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Posted: Tuesday October 19, 1999 02:10 AM
BOSTON (Ticker) -- One night after leaving the field at Fenway Park for their safety, the New York Yankees departed tonight in celebration.
The Yankees clinched their record 36th American League pennant, riding another dominant October outing from Orlando Hernandez and another brilliant relief effort from Ramiro Mendoza in the eighth inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox, 6-1.
Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Jorge Posada did the same in the ninth for the defending world champions, who the best-of-seven AL Championship Series in five games. New York will play in the World Series for the third time in four years beginning Saturday night against the New York Mets or Atlanta Braves.
"To get this far again is a real credit to our ballclub," said Yankees manager Joe Torre, who endured a bout with prostate cancer earlier this year. "After we win 114 games (last season), to come back and do it again, when things didn't always go our way, is terrific."
On Sunday night, Torre was forced to pull his team in the ninth inning when fans littered the field with debris following several controversial calls against the Red Sox in the series.
The Yankees returned in time to complete the 9-2 victory Sunday and came out swinging tonight in a game played without any disturbance from the fans. New York took the lead for good on Jeter's fourth career postseason homer in the first.
"We knew with 'El Duque' (Hernandez) going that if we could get an early lead it would be pretty tough in this type of game," Jeter said. "That's why I was happy to get that home run."
The Yankees added two more runs in the seventh with the help of two errors by the Red Sox and Hernandez (2-0) kept Boston off the board until Jason Varitek homered to lead off the eighth.
The Yankees used four relievers to hold Boston to one run in the eighth, with Mendoza striking out pinch-hitter Scott Hatteberg and getting Trot Nixon to pop out to third baseman Scott Brosius with the bases loaded to end the inning.
With closer Mariano Rivera warming up to start the ninth, the Yankees stayed with Mendoza to close out the game after Posada's homer opened a five-run cushion.
The scenario was almost identical to Game Two, when Torre made three pitching changes in the eighth inning and used Mendoza to work out of a bases-loaded jam.
Hernandez (2-0) allowed just five hits and four walks while striking out nine and was named the series MVP. Hernandez, whose half-brother Livan won the NLCS MVP award for the Florida Marlins in 1997, allowed three runs over eight innings in Game One.
"The first innings seem to be hardest for me," Hernandez said through an interpreter. "But after I get settled down I get into a rhythm. The guys going out and getting me the runs early the way they did was very important."
In five career postseason starts, Hernandez has allowed just four earned runs in 37 innings.
The Red Sox came up short of a World Series title for the 81st straight year, assuring that the "Curse of the Bambino" will carry over into the new millennium.
To make matters worse, the Red Sox and their fans suffered the indignity of watching their most hated rival celebrate a series victory on their own turf, evoking memories of 1978, when the Yankees won here in a one-game playoff for the AL East title.
"It wasn't an answer back, but we didn't want a momentum change," Yankees outfielder Paul O'Neill said. "You want to win every game. When you have a lead like that, you can't afford to lose it."
Fenway fans may grouse at the questionable umpiring calls in the series. But the Red Sox made plenty of their own mistakes, committing two errors in a two-run seventh inning and 10 in the series, an LCS record.
"We were good enough to win. We didn't play well enough to win," shortstop Nomaar Garciaparra said.
Spoiling a party has become commonplace for the Yankees, who clinched their third straight postseason series on the road, winning the Division Series at Texas this year and the 1998 World Series at San Diego.
New York has won 14 of its last 15 postseason contests while Boston has dropped 12 of its last 13 ALCS games. The Yankees have won seven of eight trips to the ALCS, losing only to Kansas City in 1980.
The quick ALCS exit ended a solid season for the Red Sox, who won 94 games and rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Cleveland Indians to win the Division Series in five games. But in the ALCS, the only solace for the Red Sox will be a decisive win over former Boston icon Roger Clemens in Game Three.
"It's a special group of guys that really became a unit to perform together daily," Williams said. "A lot of blue-collar kids on this team."
Boston had hoped to return the series to Yankee Stadium and be able to use ace Pedro Martinez in a possible seventh game. The closest Martinez came to entering the game tonight was when he warmed up in the eighth.
The Red Sox put their hopes on Game One starter Kent Mercker (0-1), who again made a quick exit, allowing two runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. In three postseason starts, he has lasted just 9 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs.
The Yankees jumped on Mercker in the first when Chuck Knoblauch singled and Jeter belted a 2-1 pitch over the fence in deep center field. Mercker allowed two more singles in the inning before retiring Tino Martinez and Posada.
Jeter nearly had a homer in the third when he sliced a fly ball inches wide of "Pesky's Pole" in right field before popping out.
Mercker hit Tino Martinez with a pitch to open the fourth before picking him off first base. But the Yankees loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a single by Shane Spencer. Derek Lowe relieved with two outs and got Jeter to ground out to end the threat.
Lowe kept the Yankees quiet until the seventh when first baseman Mike Stanley mishandled a throw from Garciaparra, putting Jeter at second base with one out. Paul O'Neill singled before Rheal Cormier came on and walked Bernie Williams to load the bases.
Jeter scored when second baseman Jose Offerman booted a ground ball by Chili Davis and Martinez made it 4-0 with an RBI single to center.
Any postseason problems for Hernandez generally come early, as was the case in Game One when he pitched himself into a 3-0 hole. The Cuban righthander got in trouble in each of the first two innings but emerged unscathed.
Offerman and John Valentin opened the first with singles before Hernandez retired three straight batters. An inning later, Hernandez walked a pair and worked out of it.
Boston threatened in the sixth after shortstop Jeter booted Garciaparra's grounder. Garciaparra stole second and went to third on a groundout. But he stayed there on a short fly ball to right field by Mike Stanley and Brian Daubach grounded out.
Varitek's homer and Garciaparra's double chased Hernandez in the eighth. Mike Stanton relieved and walked Troy O'Leary and Jeff Nelson took over, getting Mike Stanley to line out to center.
Allen Watson walked pinch-hitter Butch Huskey to load the bases before Mendoza ended the threat.
"We had our chances. That Yankee ballclub showed why they're defending world champions," Boston outfielder Darren Lewis said.
"Their bullpen is something else."
Posada was hitting just .077 in the postseason before homering in the ninth off Tom Gordon to increase the lead to 6-1.
Pinch-hitter Darryl Strawberry reached earlier in the inning on a single.
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