Dramatic 9th Inning HR by Soriano Wins Game 4

New York Yankees 3 - Seattle Mariners 1

BRONX -- Going into the American League Championship Series, we knew we had two very evenly matched teams in the Yankees and Mariners. The two organizations have very similar strengths (seasoned bullpens, versatile hitters, aggressive running games), strategies, and playing philosophies. But the mirror images that traded off every half inning in Game Four of the American League Championship Series were downright eerie. Both starters had enjoyed superb run support all year, Paul Abbott coming in at the top of the list and Roger Clemens a close second. But in this game both pitchers struggled with their command and neither offense was able to generate a run while their starter was in the game. In fact, through the first three innings neither team hit a ball out of the infield. There were plenty of baserunners though, as Clemens walked two in the second, and Abbott walked two. Then Clemens walked two in the third, and Abbott walked two. To Clemens' credit, he also struck out seven and gave up only one hit, a first pitch single to John Olerud leading off the fourth inning. But he was lifted after five in favor of Ramiro Mendoza. Paul Abbott was also lifted after five, as the parallels between the teams continued, and once Tino Martinez had doubled off lefty reliever Norm Charlton, the lines were identical for both teams: 0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors.

Some Yankees fans wondered if the team was in the same rut it had been in during Game 2 of the ALDS, when the Yankees were unable to come through with the big hit numerous times with men on base. Abbott departed after walking eight men, but the Yankees were unable to cash in on these free passes, leaving all eight runners stranded, most notably by Derek Jeter in the third (grounded out) and Paul O'Neill in the fourth (grounded out). After Tino's double, with one out, Jorge Posada was intentionally walked, and when Joe Torre sent Shane Spencer in to pinch hit for the limping Paul O'Neill, Seattle Manager Lou Piniella countered by bringing former Yankee Jeff Nelson to the mound. Yankees fans have waited for this confrontation ever since Nelson left the team in the offseason to return to Seattle where he started his major league career. Nelson had come to the Yankees along with Tino Martinez in the 1996 trade for Jim Mecir, Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock, but his wife and kids had stayed in Washington. The M's had also offered Nelson more money, and many questioned how the Yankees could allow one of the key elements to their World Series success--the righty set up man for Mariano Rivera--walk away for a mere 1.5 million more dollars? Jason Grimsley was also allowed to walk. None of the bullpen additions the Yankees tried this year have worked out: Carlos Almanzar? Brian Boehringer? Todd Williams? Adrian Hernandez? Brandon Knight? Even late-season pickups Mark Wohlers and Jay Witasick cannot be trusted with the ball and a lead. To see Nelson on the mound at Yankee Stadium mowing down men in pinstripes... would the front office regret their decision to let him go?

At first, when Nelson started off Shane Spencer (who was 2-for-2 off Nelson in his career) with a frisbee slider out of the strike zone, one thought not. Nelson always aggravated Joe Torre with his love of the slider and his reluctance to throw more fastballs. Nellie's fastball had lots of movement and he was hitting the strike zone with it, but he threw one too many sliders to Spencer, who walked to load the bases.

Scott Brosius then came to the plate. Brosius, a fastball hitter, was waiting for it when it came. Brosius experienced an offensive renaissance this season, rebounding from the 2000 season where he hit under .250 most of the year, but it appears very little of that rebirth has carried over into the postseason. Scottie had the big two run double the other day, but here all he could manage off Nelson was a double play ball that ended the inning. Nelson stayed in the game in the seventh and had long battles at the plate with Alfonso Soriano, Chuck Knoblauch, and Derek Jeter, battles which Nelson won in the end, and the game moved on. In the eighth, Yankees fans could be forgiven for having flashbacks to that miserable Game Two of the ALDS when, with two outs, Mendoza, in his third inning of work, gave up a solo home run to Bret Boone--the same Bret Boone who recorded 5 RBI in yesterday's 14-3 rout. The same Bret Boone who struck out on three fastballs in a row in the first, then walked on four pitches in the third. The same Bret Boone who hit all those doubles in Yankee Stadium in the World Series, back when he played for the Braves But unlike in the ALDS, the sense of hopelessness that had shrouded the Stadium and the team then was completely absent now. The monkey-see monkey-do nature of the game continued, as Bernie Williams tied the game in the bottom of the frame with a solo blast of his own off Arthur Rhodes. So it was not until the ninth inning that anyone seized the momentum, which up until then had been up for grabs. Mariano Rivera came on to pitch the top of the inning, while Kazuhiro Sasaki, the other best closer in the league, was warmed up for the bottom half. Would these two mirror each other as well? Mariano put in a performance that should be remembered a long time, while the Mariners hitters put in one that should be forgotten. On three pitches, Mo recorded three quick outs, as the M's hitters threw their patience and poise out the window. Olerud swung first pitch and hit a soft grounder to first. On the very next pitch, Stan Javier tried to drag a bunt for a hit, but got overexcited and hit it too hard--Soriano was able to charge and throw him out at first. And Mike Cameron swung for the fences hoping for a first pitch fastball, and merely popped the ball up. It came down in Tino's glove and eyes lit up on the Yankee bench. Let's see YOUR guy do that! The Yankees knew that the symmetry was broken, because no one could possibly be equally effective. Sasaki came on and got Shane Spencer to ground to third, but then came Scott Brosius. Bro hit a hot grounder up the middle. McLemore dove far to his right to snare it in his glove, but had to get up and spin 360 degrees. He spun a little too far and yanked his throw to Olerud up the line and Brosius was safe at first with an infield hit.

Not that it mattered, given what happened next. That big hit the Yankees and over fifty six thousand fans were waiting for finally came. Alfonso Soriano, who hardly walked twice in one month and who didn't hit a home run until well into the 2001 regular season had already walked twice in this game when he came to the plate. Soriano, who will probably finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Ichiro (who, by the way, only reached base once this game and who struck out twice against Clemens, despite having the lowest strikeout per at bat ratio in the league at 1:13), stepped up and delivered the big blow, just as he did in Game 5 of the ALDS. Only this time it was two RBI on a walk off home run, over the wall in right center. Both Ichiro and Cameron leaped at the wall, but they were nowhere near the ball. Soriano's blast gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead both in the final score and in wins in the series. If they pull out just one more win, they will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. Seattle faces elimination Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

This article originally appeared at YankeeBaseball.net.