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As usual, Yanks find way to win

YANKEES 8, ANGELS 5: Bernie Williams' three-run homer caps a four-run rally in the eighth.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published October 2, 2002

NEW YORK -- The Angels came into Tuesday's AL division series opener talking a good game, insisting their lack of pedigree and postseason experience was no reason to consider their pairing with the Yankees apples and oranges.

They even started playing a good game, showing off the hustle and doggedness that carried them to 99 wins and their first playoff appearance since 1986.

But in the end, they couldn't do anything about the old Yankee magic.

This time it was a four-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, capped by a three-run Bernie Williams home run, that gave the Yankees an 8-5 win.

"I was telling (first-base coach Lee Mazzilli), 'Thank God I'm in this dugout because I've been in that other dugout two times going 'Oh, (no),' " newest Yankee hero Jason Giambi said. "It's unbelievable. It's like clockwork."

It was the fourth time in their past six home postseason games that the Yankees won in their last at-bat.

"I marvel at it," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This is a magical place."

There were the usual assortment of close calls that tend to go their way, a couple of decent bounces (though they hit into four double plays) and a helpful decision by Angels manager Mike Scioscia not to bring in closer Troy Percival during the pivotal eighth inning.

The rally started, amazingly enough, with a two-out walk by the free-swinging Alfonso Soriano, who took only 23 free passes in 741 plate appearances during the season. And he was down 0-and-2 in the count. "Unheard of," Torre said.

Scioscia stuck with Ben Weber, and he walked Derek Jeter. He brought in lefty Scott Schoenweis to face Giambi, and Giambi's hard one-hopper went off the glove of first baseman Scott Spiezio, allowing Soriano to race home from second with the tying run.

With Williams next, Scioscia went to Brendan Donnelly, a 31-year-old rookie reliever whose 10-year nomadic minor-league career included a brief stay with the Rays' Triple-A Durham team in 1999.

Williams, the postseason maestro, worked the count to 2-and-2, then knocked the ball over the right-centerfield fence.

It was Williams' 17th career postseason home run, matching Cleveland's Jim Thome for third on the all-time list, trailing only Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle, who each hit 18.

"You could just see that determination with him," Torre said. "Bernie's so important. He's been so big for us in the postseason, the regular season, whenever it is."

Scioscia has done a tremendous job with the Angels all season, good enough that he may be named the AL Manager of the Year. But if the Angels make an early exit, his reason for not using his best pitcher to get the biggest out of the game -- "If we start to extend (Percival) we'll run into trouble later in the series" -- may end up being what he is remembered for.

Williams homer -- "It was a great feeling; I don't even remember running the bases," he said -- was the fourth of the night for the Yankees. Jeter, Giambi and Rondell White each went deep off Jarrod Washburn, who hadn't given up three in a game all season.

But the feisty Angels still led 5-4 midway through the eighth, having made Roger Clemens look every bit of 40 years old and coming from behind four times, Troy Glaus leading the way with two home runs.

Torre lauded the Angels, saying how their tenacious style -- for example, forcing Clemens to throw 37 pitches during a two-run fifth inning -- made him uncomfortable throughout the night.

"When Glaus hit that home run, they'd been coming back and it was their first lead of the night, and I didn't feel too good about it," Torre said.

But Scioscia learned that the Yankees never relent.

"Two outs and nobody on and all of a sudden you turn around and there's four runs," Scioscia said. "That's what that ballclub over there can do. They're extremely talented and they're extremely dangerous."

Just like normal.

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