San Diego 000 010 020--3 10 1 New York 331 020 00x--9 16 0COMPLETE BOX SCORE
NEW YORK (Oct 19, 1998 - 0:03 EDT) -- Wonder no more why these New York Yankees are so special.
From the very first inning, El Duque & Co. demonstrated for all -- particularly the Padres -- how they've won 123 games and staked their claim as the greatest team in baseball history.
Orlando Hernandez dominated on the mound, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada homered to lead a relentless attack and Yankees fielding sparkled Sunday night in a 9-3 romp over San Diego for a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
After winning Game 1 by playing home-run derby, the Yankees showed off their whole potent package in Game 2. The Padres never had a chance, with rookie Ricky Ledee's RBI single making it 7-0 in the third and chasing ill starter Andy Ashby.
That was more than plenty for Hernandez, the Cuban defector who floated to freedom less than 10 months ago and helped save New York's season with a win in Game 4 of the AL championship series.
Exactly a year after his younger half-brother, Livan Hernandez, pitched Florida past Cleveland in Game 1 on his way to becoming MVP of the World Series, the quirky El Duque shut down San Diego on one run in seven innings.
By the time Posada's two-run homer in the fifth made it 9-1, the sellout crowd of 56,692 was going crazy while several Padres players were standing with heads down and hands on hips.
The Padres face a tough task in trying to regroup for Game 3 on Tuesday night at San Diego. David Cone will start for New York against NLCS MVP Sterling Hitchcock, a former Yankees pitcher -- of the previous 44 teams to take a 2-0 lead in the Series, 33 have won the championship.
San Diego's best opportunity came in the first. Tony Gwynn got his fourth hit of the series and Greg Vaughn walked, but right fielder Paul O'Neill made a leaping catch as he crashed into the wall on Wally Joyner's drive for the final out.
From then on, it was all Yankees. Williams hit his ninth career postseason homer and Ledee, a rookie playing with exceptional poise, enjoyed his second straight night of getting two hits and a walk.
Actually, Ashby could have had a 1-2-3 bottom of the first with any luck. But on a night when he had a sore throat and felt poorly, he got no help.
Chuck Knoblauch's foul pop was dropped near the screen by sliding catcher Greg Myers -- it was correctly ruled no play -- and then the leadoff man exemplified the Yankees' patience at the plate, drawing an eight-pitch walk.
One out later, O'Neill slapped a grounder at three-time Gold Glove third baseman Ken Caminiti. Despite having plenty of time, Caminiti rushed his throw and it was too high for Joyner, an error that enabled Knoblauch to score.
Chili Davis and Scott Brosius added RBI singles and even though all three runs were unearned, they counted. The Padres even looked shaky getting the last out of the inning, when second baseman Quilvio Veras dropped Posada's line drive and made a poor throw barely in time.
Williams' two-run homer highlighted a three-run third. Tino Martinez and Brosius, who each had three of the Yankees' 16 hits, singled to set up Ledee's RBI single in the third.
That was all for Ashby, and it wasn't until reliever Brian Boehringer pitched a scoreless fourth that Padres pitchers retired even two batters in a row.
Hernandez, meanwhile, set down 10 straight batters in the middle innings. With his navy blue socks pulled high, his unusual array of motions and pitches tamed hitters who had never faced him.
The Padres shuffled their lineup, sending seven left-handed hitters against the righty Hernandez. It did no good, as El Duque struck out seven and gave up six hits.
Mike Stanton relieved to start the eighth and San Diego scored twice. Pinch-hitter Ruben Rivera, cousin of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, hit an RBI double and scored on pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney's single.
Notes: This was the 21st anniversary of Reggie Jackson's three-homer performance for the Yankees in the clinching Game 6 of the 1977 World Series against Los Angeles. ... Boehringer pitched for the Yankees in the 1996 World Series. ... New York is 115-79 in Series games. The Padres are 1-6. ... Vaughn, who homered twice in Game 1, switched from left field to DH. He missed most of the NLCS because of a strained left quadriceps and manager Bruce Bochy wanted to give him a better chance to heal.
By BEN WALKER, AP Baseball Writer
