 |
| David Wells during his perfect game May 17, 1998. |
From now until the end of the season, we will be tracking the progress of the current Yankees with the 1998 World Championship team that won 114 games during the regular season.
Through 37 Games:
2022: 28-9
Yankees 3, Baltimore 2 - Wednesday night
The Yankees jumped out of an early lead in this one, as Gleyber Torres got an RBI double int he first inning, and then he and Josh Donaldson both came in to score on a Jordan Lyles wild pitch to make it 3-0.
That was all Yankees starter Gerrit Cole would need, as he went seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and no wlaks, with five strikeouts, to improve to 5-0.
Baltimore's two runs came in the bottom of the sixth when Austin Hays got an RBI double, and scored when Trey Mancini hit into a force out.
Clay Holmes closed it out for the Yankees, as he pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and no walks, with a strikeout, for his third save of the season.
1998: 28-9
This was an illustrious day in Yankees history, as David Wells threw a perfect game.
This was the first regular-season perfect game pitched by a Yankee, with the first one thrown by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series.
David Cone threw one the following year, with Larsen and catcher Yogi Berra in attendance.
It was the 245th no-hitter in baseball history and the tenth in Yankees history, the first since Dwight Gooden threw one in May 1996 against Seattle.
Wells had 11 strikeouts on his way to perfection, and did it on 120 pitches, 79 of which were strikes.
The Yankees got on the board in the second inning, as Minnesota starter LaTroy Hawkins threw a wild pitch that allowed Bernie Williams to score.
In the fourth, it was Williams who hit a home run to make it 2-0 Yankees.
In the seventh, with Hawkins still in there, Darryl Strawberry got an RBI triple, and scored on a single by Chad Curtis to give Wells a 4-0 lead.
Hawkins came up with the Twins in 1995 and was a starter until 2000, when he was converted to a reliever and went on to pitch until 2015.
A member of the Twins until 2003, Hawkins then went on to the Cubs, Giants, Baltimore, Colorado, the Yankees, Houston, Milwaukee, the Angels, the Mets, and Toronto.
Hawkins pitched in 33 games for the Yankees in 2008, and he created some controversy when he wore number 21, which the team had not given out since Paul O'Neill retired in 2001 and they not given out since. The number will finally be retired by the Yankees this summer, at a ceremony on August 21.
Where They Stand: The 2022 Yankees are on the pace of the 1998 team, as they have matched their start through 37 games, 28-9.
No comments:
Post a Comment