NEW YORK- GAME RECAPS

August 28th - New York Yankees 4, Toronto Blue Jays 0 - Attendance 37,450

Mike Mussina started for the Yankees and showed why he would get within one out of a perfect game in his next start. The Blue Jays helped him out with some very poor baserunning throughout the game.

Vernon Wells, recently called up from Syracuse, led off the game with a single and quickly stole second. But when Alex Gonzalez grounded to Mussina, Wells was caught off second and was thrown out in a rundown. Gonzalez then was caught stealing and the threat was over. 

The Yankees, on the other hand, made use of Derek Jeter's lead-off single as he scored on Paul O'Neill's double. In the second, Raul Mondesi singled and was caught stealing, while the Yankees added to their lead in the 3rd on three singles.

The fourth inning saw another blunder by the Blue Jays. Shannon Stewart had walked with one out and the Carlos Delgado doubled to left. Stewart made it to third easily but then overran the bag, and was tagged out. Another threat was erased. 

The Yankees added two more in the 6th on a Tino Martinez home run, and two singles and an error to make it 4-0.  Mussina went 8 strong innings, scattering 6 hits over 8 innings and after Mike Stanton allowed two runners to reach, Mariano Rivera was brought in to get his league-leading 41st save.

This game was terrible as the Blue Jays failed to score a run on my birthday, so it gets a 2/10. 

The Yankees rest in another easy win

August 30th - New York Yankees 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4 (11) - Attendance 42,537

After two scoreless innings, the Jays struck first on three straight singles with 1 out in the 3rd. In the 5th, Delgado slugged a 2-run shot and Toronto had a 3-0 lead through 5. But never count those Yankees out - in the 6th, Bernie Williams, Martinez, and David Justice all singled to plate their first run of the game. 

Chris Carpenter was taken out but the Blue Jay bullpen was not able to hold the 2-run lead. Enrique Wilson homered with 1 out in the 7th off Bob File, and after Jeter singled and stole second, pinch-hitter Chuck Knoblauch singled in the tying run. Knoblauch proceed to steal both second and third, and scored when Alex Gonzalez threw Jorge Posada's grounder past first base.

It looked tough for the Jays, but Andy Pettite couldn't get the last out in the 8th, as Jose Cruz, Jr. homered with two out to tie the game. Rivera came in to pitch the 9th, while Jay reliever Paul Quantrill pitched the 8th and 9th perfectly to preserve the tie.

In extra innings. Rivera pitched a perfect 10th, and Quantrill again matched him. But in the 11th, after Jay Witasik retired the Jays in order, Scott Eyre came in to pitch and promptly gave up a single to Wilson and a double to Jeter. O'Neill was walked to load the bases, and then Bernie Williams lifted a fly ball to center, deep enough to score the winning run. The Jays lose a heartbreaker 5-4 in 11 innings. This game was exciting, and gets a 5/10 despite the Jays loss.