Youth helps Yanks
NEW YORK -- Bernie Williams got an afternoon full of ovations, a reward for 15 years of thrills he's given fans at Yankee Stadium. Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang got to dress up as cheerleaders, a reminder that even though the pair starred in a critical win, they're still rookies. Cano hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, Gary Sheffield added a three-run shot in the eighth and Wang got another big victory, leading the Yankees over the Blue Jays 8-4 yesterday in New York's final scheduled home game of the regular season. "This was a game that we had to win," Williams said after perhaps his last game with New York in Yankee Stadium. On the 37th anniversary of Mickey Mantle's Yankee Stadium finale, Cano and Wang did their best to get Williams a few more games in pinstripes and kept New York tied with Boston atop the AL East at 91-64 with a week to go. A fan favorite since he came up in 1991, Williams repeatedly was applauded on the overcast afternoon by the sellout crowd of 55,136, which raised New York's home total to an AL record 4,090,696. "We're hoping there's more Bernie Williams at Yankee Stadium because we're hoping we're still playing in 10 days or so," Torre said. New York, which won for the 12th time in 14 games, trailed 3-1 against Josh Towers (12-12) before getting four straight singles in the sixth. The Yankees managed only one run, on Derek Jeter's RBI single. Jorge Posada singled on the first pitch of the seventh and two pitches later Cano reached outside for a curveball and hooked it over the right-field wall for his 14th homer. "He could be the Rookie of the Year," Towers said. "He should be here a long time." Cano was not trying to atone for his miscue. "It came from my dad," he said of his attitude. "He used to say, 'If you make a mistake, don't let it happen again, and keep your head up."' Wang (8-4) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings to help New York rebound from Saturday's 7-4 loss, which wiped out the one-game lead the Yankees had held for three nights. He is on track to start Friday's series opener at Boston. "He's good," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's got a good arm, and he's got that funky fastball." After Russ Adams doubled off Tom Gordon in the eighth, Mariano Rivera came on with two outs, walked Vernon Wells, then struck out Corey Koskie. Sheffield homered off Vinnie Chulk in the bottom half, Bubba Crosby added an RBI single, and Rivera finished for his 42nd save in 46 chances, allowing an RBI single to Hill. "We need to go out and win all the games, as Boston does," Torre said. "A week from today, the smoke clears. Hopefully, we're standing tall."Source: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/
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