Bernie Williams busted open a tight game with a three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Florida Marlins 6-1 Tuesday night for a 2-1 lead in the World Series. He is now the most prolific slugger in postseason history. His 19th career postseason home run broke a major league record held by Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle. Williams also has 65 RBIs in the postseason, surpassing David Justice's career mark of 63.
Unfortunately, this record will always have an asterisk by it. All of Mantle's home runs came in the World Series itself. Bernie has had the advantage of the additional rounds of playoffs like the division series and the league chamionship series. That shouldn't diminish Williams' accomplishment however. Williams has helped the Yankees to nine straight playoff berths and owns four World Series rings. He was the MVP of the 1996 AL championship series against Baltimore.
Hideki Matsui snapped an eighth-inning tie with a two-out RBI single off rookie Dontrelle Willis.
Matsui, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Game 2, grounded a single between third and shortstop, scoring Jeter as Yankees owner George Steinbrenner pumped his first in a luxury box. After coming over from Japan before the season, Matsui led all major league rookies with 106 RBIs. He's 5-for-11 in the World Series (.455) and he leads the Yankees with 11 RBIs this postseason.Marlins reliever Chad Fox got out of the eighth with no further damage, but New York wasn't done.
Playoff hero Aaron Boone led off the ninth with a home run, and runners reached on a walk and a hit batsman.
Williams sent a pitch from Braden Looper over the center-field fence for a 6-1 lead.
"Bernie Williams, again, he's that guy that just appears like he's not paying attention and all of a sudden he'll explode," Torre said.
There's a reason Derek Jeter is captain of the Yankees, and Game 3 of the World Series showed why.
On a night when his teammates went 0-for-21 against Beckett, Jeter went 3-for-4, doubling twice and scoring the tying and go-ahead runs in a 6-1 win over Florida that gave New York a 2-1 Series lead.
"It took me 30-something years to get to the World Series," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He thinks it's an every-year occurrence. You look in his eyes, you see something special because he's a leader. He was a leader when he was 20 years old."
When Beckett was breezing through the New York lineup, looking like
a modern-day Don Larsen, Jeter doubled in the fourth inning to become his team's first runner and scored the tying run. Jeter doubled again in the eighth to chase Beckett and put the Yankees ahead 2-1 when he came home on Hideki Matsui's single. It seems like Jeter lives in the postseason. He's only 29 years old, and already he's played in 96 postseason games.
When the Yankees were down 5-2 in the eighth inning against Boston in Game 7 of the AL championship series, Jeter got them going with a double that started the three-run rally off Pedro Martinez.
On Tuesday night, Beckett was throwing 97 mph fastballs and popping curves by the rest of the Yankees. Whenever Jeter didn't get a hit, Beckett had a 1-2-3 inning. When Jeter got a hit, the Yankees either scored or threatened.
Jeter struck out in the first, swinging over a pitch. He pulled a double down the left-field line in the fourth and wound up coming home when Jorge Posada walked on a close 3-2 pitch that had Florida fuming at plate umpire Gary Darling.
Jeter singled leading off the sixth but was stranded at second.
Then in the eighth, he shot an opposite-field double to right with one out, finishing Beckett's night. Jason Giambi walked against Dontrelle Willis and Bernie Williams flied out, with Jeter tagging up and moving to third. Jeter came home with the lead when Matsui sent an opposite-field single to left.
With a rested Mariano Rivera warming up in the bullpen, that was all the Yankees needed. The home runs by Aaron Boone and Williams just made the game look more lopsided than it was.
Jeter is hitting .417 in the World Series and .321 in the postseason. But, as Torre often points out, numbers don't tell the story. It's that levelheadedness that makes Jeter special. It's why he's two victories from his fifth World Series ring.
"He has a lot of influence on the team," Matsui said through a translator. "He sort of makes the way for the team by making big hits and creating opportunities."
Just after the big win, Jeter already was looking ahead.
"This game means absolutely nothing," he said, "if we don't come back and win tomorrow."
Tonight Roger Clemens will take the mound against Carl Pavano.
Roger Clemens
Clemens takes the rubber for the final start of his Hall-of-Fame career, making his seventh World Series start. Clemens is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his Fall Classic career, all three wins coming with the Yankees. The Rocket is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in the 2003 postseason, having defeated both the Twins and Red Sox in the first two rounds.
Carl Pavano
One of the unsung pitchers of the postseason is Pavano, who has come through as a starter and reliever. In seven playoff games, the right-hander is 2-0 (1.59). He has given up two runs in 11 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and three walks. Pavano started Game 6 of the NLCS at Chicago, and he collected two wins in relief during the Division Series with the Giants. He tossed one inning of scoreless relief in Game 2 of the World Series at New York.