Yankee Offense Is Six-Feet Under

On a most unlikely night, the New York Yankees crossed a very dangerous line. Their incompetence went from forgettable to unforgettable.

For the first time in 45 years, the Yankees were no-hit Wednesday night. Six Houston Astro pitchers combined for the historic 8-0 embarrassment in front of a Yankee Stadium crowd of 29,905.

After the game, a furious Joe Torre addressed his players in a closed-door meeting.

“It was terrible,” said Torre, who called this the low point of his eight-year term as Yankee manager. “That was one of the worst games I’ve ever been involved in. I have no explanation. I can’t find a reason for what happened tonight.”

A strained right groin caused Astro starter Roy Oswalt to leave with none out in the second inning. So Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner finished out the final eight innings.

The Yankees had gone 6,980 games -- the longest streak in big league history -- without being no-hit, since Hoyt Wilhelm’s 1-0 victory for Baltimore on Sept. 20, 1958.

It was the most pitchers ever to combine on a no-hitter in the majors and it was the third no-hitter in an interleague game, and all of them have been at Yankee Stadium.

The other two were perfect games -- Don Larsen did it against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series and David Cone did it against Montreal on July 18, 1999.

The closest New York came to a hit was in the fifth inning against Saarloos, when Alfonso Soriano sent a fly ball into short left field. Lance Berkman, who hit a two-run run homer in the third inning, ran in, stuck out his glove and made a tumbling catch.

“It wasn’t that close,” Berkman said. “It probably looked more spectacular than it really was.”

By the time the Astros returned to their clubhouse, the Yankees had left bottles of champagne in front of the lockers of all six pitchers.

“That’s how the Yankees are, they’re pretty classy,” Wagner said.

Many of the Astros hadn’t even realized a no-hitter was in progress until the late innings -- Wagner said Jeff Kent didn’t even know it at the end of the game.

Astro pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts, including four by Dotel in the eighth, which tied the major league record for an inning. Soriano reached when he struck out on a wild pitch.

For the Yankees, it was the kind of loss that causes jobs to be lost.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was in town, but he didn’t attend the game, instead choosing to see the New Jersey Nets take on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Surely, however, Steinbrenner’s location won’t prevent him from making changes, not with the Yankees having lost 22 of their last 35 games.

The Boss has been unhappy with the performance of hitting coach Rick Down, and a no-hitter could be the spark Steinbrenner needs to fire Down.

“This isn’t just a playing issue. This is an everyone issue,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “We’re all in this together.”

Said Torre: “We’re all responsible, from me all the way down.”

Wagner, the Astros’ closer, struck out Jorge Posada to start the ninth. Then he struck out Bubba Trammell, who was pinch-hitting for Robin Ventura. Hideki Matsui grounded Wagner’s first pitch to first baseman Jeff Bagwell, who flipped it to Wagner for the final out.

As the Astros stormed the field, the remaining fans broke into an odd mix of cheers and boos.

Then the players entered the clubhouse and received a tongue-lashing from Torre.

“He’s been upset before. I don’t think he’s been more upset than this at any other point,” shortstop Derek Jeter said.

“Maybe this is rock bottom,” Cashman said.

Maybe some more people spent their last night under The Boss’ employ.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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No-Hitters

*--* COMBINED June 11, 2003: Houston 8, at New York Yankees 0 -- ROY OSWALT (1 inning), PETE MUNRO (2 2/3), KIRK SAARLOOS (1 1/3), BRAD LIDGE (2), OCTAVIO DOTEL (1) and BILLY WAGNER (1) July 12, 1997: at Pittsburgh 3, Houston 0 (10 inn.) -- FRANCISCO CORDOVA (9) and RICARDO RINCON (1) Sept. 11, 1991: at Atlanta 1, San Diego 0 -- KENT MERCKER (6), MARK WOHLERS (2) and ALEJANDRO PENA (1) July 13, 1991: Baltimore 2, at Oakland 0 -- BOB MILACKI (6), MIKE FLANAGAN (1), MARK WILLIAMSON (1), GREGG OLSON (1) April 11, 1990: at Angels 1, Seattle 0 -- MARK LANGSTON (7) and MIKE WITT (2) July 28, 1976: Chicago White Sox 2, at Oakland 1 -- JOHN ODOM (5) and FRANCISCO BARRIOS (4) Sept. 28, 1975: at Oakland 5, Angels 0 -- VIDA BLUE (5), GLENN ABBOTT (1), PAUL LINDBLAD (1) and ROLLIE FINGERS (2) April 30, 1967: Detroit 2, at Baltimore 1 -- Baltimore’s STEVE BARBER (8 2/3) and STU MILLER ( 1/3) June 23, 1917: at Boston 4, Washington 0 -- BABE RUTH (0) and ERNIE SHORE (9) AGAINST N.Y. YANKEES June 11, 2003: ROY OSWALT (1 inning), PETE MUNRO (2 2/3), KIRK SAARLOOS (1 1/3), BRAD LIDGE (2), OCTAVIO DOTEL (1), BILLY WAGNER (1), in 8-0 victory over New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Sept. 20, 1958: HOYT WILHELM in Orioles’ 1-0 victory at Baltimore Aug. 25, 1952: VIRGIL TRUCKS in Detroit’s 1-0 victory at New York April 30, 1946: BOB FELLER in Cleveland’s 1-0 victory at New York Sept. 10, 1919: RAY CALDWELL in Cleveland’s 3-0 victory at New York June 21, 1916: RUBE FOSTER in Red Sox’s 2-0 victory at Boston June 30, 1908: CY YOUNG in Boston’s 8-0 victory at New York BY HOUSTON June 11, 2003: ROY OSWALT (1 inning), PETE MUNRO (2 2/3), KIRK SAARLOOS (1 1/3), BRAD LIDGE (2), OCTAVIO DOTEL (1), BILLY WAGNER (1) in 8-0 victory over New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Sept. 8, 1993: DARRYL KILE in 7-1 victory over New York Mets at Houston Sept. 25, 1986: MIKE SCOTT in 2-0 victory over San Francisco at Houston Sept. 26, 1981: NOLAN RYAN in 5-0 victory over Dodgers at Houston April 7, 1979: KEN FORSCH in 6-0 victory over Atlanta at Houston July 9, 1976: LARRY DIERKER in 6-0 victory over Montreal at Houston May 1, 1969: DON WILSON in 4-0 win over Reds at Cincinnati June 18, 1967: DON WILSON in 2-0 victory over Atlanta April 23, 1964: KEN JOHNSON in 1-0 loss to Cincinnati at Houston May 17, 1963: DON NOTTEBART in 4-1 victory over Philadelphia at Houston

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