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Schilling pitches gem, but Yanks win in 10th

BY THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Published November 1, 2001

NEW YORK (AP) Baseball fans, meet the first Mr. November Derek Jeter.

Four minutes after midnight, Jeter earned that distinction by hitting a home run with two outs in the bottom of 10th inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 and tie the World Series at two games each.

Tino Martinez saved the Yankees on last night with a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Byung-Hyun Kim, who had relieved a gutsy Curt Schilling.

Then Jeter, who usually shines in October, connected off Kim. The Yankees spilled out of the dugout to greet him at home plate, where he landed with a two-footed hop.

Jeter said it was the first game-ending homer he could remember, and it came shortly after the Yankee Stadium scoreboard flashed: "Welcome to November Baseball."

"We always feel as though we have a chance to win a game," Jeter said. "When you get to the postseason, you can throw everything out that you"ve done in the regular season."

Schilling, pitching on three days" rest, did everything Arizona could have asked. But when Kim relieved, the game turned spooky for the Diamondbacks on Halloween night.

"We had a lead, we had six outs left to go in the ballgame," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "That"s the way we hoped it would work out. Unfortunately, it didn"t."

Now, the defending three-time champion Yankees will send Mike Mussina against Miguel Batista in Game 5 tonight.

Mariano Rivera broke three bats in a perfect 10th inning for the win.

A crowd that included Mr. October Reggie Jackson had been crazy all night then turned quiet in the ninth inning with the Yankees in trouble.

Kim, who struck out the side in the eighth, gave up a one-out single to Paul O"Neill before striking out Bernie Williams.

But Martinez, who had been hitless in nine World Series at-bats, launched a drive over the center field fence to tie it. The sellout crowd of 55,863 roared, and several Yankees jumped over the railing in front of the dugout to celebrate.

Kim set down the first two batters in the 10th. But Jeter, who had been only 1-for-15 in the Series, rose to the occasion.

Jeter fouled three two-strike pitches and then sent an opposite-field drive into the seats in right.

Making Brenly look like a genius, Schilling showed no ill effects in giving up three hits over seven innings. His bid for a record fifth win in a postseason, however, ended when the Yankees allied.

Since 1999, starters working on three days" rest had been just 1-9 with a 9.73 ERA in postseason play.

Everyone at Yankee Stadium was energized, a sharp contrast to the subdued crowd on hand for President Bush"s visit for Game 3. And while Mayor Rudolph Giuliani hollered from the front row, Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez was the most excitable of all.

El Duque shouted at plate umpire Ed Rapuano, firmly shook off catcher Jorge Posada and accidentally smacked into Arizona"s Tony Womack.

Hernandez made up with Rapuano when he was pulled in the seventh. He made a beeline to meet the umpire along the first-base line and patted him on the chest, and both men smiled.

With Hernandez gone, the Diamondbacks scored twice in the eighth for a 3-1 lead.

Reliever Mike Stanton had retired 22 straight batters in Series play before Luis Gonzalez singled to start the inning and Erubiel Durazo followed with a go-ahead double.