1999 Yankees Diary, August 20: Ledée leads the offense against Twins

Hideki Irabu had one of his best performances of the year, but Ricky Ledée carried the offensive from the bottom of the order.

The Yankees’ offense stalled after a 14-2 home victory against the Minnesota Twins just before commencing this series on the road. They only scored three runs in three games against the Twins after the blowout victory. Then, in the subsequent three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, they only scored more than three runs once.

With the offense not delivering as much as expected, the Yankees traveled into Minnesota not just seeking to rebound from a series loss, but also to spark some wins.

The Yankees got exactly what they were seeking for in terms of an offensive spark. Most importantly, they identified their offense early in the game.

Chuck Knoblauch and Derek Jeter did what they had done all season: they reached base with outfield singles. With two runners on for Paul O’Neill, the top of the lineup might make a strong push against Twins starter Brad Radke. Unfortunately, O’Neill grounded into a double play, placing Knoblauch at third but leaving the Yankees in a significantly less advantageous position.

Fortunately, Bernie Williams was next to the plate. He singled up the middle and drove in Knoblauch from third to take an early 1-0 lead.

But the inning hadn’t ended yet. Radke only needed one more out to get out of the first inning after giving up just one run. Instead, he walked Tino Martinez and Chili Davis, leaving the bases loaded for Ricky Ledée, the seventh batter in the lineup. On a 2-0 pitch, Ledée crushed a ball under the FuncoLand Fun Zone sign in right-center field of the old Metrodome for a grand slam, putting the Yankees ahead 5-0 early.

Hideki Irabu took the mound for the Yankees, seeking to improve on his previous performance against the Twins a week ago, when he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed four earned runs. Irabu pitched a spotless bottom of the first inning, bringing the Yankees offense and top of the lineup back to the plate. Knoblauch earned a walk, but Jeter grounded out and O’Neill flied out. However, just as they scored their first run, Williams walked up to bat, blasted a ball through the right side of the infield, and scored Knoblauch, adding another run to the scoreboard and ending Radke’s day.

The Twins didn’t score until the bottom of the third inning, when Irabu allowed two singles to the first four batters. With two outs, the Yankees pitcher allowed two singles in a row, this time to Todd Walker and Marty Cordova, who scored two runs to make it 6-2.

The rest of the game was calm, and while the Twins starter did not make it through two innings, Irabu threw a full seven on 100 pitches. After allowing Denny Hocking to double, he turned the game over to the bullpen in the eighth inning. Mike Stanton took the ball and worked two consecutive groundouts, one of which scored Hocking and counted against Irabu’s stat line.

With two outs, Stanton allowed Matt Lawton’s second double of the inning, and he was promptly replaced by Jeff Nelson, who was tasked with going the distance and finishing the game. He worked the third out of the eighth with the first pitch he threw.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees extended their lead. Jeter doubled against Héctor Carrasco, and reliever Mike Trombley struck out O’Neill but walked Williams. Martinez was next to the plate and hit a triple, one of only two for the generally station-to-station first baseman this season. Jeter and Bernie scored, bringing the score to 8-3, and the man who separated the Yankees from

Nelson returned to the mound and worked a one-two-three in the bottom of the ninth to secure the Yankees’ victory in the first game of the series.