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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Bernie Williams had to talk his way into
pinch-hitting. Manager Joe Torre is glad he did.
Williams drove in the go-ahead run in a three-run eighth inning
as the New York Yankees came from behind to defeat the Oakland
Athletics 7-5 Sunday.
|  | | Bernie Williams, center, pushed for a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth and didn't let the Yankees down. He drove in the go-ahead run. |
"He had to convince me he was able to hit and he did," Torre
said. "I was telling him to hit right-handed, but it was all
him."
Jim Mecir (8-3) walked David Justice to start the eighth and
Jose Canseco singled. After Jose Vizcaino came in to run for
Canseco, Tino Martinez lifted a routine fly ball to center field.
But Terrence Long struggled with the ball in the sun, then dropped
it after trying to make a basket catch, loading the bases.
"I tried to battle the sun the whole time. It was right in my
face," Long said. "I just lost it."
With one out, Luis Sojo hit a slow bouncer to third, which Eric
Chavez picked up and threw past first baseman Mike Stanley. Sojo
was credited with a single and an RBI, and the throwing error
allowed a second run to score to tie it 5-5.
Scott Brosius was walked intentionally to set the stage for
Williams, hitting for Clay Bellinger. Williams, who had problems
with his ribcage and didn't start against a right-hander, grounded
into a force play, allowing Martinez to score the go-ahead run.
"It was a situation where I didn't want to bat right-handed
(against a right-hander)," said Williams, the Yankees' RBI leader
with 109. "The left side is my strong side. They were counting on
me to hit."
Justice added an RBI double in the ninth for New York.
"We made a lot out of nothing except for opportunities," Torre
said. "When a team makes errors, you have to take advantage.
That's how you win pennants."
Denny Neagle (4-4) won for the second time in three decisions.
He allowed five runs on six hits and four walks in seven innings,
striking out six.
Neagle won his two first starts after joining the Yankees on
July 18, but was 1-4 in his next six starts before Sunday.
"I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and made the
adjustments," Neagle said. "I was rushing my pitches. Hopefully,
that will be that."
Mariano Rivera recorded the final four outs for his 29th save in
34 opportunities.
Oakland starter Gil Heredia failed in his fifth attempt for his
career-high 14th victory despite pitching 6 1/3 effective innings.
He allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and two
strikeouts.
Heredia is 0-2 with three no-decisions since recording his 13th
victory July 30 against Boston.
"It's frustrating to have a 4-0 lead, then all of a sudden the
Yankees come back and win," Heredia said. "That ticks me off, but
that's the way they are, they're good. What can you do?"
Stanley gave the A's a 3-0 lead in the first with his 12th home
run. After Randy Velarde doubled and Adam Piatt walked, Stanley hit
a 1-0 pitch from Neagle into the left-field bleachers.
Sal Fasano hit his seventh homer of the year, a solo shot with
one out in the second to put Oakland up 4-0.
"Gil put us in a position to win," Oakland manager Art Howe
said. "We just couldn't hold it for him. We have it in our hands
and let it slip away."
The Yankees got a run back in the third. Luis Polonia walked,
stole second and continued to third when the throw went into center
field. Derek Jeter followed with an RBI single.
In the fourth, New York drew within 4-3 on a run-scoring single
by Jorge Posada and Bellinger's RBI double.
Piatt's fifth homer of the season in the fifth gave the A's a
5-3 edge.
Game notes
The Yankees have won nine of the last 10 season series with
the A's. ... Sojo extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13
games with a bunt single in the second. ... The A's' 189 homers are
the fifth-best total in Oakland history. ... The A's, who made four
errors, have a major league-high 121 this season after committing
just 122 all of last year. ... Stanley broke an 0-for-17 slump with
his first-inning homer. ... Justice was hitless in 14 at-bats
before his ninth-inning double. ... Brosius appeared in left field,
as a defensive replacement, for the first time since Sept. 22,
1997 with the A's.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
NY Yankees Clubhouse
Oakland Clubhouse
Yanks' Knoblauch leaves rehab game, but plans to play hurt
RECAPS
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