Yankees 1998 Tracker: Game 67

David Wells in 1998.

From now until the end of the season, we will be tracking the progress of the Yankees with their 1998 World Championship team, which won 114 games in the regular season.

Through 67 Games:


2018: 46-21
Sunday: Tampa Bay 3, Yankees 1

Tampa Bay avoided the sweep as they won the finale of the four-game series with the Yankees, 3-1.
All of Tampa Bay's offense against Yankees starter CC Sabathia came in the second inning, when Carlos Gomez got an RBI double, followed by a two-run single from Matt Duffy to make it 3-0 Rays.
The Yankees' lone run of the afternoon came on an Aaron Hicks solo home run in the fifth inning. 
That chased Tampa starter Wilmer Font from the game with two outs in the fifth, one out short of qualifying for the win. Font went 4 2/3 innings, allowing that one run on four hits and a walk, with five strikeouts. Jose Alvarado came on to get the last out of the fifth inning.
Chaz Roe came on to pitch the sixth and seventh innings, and he was credited with the victory, as he allowed just a hit and two walks, with a strikeout. Roe is now 1-1 on the season. 

1998: 50-17
Yankees 5, Cleveland 3

David Wells earned his ninth win of the 1998 season, improving to 9-2, as he went eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and no walks, with nine strikeouts.
Cleveland got the lead in the bottom of the third when Travis Fryman stole third and came home a throwing error.
In the top of the fourth, Tino Martinez and Darryl Strawberry each had RBI doubles. They kept it going in the fifth when Scott Brosius led off the frame with a home run and Paul O'Neill had an RBI single to make it 4-1.
Manny Ramirez got an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and the Yankees got the run back when Chad Curtis came in because of an error on a hit by Chuck Knoblauch to make it 5-2.
Cleveland rallied against Mariano Rivera in the ninth, as they got a run on a David Bell RBI single. Rivera then got Kenny Lofton to fly out with two on base and two out to end it and earn his 16th save of the season.

Where they stand: The 2018 Yankees (46-21) are now four games off the pace of the 1998 team, which was 50-17 through 67 games.