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  Thursday, Aug. 3 7:05pm ET
O'Neill delivers game-winning single in ninth
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

NEW YORK (AP) -- When the Yankees and Royals finally started after a 3-hour, 33-minute rain delay Thursday night, Don Zimmer knew what was ahead.

"See you at a quarter to two," New York's bench coach told closer Mariano Rivera.

Rocket burst
Roger Clemens has been on a roll since July 2:
W-L 5-0
IP 49.1
Hits 37
R 11
ER 11
BB 17
SO 43
ERA 2.02

Zimmer was right.

On a night Roger Clemens pitched into his 38th birthday, Paul O'Neill ended it with a run-scoring single in the ninth inning, giving the Yankees a 3-2 victory over Kansas City in a game that ended at 1:55 a.m. ET Friday.

"What a way to finish," said Luis Polonia, who scored the winning run after going 1-for-3 with two walks in his first game with the Yankees since 1995.

New York trailed 2-1 after seven innings, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

But Scott Brosius walked with two outs against Jerry Spradlin (4-4) -- the seventh Yankees walk -- and came around when second baseman Carlos Febles dropped a popup to short right by pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill.

Febles, shifted over to second base, had a long run to get to Hill's pop and the ball bounced onto the wet grass as Brosius circled the bases and easily beat Febles' throw. Hill was tagged out in a rundown between second and third.

"I didn't hear anything. There was a lot of noise from the fans," said Febles, who tried to make the catch in front of right fielder Jermaine Dye. "I had no idea where he was."

Febles said the wet field wasn't a factor.

"I just missed it," he said.

"That's the breaks of the game," added Royals manager Tony Muser. "It was difficult conditions and he did the best he could."

Polonia walked leading off the ninth, took second on Derek Jeter's hard comebacker off Spradlin and scored on O'Neill's soft, opposite-field single to left, just the sixth hit for New York.

"The only way to make it good is to win," O'Neill said. "We got a gift tonight."

Rivera (5-3) pitched a hitless ninth for the victory, getting into a discussion with plate umpire John Hirschbeck, who called close pitches balls on 2-2 and 3-2 to Febles.

"I've never seen him that animated," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He obviously thought it was a strike. The umpire obviously didn't. I didn't want it to go on too long because we needed another inning out of him."

Just a few thousand fans of the announced crowd of 33,829 were still in attendance when the game ended.

Clemens remained unbeaten in eight starts since June 9 against the Mets and struck out nine, but wasted a 1-0 lead when he allowed four consecutive hits in the sixth, including run-scoring singles by Joe Randa and Dave McCarty.

"Going out there at 10, 10:15, I felt a little sharper," Clemens said. "I don't know if there's anything to it."

Tino Martinez drove in the Yankees' first run with a second-inning homer, his first in 15 games since July 17.

New York has just eight hits in the last two games and Bernie Williams (4-for-25) and Derek Jeter (4-for-26) are both slumping.

Mac Suzuki, who has won just twice in his last 11 starts, became the second consecutive Royals' starter to walk six, allowing five hits in seven innings.

Game notes
To make room for Polonia, who signed before the game, the Yankees designated infielder Wilson Delgado for assignment. ... Kansas City suspended outfielder Carlos Beltran without pay for failing to go to Haines City, Fla., for rehabilitation. The players' association planned to file a grievance Friday. ... David Cone, in Florida trying to straighten his pitching out, is scheduled to start against Seattle on Saturday. ... New York said ticket stubs could be exchanged for free tickets for next Tuesday or Wednesday against Oakland, Aug. 17 vs. Anaheim, Aug. 22-23 vs. Texas or Sept. 1 vs. Minnesota.
 


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