.
Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre has cancer
SEATTLE (AP) - New York Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre
has a form of blood cancer that he said was diagnosed about a
year ago. The 58-year-old coach will begin treatment in New York
immediately but expects to keep working with the team. "I feel
fine," Stottlemyre said Sunday. "Now it's time for me to go in
and tackle this." The cancer attacks plasma, the fluid part of
the blood, and is called multiple myeloma, a malignant disease of
the bone marrow. Philadelphia Flyers coach Roger Neilson has the
same cancer and underwent a stem cell transplant last month.
Stottlemyre lost an 11-year-old son, Jason, to leukemia in 1981.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Todd Stottlemyre, Mel's son, has
donated $1 million to leukemia research. Mel Stottlemyre made the
announcement at a news conference before the Yankees played the
Seattle Mariners in the final game of a season-opening road trip.
April 8, 2000
New York Yankees 3, Seattle Mariners 2
SEATTLE (AP) - Paul O'Neill hit an RBI double in the ninth inning to break a tie and give the New York Yankees a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. Derek Jeter singled off Jose Mesa (1-1) and stole second base on his own. O'Neill then hit a line drive to right-center to score Jeter and give the Yankees the lead. O'Neill is 7-for-7 with two doubles lifetime against Mesa. Jeff Nelson (1-0) came on with a runner on second and one out in the eighth and got two outs for the win. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his third save. Tino Martinez homered for the Yankees, while Raul Ibanez went deep for Seattle. Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings, with nine strikeouts.
April 7, 2000
Seattle Mariners 7, New York Yankees 5
SEATTLE (AP) - Alex Rodriguez hit his 150th career homer as the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees 7-5 Friday night. Seattle won its third straight game after losing its opener to Boston's Pedro Martinez. The Yankees, seeking their third straight World Series title, lost their second straight following a 2-0 start. Rodriguez tied Mickey Mantle at 24 years, 254 days as the fourth-youngest player to reach 150 homers. Rodriguez homered in the first, his second of the year, sending a low, outside pitch from Andy Pettitte (0-1) to the opposite field in right. Pettitte balked in Joe Oliver in the second, but Derek Jeter's first homer of the season, a two-run drive off John Halama (1-0) tied the score in the third.
Cuban pitcher says he's signed with Yankees
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Cuban defector Adrian Hernandez said Friday
he had agreed to a four-year contract with the New York Yankees.
The 25-year-old right-hander, nicknamed "El Duquecito" because
his pitching motion is similar to that of Orlando "El Duque"
Hernandez, throws 93 mph. Adrian Hernandez, who isn't related to
"El Duque," said he will leave for New York on Saturday. "I feel
extremely emotional right now. I said I would play for any team
that wanted to sign me and the best team in baseball came here
with a contract," said Hernandez, who has been in Guatemala
training since early February. "New York is now the city for me."
Yankees representatives in Guatemala refused comment. Yankees
spokesman Rick Cerrone, with the team in Seattle, said he knew
nothing about any signing. Hernandez and "El Duque" both played
for Cuba's top team, Havana Industriales.
April 5, 2000
Anaheim Angels 12, New York Yankees 6
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Darin Erstad went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and five RBIs Wednesday night as Anaheim beat the New York Yankees 12-6 and gave rookie Angels manager Mike Scioscia his first victory. Anaheim roughed up David Cone (0-1) for eight runs on five hits and five walks in 2 2/3 innings. Cone struck out three. Scott Schoeneweis (1-0), making his first major league start, gave up five runs on 10 hits, including consecutive solo homers by Shane Spencer and Tino Martinez in the fourth, over six innings. Erstad, 9-for-14 this season, led off the Angels' first with a 420-foot homer over the wall in center. He made it 3-0 with a two-run double to right-center off Cone in the second inning, then greeted reliever Alan Watson with another two-run double during the Angels' six-run third inning.
Brosius goes on DL; Yankees call up Soriano
(AP) - New York Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius was placed on
the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained rib cage
muscle. The Gold Glove winner injured his left side during
batting practice before Tuesday's game and was scratched from the
lineup. The Yankees recalled Alfonso Soriano from Triple-A
Columbus to replace Brosius. Clay Bellinger filled in at third
for New York on Tuesday night and made a throwing error that led
to three unearned runs by Anaheim, but the Yankees still won 5-3.
New York manager Joe Torre hopes Brosius is able to return in a
few weeks. "(Derek) Jeter is the only one in my memory that has
come back from something like this in two weeks," Torre said.
"Usually, it nags on and on. But we'll be able to tell more in
about a week." Soriano is a shortstop, but Torre told him to play
"the other positions in case we had a breakdown."
Yankees' Yarnall takes step forward
(AP) - Ed Yarnall took a step forward. Pitching in front of New
York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and five fans Wednesday,
Yarnall gave up two runs and five hits in an extended spring
training intrasquad game. After the first inning, Steinbrenner
joined Yarnall in the dugout. "I think Mr. Steinbrenner just
wanted to let me know they still have confidence in me and
haven't given up on me, which was good to hear from him," Yarnall
said. The left-hander, who failed in his bid to start the regular
season as the Yankees' fifth starter, struck out six and walked
none. Four of the hits by New York minor leaguers were
opposite-field doubles, and the other was an infield single. "I
wasn't real concerned about the results ... I was concerned about
how I was throwing the ball," said Yarnall, who threw 54-of-74
pitches for strikes.
April 4, 2000
Yanks' Brosius strains muscle, headed to DL
(AP) - New York Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius strained a
rib cage muscle taking batting practice Tuesday night and will be
placed on the disabled list. After a 5-3 win over Anaheim,
manager Joe Torre said Brosius will go on the disabled list
Wednesday. Brosius was scratched from the starting lineup after
hurting himself. Clay Bellinger replaced him at third and went
0-for-4 and made an error. Brosius, a Gold Glove winner, was
0-for-2 in the Yankees' 3-2 victory over the Angels in the opener
Monday night. Brosius batted .247 last year with 17 homers and 71
RBIs. He was MVP of the 1998 World Series. Bellinger batted .200
with one homer and two RBIs in 45 at-bats for the Yankees last
season.
April 3, 2000
New York Yankees 3, Anaheim Angels 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - In his first Opening-Day assignment, Orlando Hernandez was every bit an ace. El Duque struck out Mo Vaughn three times, Paul O'Neill and Shane Spencer homered and the two-time defending World Series champion New York Yankees started the season with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Angels. The Yankees were coming off a 13-20 spring training that raised some concern, especially with owner George Steinbrenner. But they began their bid to become the first team to win three straight titles since the 1972-74 Oakland Athletics by winning for the first time in six West Coast openers. Hernandez (1-0) worked around eight hits. He walked three and struck out four. Mariano Rivera earned the save. Ken Hill (0-1) took the loss for Anaheim.
Bernie Williams' sore triceps muscle will keep him at DH
(AP) - Gold Glove center fielder Bernie Williams will be used as
the DH by the New York Yankees until his sore right triceps
muscle feels better, manager Joe Torre said before his team
opened the season with a 3-2 win at Anaheim. Ricky Ledee started
the game against the Angels in center with Shane Spencer in left.
Williams and Ledee both went 0-for-4, while Spencer went 1-for-4
with a home run. "It isn't the type of thing that's going to get
worse, but I don't want him in a situation where he is going to
have to throw somebody out," Torre said. Williams had been icing
his right shoulder much of the spring because of what he said was
a tired arm, but the new problem is unrelated, Torre said. The
triceps has been bothering Williams for about a week, and he sat
out the Yankees' final exhibition game Saturday in San Francisco.
April 2, 2000
Yankees add Lance Johnson, finalize roster
(AP) - The New York Yankees picked up some speed on the basepaths
Sunday, adding leadoff man Lance Johnson to their 25-man opening
day roster. Johnson, 36, was cut by the Cleveland Indians last
Thursday and signed a minor league contract with New York the
following day. He went 2-for-4 with a stolen base for Triple-A
Columbus on Saturday. The Yankees, who intend to use him as a
pinch runner and also occasionally in the outfield, purchased his
contract from Columbus on Sunday. "We decided to go with a pinch
runner who's also an experienced outfielder," New York manager
Joe Torre said. "The speed intrigues you a little bit, and he has
been a regular player." Johnson hit .281 with two RBIs in 21
games for Cleveland this spring. Last year, he hit .260 for the
Chicago Cubs with one homer, 21 RBIs and 13 steals in 95 games.
Yankees cut Buddie, Thompson, Bates
(AP) - The New York Yankees designated pitcher Mike Buddie for
assignment on Sunday. Buddie, who spent the past eight seasons in
the New York organization, went 4-1 with a 5.56 ERA in 26 games
with the Yankees in 1998 and 1999. Among the teams reportedly
interested in Buddie are Milwaukee, the Chicago Cubs and Tampa
Bay. The Yankees also released outfielder Ryan Thompson and
infielder Jason Bates from their minor-league contracts.
April 1, 2000
Lance Johnson bids for spot on the Yankees
(AP) - Outfielder Lance Johnson made his case to become a late
addition to the New York Yankees' roster Saturday, going 2-for-4
with a stolen base in a Triple-A game. The Yankees are
considering Johnson, who was cut by the Cleveland Indians on
Thursday, as a base stealing threat off the bench. "That was the
first role I learned how to do while with St. Louis," Johnson
said. Johnson, 36, hit .281 with two RBIs in 21 games this spring
while with Cleveland. Last year, he hit .260 for the Chicago Cubs
with one homer, 21 RBIs and 13 steals in 95 games. Among the
other teams interested in Johnson were the Atlanta Braves.
Johnson said he was excited about the possibility of joining the
two-time defending World Series champions. "That's what you're
playing for, to get a ring," Johnson said. "That's the ultimate
goal. I've done virtually everything else except that. ..."
Bernie Williams scratched with sore shoulder
(AP) - Bernie Williams, bothered by pain in his left shoulder
last season, was scratched from the starting lineup for the New
York Yankees' 11-6 exhibition win in San Francisco Saturday night
with soreness in his right shoulder. Williams took batting
practice and worked out with the team before the game, and the
Yankees said the soreness did not appear to be a significant
problem. Williams, who re-signed with the Yankees last November
for $87.5 million over seven years, hurt his left shoulder while
diving to make a catch against Florida last June. Though he
considered having offseason surgery, he ultimately decided
against an operation.