From the Daily News
Mets' bats go Kazam!
Drub Yanks in Moose mauling
BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Kazuo Matsui crosses home plate after belting a 3-run homer in the 2nd inning.
The other Matsui, Hideki, bobbles a ball in the 1st inning for an error.
From where they sit, Joe Torre and Derek Jeter realize Subway Series II opener at Shea is not going as well as Yanks' performance Thursday night against Boston.
The Yankees swore they weren't hung over, but their play certainly indicated otherwise. The Mets didn't really care what was bothering the Bombers, so long as their bats stayed quiet and their pitches fat.
And so, one day after winning a taut, drama-filled game over Boston, the Yanks lost a game that had neither of those qualities, getting blown out by the Mets, 11-2, last night at Shea.
Kazuo Matsui homered twice and had a career-high five RBI, while Richard Hidalgo added a monstrous two-run shot of his own and Mike Piazza went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Steve Trachsel supported the Mets effort with seven sterling innings on the mound.
The Yankees? Well, the best thing about their evening was that Derek Jeter played, despite going to the hospital Thursday night following a face-first dive into the Stadium seats in the 12th inning against the Red Sox.
Other than that, things were dreary for the Yanks, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped. The Mets have won nine of their last 14, and are back at .500 at 39-39, just two games back of first-place Philadelphia.
Of course, the Mets also won the first game of last weekend's three-game set at the Stadium, only to get swept in a day-night doubleheader a day later.
'The one thing we learned last week (was that) the first game doesn't win the series,' Art Howe said.
Last night was certainly a good start, though, as the Mets pummeled Mike Mussina (9-5) and took advantage of a slew of Yankee mistakes.
Although Joe Torre wouldn't say Thursday's emotional 13-inning win over Boston played a part in the Bombers' sluggishness, the performance resembled last October's lifeless effort against Florida in Game 1 of the World Series - which came on the heels of the euphoric Game 7 win over the Sox in the ALCS.
'I think there are definite similarities,' Mussina said. 'That was even bigger and more emotional ... but it's the same idea.'
Mussina won the nightcap of Sunday's Yankee sweep, but he struggled from the beginning last night and saw his eight-decision winning streak stopped cold. He allowed nine hits and seven runs (five earned) over five innings, walking one, striking out three and giving up two massive home runs.
To be fair, the fielding behind him wasn't particularly helpful. While Kazuo Matsui excelled at the plate and in the field (including a dazzling spin-and-throw pickup of Jorge Posada's fifth-inning grounder), Hideki Matsui flopped. The Yankee left fielder went 0-for-4, was charged with an error in the first inning that led to two runs and badly misplayed Eric Valent's line drive to the wall in the seventh, allowing another run to score.
'The fact that the errors affected the team is something that really bothers me,' Hideki Matsui said through an interpreter. 'Maybe if I make those plays Mussina would have pitched better.'
By the time he made his second gaffe, however, it hardly mattered. The Yanks could do nothing against Trachsel (8-6), who continued his bizarre pattern of dominating at home (he's now 7-2 at Shea) while struggling on the road (1-4). The righty allowed three hits and two runs (none earned) while striking out four. The Yanks' only runs came in the sixth, when Ty Wigginton's error on Gary Sheffield's grounder allowed one run to score and Alex Rodriguez hit a sac fly for the other.
'He mixed up his pitches so well,' Bernie Williams said. 'He was able to put the ball wherever he wanted to and we couldn't keep up with it.'
There wasn't much juice leading up to the game. Still, Shea was packed (the second sellout of the season) and there was plenty of energy once the Mets started pounding the ball. Kaz Matsui ripped his first dinger of the game in the second inning and Hidalgo (3-for-4) roped his fourth homer in the past five games in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
The barrage never let up and every Met starter (including Trachsel) finished the game with a hit. Several Yankees regulars, including Jeter, came out of the game early, sitting and watching the closing innings grimly from the bench.
The thrill of Thursday night's victory had worn off.
Note, the Yankees say that last nights loss was not due to the fact that they were tired. So there it is, right from the horse's mouth.
Drub Yanks in Moose mauling
BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Kazuo Matsui crosses home plate after belting a 3-run homer in the 2nd inning.
The other Matsui, Hideki, bobbles a ball in the 1st inning for an error.
From where they sit, Joe Torre and Derek Jeter realize Subway Series II opener at Shea is not going as well as Yanks' performance Thursday night against Boston.
The Yankees swore they weren't hung over, but their play certainly indicated otherwise. The Mets didn't really care what was bothering the Bombers, so long as their bats stayed quiet and their pitches fat.
And so, one day after winning a taut, drama-filled game over Boston, the Yanks lost a game that had neither of those qualities, getting blown out by the Mets, 11-2, last night at Shea.
Kazuo Matsui homered twice and had a career-high five RBI, while Richard Hidalgo added a monstrous two-run shot of his own and Mike Piazza went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Steve Trachsel supported the Mets effort with seven sterling innings on the mound.
The Yankees? Well, the best thing about their evening was that Derek Jeter played, despite going to the hospital Thursday night following a face-first dive into the Stadium seats in the 12th inning against the Red Sox.
Other than that, things were dreary for the Yanks, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped. The Mets have won nine of their last 14, and are back at .500 at 39-39, just two games back of first-place Philadelphia.
Of course, the Mets also won the first game of last weekend's three-game set at the Stadium, only to get swept in a day-night doubleheader a day later.
'The one thing we learned last week (was that) the first game doesn't win the series,' Art Howe said.
Last night was certainly a good start, though, as the Mets pummeled Mike Mussina (9-5) and took advantage of a slew of Yankee mistakes.
Although Joe Torre wouldn't say Thursday's emotional 13-inning win over Boston played a part in the Bombers' sluggishness, the performance resembled last October's lifeless effort against Florida in Game 1 of the World Series - which came on the heels of the euphoric Game 7 win over the Sox in the ALCS.
'I think there are definite similarities,' Mussina said. 'That was even bigger and more emotional ... but it's the same idea.'
Mussina won the nightcap of Sunday's Yankee sweep, but he struggled from the beginning last night and saw his eight-decision winning streak stopped cold. He allowed nine hits and seven runs (five earned) over five innings, walking one, striking out three and giving up two massive home runs.
To be fair, the fielding behind him wasn't particularly helpful. While Kazuo Matsui excelled at the plate and in the field (including a dazzling spin-and-throw pickup of Jorge Posada's fifth-inning grounder), Hideki Matsui flopped. The Yankee left fielder went 0-for-4, was charged with an error in the first inning that led to two runs and badly misplayed Eric Valent's line drive to the wall in the seventh, allowing another run to score.
'The fact that the errors affected the team is something that really bothers me,' Hideki Matsui said through an interpreter. 'Maybe if I make those plays Mussina would have pitched better.'
By the time he made his second gaffe, however, it hardly mattered. The Yanks could do nothing against Trachsel (8-6), who continued his bizarre pattern of dominating at home (he's now 7-2 at Shea) while struggling on the road (1-4). The righty allowed three hits and two runs (none earned) while striking out four. The Yanks' only runs came in the sixth, when Ty Wigginton's error on Gary Sheffield's grounder allowed one run to score and Alex Rodriguez hit a sac fly for the other.
'He mixed up his pitches so well,' Bernie Williams said. 'He was able to put the ball wherever he wanted to and we couldn't keep up with it.'
There wasn't much juice leading up to the game. Still, Shea was packed (the second sellout of the season) and there was plenty of energy once the Mets started pounding the ball. Kaz Matsui ripped his first dinger of the game in the second inning and Hidalgo (3-for-4) roped his fourth homer in the past five games in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
The barrage never let up and every Met starter (including Trachsel) finished the game with a hit. Several Yankees regulars, including Jeter, came out of the game early, sitting and watching the closing innings grimly from the bench.
The thrill of Thursday night's victory had worn off.
Note, the Yankees say that last nights loss was not due to the fact that they were tired. So there it is, right from the horse's mouth.
