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Total recall Hero of Series past provides winning margin for Yanks
Updated: Wednesday October 31, 2001 1:43 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sooner or later, all those extra outs figured to hurt Arizona, provided the Yankees could come up with a clutch hit. In the end, it came from an unlikely source: Scott Brosius delivered a two-out, sixth-inning single that drove in the tiebreaking run in New York's 2-1 victory in Tuesday night's Game 3 of the World Series. "This was a game we wanted to win," Brosius said. "This was a game we had to have. They did a great job of holding us down again." Brosius, the World Series MVP in 1998, has struggled throughout this postseason, batting .128, a major drag on what little offense the Yankees had managed. That was in dramatic contrast to a career .391 World Series batting average that included three home runs and 10 runs batted in. In 12 postseason games this season, he had five hits in 39 at-bats before Tuesday night with 12 strikeouts. There was a two-run double in a 3-2 Game 2 victory against Seattle in the ALCS, but little else. Brosius said getting the Series back to Yankee Stadium was important. "I think we definitely all looked forward to getting back here to New York," he said. "We have said all along we feel just a little more privileged this year to still be in this thing and playing, with obviously everything that's happened. You know we really want to be here and playing in front of the fans here." Brosius had one hit in the first two games of the Series and was no threat Tuesday night until the sixth inning against reliever Mike Morgan.
Then, after an infield hit by Bernie Williams, Arizona's third error and a wild pitch, he came to the plate with runners at first and second and two out. The right-handed Morgan had just struck out lefty pinch hitter David Justice and Brosius, a right-handed batter, seemed to pose considerably less of a threat. But his single to left scored Williams from second base with the go-ahead run in a game the Yankees simply could not afford to lose. Brosius was also in the middle of a bizarre six-out fourth inning when the Yankees failed to score. With two outs, catcher Damian Miller dropped Shane Spencer's pop fly against the screen. Spencer eventually walked and moved to second when Brosius reached on an error by shortstop Tony Womack. Then, Alfonso Soriano lifted a pop fly in front of the plate. The ball got caught in a 13 mph wind and spun away from Miller. But the Diamondbacks caught a break when the ball bounced untouched into foul territory. The Yankees couldn't cash in on the opportunity because Soriano flied out -- what amounted to the sixth out of the inning for New York. With New York's frustration building, Brosius finally provided some relief with the base hit the Yankees needed all night. Now he gets another shot at Curt Schilling in Wednesday night's Game 4. "We know it's going to be a difficult game; that we are going to have to go out there and again, just kind of scratch and claw and find a way to put some runs on the board," he said. It's been that way the whole postseason for him.
For Brosius, this Series means a little more. He is a free agent after this season and the whispers are the Yankees will not re-sign him. If that's the case, he gave them one big hit to remember, a hit that got them back into this World Series.
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