
Yanks Drop Game Six, the Florida Marlins Win the WORLD SERIES
After knocking off the resilient Red Sox in a thrilling 11-inning win in Game Seven of the American League Championship, the Yankees now prepare to battle the Florida Marlins, who, despite being in existence for a mere 11 years, are already vying for their second World Series title. The Marlins have proved to be a dangerous postseason threat after overcoming a two-game deficit against the San Francisco Giants, who posted an impressive record of 100-61 during the regular season. The Marlins followed that lofty achievement up by dodging elimination against the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS—winning improbable back-to-back victories against aces Mark Prior and Kerry Wood at Wrigley Field in the final two games. This year’s Fall Classic will exemplify a series of contrasts as a powerful, veteran-filled Yankee team takes on a young and speedy Marlins club that continues to defy expectations by refusing to give up. The Yankees bring a roster full of postseason veterans featuring a proven pitching staff led by Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, David Wells, and Mariano Rivera--players who are known for winning big games. Along with their pitching staff, the Yankees rely on their power at the plate. Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, and Jorge Posada anchor the offensive firepower in this potent lineup, while Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui make this team nearly impossible to hold down. Florida will rely on its group of young phenoms led by third-baseman Miguel Cabrera and pitchers Josh Beckett and Dontrelle Willis. The Marlins will also be a threat on the base paths, as they swiped 150 stolen bases during the regular season, led by Juan Pierre (65).
Players To Watch *New York Yankees* Pitcher Mariano Rivera who was named the ALCS MVP, has two saves, a 1.13 ERA, six strikeouts and has yielded only one earned run in four games. Catcher Jorge Posada batted .296 in ALCS vs. Boston, tying the team lead with eight hits. Posada also led the team with six RBI and had a crucial game-tying two-run double in Game Seven off of Boston ace Pedro Martinez. Outfielder Hideki Matsui led the team vs. Boston with a .308 batting average. Matsui tied a team high with eight hits and was second to Jorge Posada with four RBI. *Florida Marlins* Catcher Ivan Rodriguez set a NLCS record with ten RBIs and was also named MVP of the series. He has hit safely in all 11 postseason games and is batting .333 in the playoffs with 16 RBIs. Third Basemen/Outfielder Miguel Cabrera is a rookie playing in his first postseason. Cabrera is batting .318 with three home runs and nine RBIs. He batted .333 in the NLCS vs. the Chicago Cubs with 10 hits and a team leading nine runs scored. Pitcher Josh Beckett has been a steady force in the Marlins' bullpen. In the NLCS, Beckett pitched 19.1 innings, including a two-hit complete-game shutout in Game Five. He also pitched four innings of relief two days later in Game Seven. Beckett’s 98 MPH fastball and “12-6” curve ball are just two of the weapons that helped him in posting 19 strikeouts during the NLCS.

TEAM STATS
YANKEES	vs.	MARLINS
.227	BA	.266
30	R	40
54	H	68
8	HR	10
21	BB	28
5	SB	4

REGULAR SEASON STATS
YANKEES	vs.	MARLINS
.271	BA	.266
877	R	751
1518	H	1459
230	HR	157
684	BB	515
98	SB	150

2003 WORLD SERIES vs. FLORIDA MARLINS
Game	Team	Score	Pitching
Game 1 - HOME	Yankees	2	L - Wells
Sat. 10/18-7:30pm	Marlins	3	W - Penny S - Urbina

Game 2 - HOME	Yankees	6	W - Pettitte
Sun. 10/19-7:30pm	Marlins	1	L - Redman

Game 3 - AWAY	Yankees	6	W - Mussina S - Rivera
Tue. 10/21-8:00pm	Marlins	1	L - Beckett

Game 4 - AWAY	Yankees	3	L - Weaver
Wed. 10/22-8:00pm	Marlins	4	W - Looper BS - Urbina

Game 5 - AWAY	Yankees	6	L - Contreras
Thurs. 10/23-8:00pm	Marlins	4	W - Penny S - Urbina

Game 6 - HOME	Yankees	0	L - Pettitte
Sat. 10/25-7:30pm	Marlins	2	W - Beckett

Game 1 - Yanks Down One
On Saturday, October 18th, the Yankees began their quest for a 27th World Championship as New York City hosted its sixth Fall Classic in the past eight years. It was the visiting team, however, that stole Game One in the Bronx to take an early one-game lead in the World Series. Florida Marlins centerfielder Juan Pierre scored one run, and drove in two more on his way to being the team’s most productive player in this first game of what appears to be the start of a classic battle. The Marlins exploited the Yankee defense by playing an aggressive style of offense in their 3-2 victory—creating opportunities by grinding out base hits, stealing bases, and advancing runners whenever possible.

A sacrifice fly in the top of the first by Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez scored Pierre to put the Marlins up by the score of 1-0. The Yankees would fight back as Derek Jeter drove in a run in the third inning to tie the game 1-1.

The game remained tied until the top of the fifth inning when Pierre slapped a two-run single past a diving Jeter to give Florida a not-so-commanding 3-1 lead. A Bernie Williams solo home run in the sixth inning narrowed Florida's lead, but rookie pitcher Dontrelle Willis came on in relief to hold off the Yankees’ lineup until closer Ugueth Urbina could secure the win. Starter Brad Penny and Willis combined to hold the Yankees to two runs over 7+ innings, while Urbina struck out two on his way to recording the final four outs of the game.

Game Two of the World Series will be played on Sunday, October 19th, at the Stadium. Yankee starter Andy Pettitte looks to even the series, as he will oppose Florida starter Mark Redman.

Game 2 - Pettitte To The Rescue Once Again
On Sunday, October 19th, the New York Yankees defeated the Florida Marlins by a score of 6-1 in Game Two of the World Series. For the third consecutive series, Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte led the Yankees to a victory after a Game One loss.

Pettitte was brilliant, allowing only one unearned run over 8+ innings. During his amazing performance, Pettitte struck out seven, walked one and improved his postseason record to 3-0. Pettitte now has 13 career postseason wins, tying him with John Smoltz for the most in baseball history.

The Yankees’ offense gave Pettitte a comfortable four-run cushion after the first two innings of play by solving Marlin pitcher Mark Redman, who was working on three-day’s rest. After hitting Jason Giambi on a 1-1 pitch with one out, Bernie Williams singled to put runners on first and second – a perfect set-up for slugger Hideki Matsui. Batting fifth in the Yankees’ lineup, Matsui blasted a three-run homer to center on a 3-0 pitch, giving the Yankees an early 3-0 lead.

In the second inning, the Yankees borrowed a page from Florida’s playbook to score when first baseman Nick Johnson bunted for a base hit and scored off a double by Juan Rivera. Alfonso Soriano's crushing two-run homer in the fourth inning increased New York’s lead to 6-0. The Marlins were finally able to score in the top of the ninth inning, but with two outs already recorded, it was only enough to breakup what could have been the Yankees' first World Series complete game since Ralph Terry in Game Seven of the 1962 World Series.

The Series will now move from New York to Miami for the next three games, which will begin on Tuesday, October 21st. New York’s Mike Mussina will start Game Three on Tuesday against Florida's Josh Beckett. This best-of-seven World Series is tied at one game apiece.

Game 3 - Mussina Helps Yanks Take Game Three
Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina out-pitched the Marlins' young ace Josh Beckett after enduring a 39-minute rain delay, as the New York Yankees broke open an exciting one-run game in the ninth inning to defeat the Marlins 6-1 on Tuesday, October 21st. In seven innings, Mussina gave up one run and kept the Yankees close throughout the game until Hideki Matsui delivered a two-out single in the eighth inning that snapped a 1-1 tie. Mussina allowed seven hits and struck out nine batters, but pitched out of jams in the sixth and seventh innings when he stranded two runners in each frame. It was Mussina's first victory this postseason after losing three straight decisions.

Beckett had a very strong outing, striking out ten batters and giving up only three hits, all of which to Derek Jeter, in 7 1/3 innings. Beckett breezed through New York's first ten batters before Jeter doubled in the fourth. With the score at 1-1 and one out in the eighth inning, Jeter doubled for his third hit of the game, grounding the ball down the first-base line past Derrek Lee, who was positioned well off the foul line. Hideki Matsui then delivered a dramatic two-out RBI single that scored Jeter and snapped the 1-1 tie. Aaron Boone, who had one hit in his last 11 at-bats since his dramatic Game Seven walk-off home run against the Red Sox, homered off Chad Fox in the ninth for a 3-1 lead. Bernie Williams increased the Yankee lead by blasting a three-run homer over the centerfield fence, crushing any chance of a Marlins comeback. It was the 19th postseason home run of Williams' career, breaking the postseason home run record (18) he had shared with Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson, as well as the postseason RBI record (63) held by David Justice.

The victory gave the Yankees a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series that resumes tonight with Roger Clemens making the final start of his Hall of Fame career against the Marlins’ Carl Pavano.

Game 4 - Florida Ties Series at Two Apiece
On Wednesday, October 22nd, the bright young stars of the Florida Marlins fought off another New York Yankee comeback to hold on to a Game Four victory in the Fall Classic.

In the final appearance of Roger Clemens' storied career, the soon-to-be Hall of Fame pitcher got off to a rough start, allowing three runs on five hits in the first inning. A two-out single by Ivan Rodriguez opened the three-run Florida rally. With Rodriguez on first, rookie sensation Miguel Cabrera smacked a home run over the left field fence, making the score 2-0. Derrek Lee's RBI-single accounted for the third run in the inning.

The Yankees responded in the top half of the second inning, ALCS hero Aaron Boone drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Marlins' starting pitcher Carl Pavano remained composed, protecting the Marlins' 3-1 lead into the ninth inning.

One strike away from defeating the New York Yankees, Florida closer Ugueth Urbina could not prevent Ruben Sierra's pinch-hit triple, which scored two runs to tie the game in the ninth inning. The Yankee comeback conjured images of so many others, as many believed that this series would be a three-games-to-one Yankee lead by the end of the night. The Yankees, however, could not capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities in the 10th, 11th and 12th innings, as Marlins' relievers Chad Fox and Braden Looper shut down the Bronx Bombers.

After retiring the side in order in the eleventh inning, Jeff Weaver, making his first appearance in the postseason, faced the struggling Alex Gonzalez to lead off the bottom of the twelve inning. Despite a .077 batting average in the World Series, Gonzalez hammered a line drive down the left field line that narrowly cleared the fence, evening the series at two games apiece.

Game Five will be played on Thursday, October 23rd at 8:00 p.m. New York starter David Wells will face off against Florida's Brad Penny.

Game 5 - Yanks Drop Second in a Row
On Thursday, October 23, Brad Penny and Alex Gonzalez helped the wild-card Florida Marlins move within one win of a World Series championship. After an exhausting 12th inning victory in Game Four, the Marlins took advantage of their final home game, beating the Yankees 6-4 in Game Five.

The game got off to a rough start for the Yankees when starter David Wells - whose postseason performances have secured many victories for the Yankees - left the game with back problems after only one inning. With the Yankees up 1-0, Jose Contreras came into the game to relieve Wells and promptly gave up four runs in three innings.

New York's bullpen allowed six runs between the second and fifth innings. Gonzalez's two-out RBI double gave the Marlins their first run of the game, tying the score 1-1. Brad Penny's excellent pitching stifled the Yankee offense, holding New York to one earned run over seven innings. Penny also excelled with the bat – in the third inning he hit a two-out, two-run, go-ahead single to right center that gave the Marlins a lead they would not relinquish. A double by Juan Pierre in the fourth drove in Derrek Lee and put the Marlins up 4-1. Mike Lowell added a two-run single in the fifth to give the Marlins a 6-1 lead.

The Yankees mounted a comeback in the ninth inning that started with a one out, pinch-hit home run by Jason Giambi. Jeter followed up with a single and Enrique Wilson doubled him home to cut the Marlins' lead to 6-4. Bernie Williams, the potential tying run, blasted a ball to the right-field warning track where Juan Encarnacion caught it for the second out. Hideki Matsui smoked a grounder to first, but Derrek Lee scooped it with one hand and scrambled to the bag for the final out of the game.

The Fall Classic returns to Yankee Stadium for Game Six on Saturday, October 25th. The first pitch will be thrown at 7:55 pm as the Yanks try to push the Series to a seventh and decisive game.

Game 6 - Marlins Win World Series
On Saturday, October 25th, the Florida Marlins wrapped up their wild ride with a most improbable World Series championship, stunning the New York Yankees by a score of 2-0 at Yankee Stadium. Starting on short rest for the first time in his career, World Series MVP Josh Beckett threw a complete game five-hitter to give the Marlins their second title in seven seasons. Beckett (9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 9 Ks), who did not allow a runner beyond second base the entire game, outdueled pitcher Andy Pettitte (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 Ks) and defeated a Yankees team that had won four of the past seven World Series titles. Not since the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1981 World Series has another team won a Series championship on the field at Yankee Stadium.

Florida became the fastest team in the post-expansion era to win two titles, as they joined the majors in 1993. However, the road to the championship was not easy, as the resilient Marlins made dramatic comebacks throughout the playoffs. The Marlins dropped the Division Series opener to Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants before winning three games in a row. They then overcame a 3-1 deficit in the NL Championship Series, beating Cubs’ starters Mark Prior and Kerry Wood at Wrigley Field. In this 100th World Series game at Yankee Stadium, Beckett and the Marlins never gave the Yankees much of a chance.

Pettitte was sharp through the first four innings, working around an early double by former Yankee Mike Lowell. Pettitte started strongly in the fifth as well, retiring the first two batters before the Marlins struck. Alex Gonzalez singled and was moved to second on a Juan Pierre single. Second baseman Luis Castillo, only 3-for-23 in the Series, hit a timely opposite-field single that was fielded cleanly by right fielder Karim Garcia. Ozzie Guillen, the Marlins’ third base coach, aggressively waved Gonzalez home. Garcia made a strong, one-hop throw to the plate that beat Gonzalez. However, catcher Jorge Posada fielded the throw out of position and was forced to reach back and try to make a tag on the evasive Gonzalez. Gonzalez avoided the tag and gave the Marlins the lead. Marlin outfielder Juan Encarnacion added to the Florida lead with his RBI sacrifice fly to right field in the sixth inning.

The Yankees biggest problem throughout the series was a lack of run support and timely hitting. New York's pitchers had a 2.13 ERA against Florida—the lowest for a Series loser since the 1944 St. Louis Browns (1.49). For the series, the Yankees went 17-for-86 with men on base, including a disappointing 7-for-50 with runners in scoring position.

The New York Yankees will now focus their attention on 2004, as they will most definitely be active in the Free Agent and trade market. With the retirement of Roger Clemens, the Yanks will look to fill a void left by a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer in their starting rotation.

To view the American League Championship Series, go to our New York Yankees ALCS 2003 Playoff Page.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg celebrates the Yankees' win over Boston in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series.
Mayor Bloomberg congratulates Aaron Boone, whose 11th-inning home run gave the Yankees their win over Boston in Game Seven.

To view the American League Division Series, go to our
New York Yankees DS 2003 Playoff Page.

To view this year's regular season results, check out our
New York Yankees 2003 Regular Season Page.

To view last year's playoff results, check out our New York Yankees 2002 Playoff Page.

Last Updated On: Monday, October 27, 2003 GO YANKS!!



810 7th Avenue, 3rd Fl. New York, NY 10019 / Toll Free: 877.NYC.SPORTS