Beware, Bosox. “El Duque” is back in ’98 form.
If Joe Torre’s assertion is true that the deeper starting staff will ultimately decide the AL East winner between these hated rivals, then what Orlando Hernandez has done to Boston in a week’s span is immense.
Muting Boston for the second time in six days, “El Duque” pitched seven splendid shutout innings and helped turn a delicious double-play, defensive gem that was the buzz of the Yankee clubhouse following yesterday’s 8-3 matinee wipeout of the Red Sox. The Yankees, with supercharged Roger Clemens going against his ex-mates tonight, moved 1 games behind the first-place Bosox.
Before there was Tino Martinez’ grand-slam wallop high into the right-field upper-deck in the bottom of the fifth, there was El Duque’s oddball DP in the top of the fifth when it was still a 1-0 death fight.
“It was a great play,” Hernandez said through interpreter Jose Cardenal. “Sometimes you have to help your ownself on the mound. That play probably turned the whole ball game around.”
No Yankee could disagree, not even Tino. Most said they hadn’t seen it before – 1-6-3 double play without a force. After Troy O’Leary smacked a leadoff double, Jeff Frye grounded hard back to Hernandez. Instead of just looking the runner back to second, Hernandez whipped it to Derek Jeter. The shortstop made an acrobatic tag of Leary, trying to scramble back. Jeter than flung it on to first. End of rally.
“Most pitchers would just look the runner back to second,” said the day’s co-hero Martinez. “He didn’t even hesitate. It took a little air out of them. He’s not afraid to take chances out there.”
“That kind of floored me,” Paul O’Neill said. “It’s the only time I’ve ever seen it. It changed the game right there.”
Asked if he could have turned it, David Cone mused “I’m not that athletic. I probably wouldn’t have even caught the ball. That’s the El Duque we all know. That’s what we expect.”
And that’s horrible news for Boston. Hernandez, who broke a career-high three-game losing streak last Thursday in Boston when he prevented the Yanks from being swept, has allowed one run and eight hits in 15 innings in these two victories.
“Two outings like he gave us against Boston – the hot club in the league – is good for his confidence,” Torre understated. “He seems to be in much better command of his stuff than what I witnessed earlier in the year. He wasn’t afraid to throw an off speed pitch when he’s behind in the count. When he’s successful, he can do what he wants command-wise to keep them all off-balance.”
“I felt very strong and the more important thing was my control was every good,” said Hernandez, who prides himself on his defense so much he asks Cardenal to hit grounders to him during idle time.
After Hernandez’ athletic play, the struggling Martinez took care of the game with his bat. Martinez had come up with the bases loaded in the third and popped out. This time, he creamed an 0-2 fastball into nosebleed seats for a 6-0 lead against reliever John Wasdin, facing his first batter.
“It was a fastball that went back over the plate,” Wasdin said. “I was trying to get it in.”
“He made a mistake,” Martinez said.
“Personality comes in at that point, he left the bases loaded the time before and he went after it,” Torre said. “It will release some tension. He was 0-2 and battled his tail off pretty good at that point.”
The afternoon’s lone downer was Torre needing Mariano Rivera in the ninth to get the final out with the bases loaded. He actually got a cheap save with the on-deck batter representing the tying run. Ahead 8-0, rusty Ramiro Mendoza was summoned for the ninth and got shelled. The Sox batted around and closed to 8-3.
“Mendoza hasn’t worked since last week in Boston,” Torre said. “He was a little rusty. I wanted to get him out there and I’m happy we got that over with.”