1999 Yankees Diary, June 1: Back to winning ways

The month of May was not particularly kind to the Yankees in 1999, with a middling record that was out of the ordinary for a late 90s team in the Bronx. They had won five straight at the end of the calendar’s page, but ultimately closed out the month with a loss against Cleveland. But, it was now a new month, and they were due for another matchup with them at home. With Roger Clemens on the hill and double digit scoring in the forecast, things would start on the right foot for the Yankees as the season rolled in to June.

June 1: Yankees 11, Cleveland 5 (box score)

Record: 30-20 (2nd, 1.5 GB)

Clemens was making his eighth start of the season, in what had been a so-so start to his time in pinstripes. He was facing off with Dave Burba in this one, and both pitchers got touched up early in the Bronx.

Kenny Lofton led off the game for Cleveland with a walk, and after being advanced, Manny Ramirez pushed him across to score the first run of the game. The Yankees would answer back swiftly though in their turn. Derek Jeter got it started with a walk, before Paul O’Neill put Jeter and himself in scoring position with a double down the line in right. Jeter would score when Burba yanked a wild pitch, and O’Neill followed him a few pitches later when Bernie Williams notched a sac fly to put New York up 2-1 after the first.

Both right-handers settled down for the second, but the action resumed an inning later in the third. For Cleveland, Roberto Alomar slashed an RBI single after Lofton reached on a hit-by-pitch. It briefly tied things up, but Chuck Knoblauch was having none of it, as he led off the bottom half with a solo shot to grab the lead right back.

The fourth was much the same story, with Wil Cordero leading off the top half with a game-tying solo shot of his own, but it wasn’t long before the Bombers got it right back. With Jorge Posada, Scott Brosius, and Knoblauch loading the bases with two outs, Jeter and his patented oppo swing slashed a double into the right field corner. The extra-base hit scored a pair, but Knoblauch was cut down trying to retreat to third after an effective Cleveland relay.

With a two-run lead now in the fold, Clemens settled in with a 1-2-3 fifth, and easily worked around a Cordero single in the sixth. The Yankees would give him some more breathing room in the sixth when Jeter continued his big day with another RBI knock to put them up 6-3. The Rocket would not make it out of the inning, however, after a pair of hits and hard-hit outs had him giving way to Jason Grimsley in relief, who got out of the jam.

The Yankees weren’t comfortable enough, evidently, as they tacked on a couple more in the seventh thanks to a Chili Davis single and a sac fly from Posada. With the Yanks up 8-3 things in this one started getting messy.

First, Cordero was hit square in the back with a pitch from Grimsley. The free baserunner came back to hurt as well, when Travis Fryman swatted a two-run homer later in the inning to bring the score to 8-5. The drama continued later in the inning with Steve Reed on the mound for Cleveland. With two outs, Jeter was hit by possible retaliatory pitch, and showed some rare emotion toward Reed on his walk to first base. O’Neill, as he often did, had his teammate’s back and followed with a two-run shot into the right field seats. Bernie put the icing on in the next at-bat with a blast of his own into left. The back-to-back homers put the Yankees up 11-5, and all but sealed this one.

Joe Torre and the Yankees weren’t taking any risks and went with Mariano Rivera in the ninth, to close out the win and avoid any further drama. He allowed a two-out single, but nothing came of it, as Jeter capped off his stellar night by making the final out on a classic jump throw, fielding Manny’s grounder to his left and making the instantly recognizable heave to first to seal the deal.

The Yankees had just wrapped up a mostly forgettable month, but it was a new day, and they secured a big win against a very good Cleveland team, as their journey continued to unfold in 1999.