Yankees Carried Weight of the City

The Yankees didn’t need any extra motivation to beat the A’s after being manhandled by them during the regular season.

But Manager Joe Torre said the team got an extra lift from the city, and the relationship between the Yankees and their fans grew even stronger after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

“We certainly talked about it before the first game,” Torre said. “I can’t say it motivates us more, because we are very highly motivated to begin with. But we did have a piece of our heart in what went on and the people we take for granted.

“But after winning and actually being in a position to win [Sunday’s] game, there’s no question we knew there was a great deal of responsibility on our shoulders, and I think that’s why we were a little tight going in today, even though we were pumped up.”

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With the Yankees leading by two runs in the fifth, left-hander Mike Stanton came in and served up a run-scoring single to Jason Giambi, making it a one-run game.

But A’s third-base coach Ron Washington failed to wave Miguel Tejada to third on the throw home, and it proved costly when Eric Chavez followed with a long fly that would have scored Tejada.

Instead, he wound up stranded on third, and the A’s lost a golden opportunity.

What happened?

“I really couldn’t tell you,” Oakland Manager Art Howe said. “I don’t know what transpired out there and I really didn’t ask what was going on.”

Giambi confronted Tejada about the play.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Giambi said of the exchange with Tejada. “I was all fired up. I told him, ‘It’s my fault. I was just trying to make things happen.”’

In the Athletics’ typically loose style, Giambi and Tejada made up in the dugout after the inning, patting each other’s faces.

“Everything’s cool,” Tejada said. “That’s the guy that’s been carrying the team all year.”

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Derek Jeter’s sixth-inning double was his 87th hit in postseason play, moving him ahead of Pete Rose for the record.

“I don’t really want to reflect on it,” Jeter said. “Hopefully I have a few more in me.”

Of course, Jeter has had the added advantage of playing in 25 division series games, an extra round of playoffs that didn’t exist when Rose played.

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Giambi, who is eligible for free agency, has been rumored to be a favorite of the Yankees, and New York fans throughout the series pleaded with him to come to the Bronx.

“I just had a lot of fun coming here to play,” Giambi said.

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David Justice’s sixth-inning home run was his 14th in the postseason, putting him four behind the all-time record of 18, held by Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson.