ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610230058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
ATLANTA
Now this was what the New York Yankees were supposed to do all along.
Get six solid innings from David Cone. Get a home run from Bernie Williams. And let the bullpen do the rest.
It all came together for the Yankees on Tuesday night, and not a moment too soon. Their 5-2 victory over Atlanta cut the Braves' lead to 2-1, and put the drama back into a World Series that was on the verge of becoming a walkover.
``This was our formula,'' Cone said. ``Get to the bullpen, get Bernie to get big hits, get a key defensive play.''
Relievers Mariano Rivera, Graeme Lloyd and John Wetteland finished a victory that made the Yankees the first team to win six consecutive road games in the postseason.
``Sometimes, playing at home in the postseason isn't an advantage,'' said Joe Torre, the Yankees' manager. ``You get so charged up that you lose focus of what you have to do.
``I think any time in a short series when you win, the momentum is on your side,'' Torre said. ``Hopefully, we can build on this.''
New York ended a six-game losing streak in the World Series that dated to 1981 and stopped a five-game winning streak by the Braves during which they had outscored opponents 48-2.
``I think the mindset, generally, of the team was that we were a little bit embarrassed,'' Cone said.
New York will try to make it 7-0 away from Yankee Stadium tonight when Kenny Rogers pitches against Atlanta's Denny Neagle. Rogers originally was dropped from the rotation, but was restored when a rainout took away the travel day and forced the Yankees to use four starters.
No team in baseball has overcome a 3-0 deficit in the postseason, and New York won't have to, either. After losing twice at home, the Yankees shook up their lineup, benching slumping Tino Martinez and hobbling Wade Boggs and Paul O'Neill, and Torre's moves worked.
Darryl Strawberry, Cecil Fielder and Charlie Hayes stepped in and each made contributions that helped the Yankees take a 2-1 lead through six innings against Tom Glavine.
The Yankees broke it open with a three-run eighth, highlighted by Williams' homer and Fielder's double off Greg McMichael. Williams' sixth postseason homer tied the record set by Bob Robertson of Pittsburgh in 1971.
Williams, MVP of the American League Championship Series, had been hitless in the first two games before an RBI single in the opening inning.
Cone stayed ahead with nasty breaking pitches, buckling the knees of several Braves hitters for six innings. He gave up four hits, the same total surrendered by Glavine in seven innings.
``David Cone is still tough. Even when he's losing his stuff, he can get you out,'' said Bobby Cox, the Braves' manager. ``He's not going to give in, and he didn't give in.''
Cone's key moment came in the sixth, when the Braves loaded the bases with one out. He got Fred McGriff on a pop-up, walked Ryan Klesko to force home a run that drew Atlanta to 2-1 and retired NLCS Most Valuable Player Javy Lopez on a foul pop.
It was Cone's first victory in the World Series and his biggest victory since missing four months of the season after surgery for an aneurysm in his pitching arm.
The Yankees showed they expected it to be a low-scoring game when they had Derek Jeter, the second batter of the game, bunt following a leadoff walk by Tim Raines.
New York, second in the majors in fielding, got surprisingly good defense from Fielder.
Playing first base for only the 10th time since being acquired from Detroit on July 31, Fielder held his own with the glove. He started a double play in the first and handled a couple of other difficult chances, although he wasn't able to catch a foul pop near the tarpaulin.
With the Yankees ahead 2-1, Jeter hit a leadoff single in the eighth and Williams homered. Fielder followed with a double, and pinch-hitter Luis Sojo had an RBI single.
The Braves scored in their half of the eighth on a triple by Marquis Grissom and a single by Mark Lemke, both off Rivera.
Cone retired nine in a row early in the game, then faced his toughest spot in the sixth with the Yankees ahead 2-0.
Glavine, who led all pitchers this season with a .289 batting average - not including a bases-loaded triple in Game 7 of the NLCS - worked a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch.
Grissom followed with a soft fly to left field that Raines, hampered by a sore hamstring, circled and trapped for a single. Cone got a break when Lemke popped up a bunt, but put himself in further trouble with a walk to Chipper Jones that loaded the bases.
With Rivera and Lloyd warming up, Torre went to the mound to talk to Cone. Torre stuck with his starter, and his patience paid off.
Cone retired McGriff on a pop to Jeter in shallow center field, and thought he'd escaped the inning with the close 3-2 pitch to Klesko. But AL umpire Tim Welke called it a ball, leaving Cone with his hands spread wondering how it wasn't a strike, and Glavine trotted home with a run.
Cone managed to protect the lead when he retired Lopez, the last batter Cone faced as Torre turned over the one-run lead to his bullpen.
Williams' first-inning hit broke a couple of slumps for the Yankees. It was their first in 10 tries against Atlanta with a runner in scoring position, and also marked the first hit in seven Series at-bats for Williams.
The Yankees converted an error by shortstop Jeff Blauser into a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Williams reached on Blauser's misplay, moved up on Fielder's walk, took third on Hayes' fly ball and scored on a single by Strawberry.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Bernie Williams (right) is congratulated by hisby CNBYankees teammates after hitting a two-run homer to give New York a
4-1 lead in the eighth inning Tuesday night. The Yanks went on to a
5-2 win. KEYWORDS: BASEBALL