Down to their last out of yesterday's game, the Yankees trailed the San Diego Padres 2-0. Trevor Hoffman was on the mound, attempting to get his 15th consecutive save when Hideki Matsui and Kenny Lofton hit back-to-back solo home runs to tie the game. In the 12th inning, the Yankees gave up 3 runs and had to come back again, winning the game 6-5 (box score), on a Ruben Sierra sacrifice fly. It was the 27th come from behind victory for the Yankees this season and the 6th time in club history that the Yankees have come back from 3 or more runs in extra innings.
The game also marked the return of former Yankee David Wells returned to loud cheers from the fans at Yankee stadium. Wells pitched a stellar 7 innings, scattering 5 hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. His Yankee counterpart, Javier Vazquez pitched 8 innings and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits and 8 strikeouts.
Sitting out the game was Mariano Rivera with tighness in his back. While Rivera should be back for the Yankees road trip to L.A. and Arizona, Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina may not be ready. Brown injured his back on Wednesday and Mussina experienced tightness in his groin during Friday's win over the Padres. All these injuries make to an already fragile pitching rotation makes a trade even more likely.
