<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0M6RUU_0vm6F4GR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0M6RUU_0vm6F4GR00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>Four games up with five games to go was a pretty good spot to be in for the 1999 Yankees. Even better, all they needed to clinch the division was a victory over the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who entered this contest 22 games under .500.Importantly, homefield advantage through the American League playoffs was still on the line. New York came into this game half a game behind Cleveland for the top record in the AL, with Texas sniffing on their heels. For starter Hideki Irabu, this was his dress rehearsal to convince skipper Joe Torre to carry him on the playoff roster. Unfortunately for Irabu, the Devil Rays smacked him around, doing him no favors in his quest to play October baseball.September 27: Yankees 6, Devil Rays 10 (box score)Record: 94-62, .603 (4 GA)This one was bad from the outset. With a man on in the first, future Hall of Famer Fred McGriff stepped to the plate to face Irabu. “The Crime Dog” (Hall of Fame nickname, McGriff had) smashed a 1-0 pitch out of the yard, putting Tampa Bay up 2-0 before most fans likely had grabbed a beer and found their seats.Facing Devil Rays starter Dave Eiland, the Yankees meekly went down in order in the bottom half of the first. Eiland of course would later go on to win a championship in pinstripes as the pitching coach of the 2009 World Series-winning Yankees.Back at the dish after hanging two runs on Irabu in the opening frame, Tampa Bay quickly ended his day, and put the Yankees in a massive hole. A two-out walk to Mike Difelice (it was a two-out walk that brought McGriff to the dish in the prior inning as well) opened the floodgates. Three consecutive singles brought three Devil Rays runs across the dish before Irabu managed to get the final out of the second. Joe Torre had seen enough. Irabu’s day was done, with a rather unsightly final line: 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.The Yanks managed to scrape across some two-out runs of their own in the home third. A Derek Jeter double scored the first Yankee run. Paul O’Neill followed by singling in Jeets, and all of a sudden there was at least some hope.But hope is fragile and easily extinguished. A pair of errors in the top of the fourth proved too much to overcome. To be fair, asking your pitcher to get five outs in one inning is a bit unreasonable. Anyway, once again with two outs, Tampa Bay made New York pay. A pair of knocks plated three more Devil Rays runs and extended their lead to 8-2.The clubs traded runs in the fifth. Tampa Bay plated their ninth run on yet another Yankee error, the third blunder of the game and Tampa Bay’s fourth unearned run. In the bottom half, Ricky Ledée clubbed a leadoff home run. As the game went to the sixth, Tampa Bay led 9-3.It stayed that way until the bottom of the eighth when a Yankee rally brought them within striking distance. A Tino Martinez single with runners on the corners scored Jeter. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, Chili Davis came through with a single of his own that scored two more, narrowing the gap to 9-6 Devil Rays. Unfortunately, that is as close as they came.Leading off the ninth, Bubba Trammell (now there’s an Immaculate Grid Yankee for you, thanks to his 2003 cup of coffee in pinstripes) took Mike Buddie yard. The Devil Rays now led 10-6 and this one was almost over. The Yankees managed a walk in the home ninth, but never really threatened. As much as I hate losing to Tampa now, it was even more frustrating when they were terrible.The loss left New York a full game behind Cleveland in the race for home field advantage. Closer to home, it meant they still had not clinched the AL East. They had a four-game lead with four to go. The magic number sat at one.<div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/epJHHGWUXgk?rel=0&amp;start=57&amp;list=PLMEvmWUXOax-_a0MMzFAZja_jukkFQOPh" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>Irabu’s two-out control struggles were an ill-omen for his chances of earning a postseason roster spot. But Torre remained somewhat upbeat, complimenting his starter for all he’d accomplished during the season.Speaking of the playoffs, Torre was still deciding between El Duque and The Rocket as the Yanks’ Game 1 starter for the American League Divisional Series. Clemens had an uneven 1999 season, one of the worst of his storied career. But Torre was optimistic, noting that Clemens’ confidence was growing as the postseason approached.And for any Yankees fans who were starting to panic, it could have been worse. They could have been Mets fans. The Yanks’ crosstown rivals were in the midst of a six-game losing streak that saw them relinquish the NL East lead, putting them in historically ignominious company.Read the full 1999 Yankees Diary series here.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

1999 Yankees Diary, September 27: Irabu fizzles, New York falls to Tampa Bay again

Four games up with five games to go was a pretty good spot to be in for the 1999 Yankees. Even better, all they needed to clinch the division was a victory over the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who entered this contest 22 games under .500. Importantly, homefield advantage...