With most of the city government shut down, not to mention most of the federal government in nearby Washington DC as well, the Yankees still took the field against the Baltimore Orioles at 12:35 pm eastern time. Only a few thousand fans showed up and were treated to open seating in the lower portion of the stadium due to the upper deck being closed. Players on both teams wondered why the game was even played at all.

"The whole city shuts down. The government shuts down. And we're playing. Figure that out," said David Wells.

The game ended as a tie which means that the statistics from the game will count but the outcome is meaningless. The commissioner office will determine whether or not the game will be made up.

Both Mussina and Hentgen were efficient, which is probably the only reason this game got as far as it did. The Yankees got an early lead in the 3rd inning off a RBI double from Giambi. The Yankees failed to do further damage when Boone popped up later in the inning with the bases loaded.

Brian Roberts tied the game up for the Orioles scoring from second on a bloop hit from Luis Matos after hitting a double during his at-bat. Roberts was close to winning the game for the Orioles but got tagged out in a run-down between home and third. Matos soon followed that play with the final out of the game. Umpire Rob Drake called for the tarp after that out.

This game could possibly be made up when the Yankees face the Orioles during the final weekend of the season.



My Way - Sports News