|
|
Mariners vs. Yankees |
Mets vs. Cardinals
|
|
Wednesday, October 18
Justice takes Rhodes to success
By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- David Justice dropped his bat on the ground, stood completely erect, and stared down the right-field line.
He slowly made his way toward first, in an arrogant manner, knowing this ball was going to land far into the Yankee Stadium seats. Jose Vizcaino inched away from third, arms shaking in the air, glee spread across his face.
|  | | David Justice belts his three-run homer off Arthur Rhodes. |
The Yankee dugout erupted. So did the Stadium's cement support structure.
In this game of one-on-one, you vs. me, pitcher-batter matchups, Justice got the last laugh on Arthur Rhodes Tuesday. His three-run homer in the seventh inning was a telling blow, the biggest blast in New York's 9-7 come-from-behind victory in Game 6.
It earned him ALCS MVP honors and came two days after Rhodes struck out Justice in one of the Series' biggest rivalries.
"It was just magic," Justice said of the rocket-launched shot. "When I ran the bases, just to see this place erupt and the fact that it put us up by two runs."
Justice's one-out homer landed in the upper deck, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead. With the victory, the Yankees eliminated the Mariners, but more important to New Yorkers, held up their end of the Subway Series showdown with the Mets.
And a big reason was Justice's success against Rhodes. In Game 2, with the Yankees held scoreless through seven innings, Justice opened the eighth inning with a double off the left-center fence -- off Rhodes. He and six others would end up scoring that inning, with Derek Jeter calling Justice's hit "the biggest key."
That offensive outburst helped the Yankees regain their confidence and shake a monthlong hitting slump. They scored eight runs in Game 3 and five more in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
After going 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position in Game 5 and leaving 15 runners on base, it was Justice's blast Tuesday that busted the doors off of the Bronx Bombers' offense, as the Yankees scored three more runs after Justice's homer, leaving them with a 9-4 lead the Mariners would challenge but not overcome.
So why all the success against one of the game's hardest-throwing left-handed relievers? Justice believes it's because he isn't overconfident against Rhodes.
"I never think I'm going to get him," Justice said. "I'm always just thinking, 'Let me make contact, solid contact, and hopefully it will fall in there somewhere.' That has helped me shorten my swing up and I really focus well when I face him."
For the series, Justice was 2-for-3 against Rhodes, with a home run, double and three RBI. Against all other Mariner pitchers, he was 4-for-23 with a double and five RBI. Essentially, the pair of hits against Rhodes gave Justice the MVP award.
"It's never a pleasure facing him, believe me," Justice said. "It's never a pleasure. And I know that he's there just for me, to get me out. But you have no choice so you have to go after him. He's gotten me a few times and I've gotten him a few times."
Surprisingly, Justice had only eight career regular-season at-bats against Rhodes prior to this series, going 3-for-8 with a home run and two strikeouts.
On Tuesday, Rhodes fell behind Justice 3-1 and left an inside fastball a little bit lower than he wished and Justice crushed it.
After the game, while Justice was getting doused in champagne and shuttled to numerous television interviews, Rhodes sat in front of his locker, alone, pondering that pitch.
"He won the battle tonight," Rhodes said. "And we've had some good ones in this series. But he won it tonight. One bad pitch -- right where he likes it -- and that was it."
For Justice, it was the strangest of feelings. After trying to knock off the Yankees as a member of the Braves and Indians, he was now the one winning in pinstripes.
"It was different, a bit of an adjustment," Justice said. "With the Yankees having won so many championships before I was ever here, you don't want to mess up the mix."
He certainly didn't do that, instead, creating a mix of his own.
"He's been amazing, just huge for us," Jeter said. "Above and beyond any of our expectations. We knew he was a big-game player, but what he did tonight was incredible."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.
|
|
 | 
|
