New York 000 000 230--5 9 1 San Diego 000 003 010--4 7 1COMPLETE BOX SCORE
SAN DIEGO (Oct 21, 1998 - 0:03 EDT) -- A change of scenery didn't change anyhing for the San Diego Padres. Scott Brosius made sure of that.
Brosius hit his second homer of the game, a stunning three-run shot off relief ace Trevor Hoffman in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees moved within one win of a World Series sweep with a 5-4 victory in Game 3 Tuesday night.
Out of the Bronx and inside a ballpark that serves up fish tacos, palm trees and beach balls, the Yankees are looking for their first sweep since 1950.
No team in baseball history has overcome an 0-3 deficit in the postseason, and now the Padres must try to do it against a club trying to cement its place as the best ever. Andy Pettitte will start for the Yankees in Game 4 Wednesday night, most likely against Kevin Brown.
On a night when everything seemed to be going right for San Diego -- great plays, clutch pitching by Sterling Hitchcock and key hits from Tony Gwynn -- Brosius and the Yankees ruined it.
Hitless for five innings against David Cone, the Padres took a 3-0 lead in the sixth on a burst started by Hitchcock's unlikely single.
Yet with 64,667 crazed fans roaring and the cranked-up rock music blaring, these Yankees would not break.
Brosius led off the seventh with a home run against Hitchcock, MVP of the NL championship and a member of the Yankees' rotation with Cone in 1995. New York closed to 3-2, but shortstop Chris Gomez made an eye-popping catch to start an inning-ending double play.
But in the eighth, there was no one left to save the Padres.
Slumping Paul O'Neill drew a leadoff walk from Randy Myers -- once again, the Yankees' patience at the plate paid off -- and then manager Bruce Bochy made an early call to the bullpen.
It was Trevor Time, and Hoffman walked in as AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" sent the crowd into a frenzy. Hoffman had been successful on 53 of 54 save chances during the regular season, though a blown chance in the NLCS against Atlanta perhaps was a bad omen.
Hoffman wound up with the loss while Ramiro Mendoza won in relief. Mariano Rivera held on for a save, working around a pair of two-out singles by Carlos Hernandez and pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney by striking out Andy Sheets with runners at the corners for the last out.
After O'Neal's walk in the eighth, Bernie Williams came close to putting the Yankees ahead, hitting a fly ball that Gwynn caught on the warning track in right. Tino Martinez followed with a walk and then Brosius, moved up to sixth in the batting order because the Yankees played without a DH, homered to center for a 5-3 lead.
Hoffman had not worked in five days, his longest idle period of the season, and clearly was not effective. He gave up another hit in the eighth before ending the inning.
The Padres tried to rally in the bottom half, with a double by Quilvio Veras, a single by Gwynn and a sacrifice fly by Greg Vaughn closing the gap to a run.
Rivera made it interesting in the ninth before holding on, doing the job that Hoffman could not.
Twilight seemed to take its toll on the hitters. With the game starting early, neither team had a hit through three innings, the first time that had happened in the Series since 1965, when Sandy Koufax of Los Angeles and Mudcat Grant of Minnesota did it in Game 2.
Cone became the first pitcher to take a no-hit bid into the sixth since Atlanta's Tom Glavine in Game 6 of 1995. Hitchcock, a career .120 hitter, broke it up with a single.
After a walk to Veras, Gwynn singled hard to right field. O'Neill retrieved the ball but made a wild throw across the diamond that went into the Yankees dugout for a two-base error that allowed another run to score. Ken Caminiti's sacrifice fly made it 3-0.
Caminiti gave it back in the seventh, though, when his error gave the Yankees a run.
Notes: Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu, who refused to play for San Diego and forced a trade to New York, was loudly booed in pregame introductions. ... Qualcomm Stadium is the first park to hold the World Series and Super Bowl in the same calendar year. ... Yankees left fielder Shane Spencer grew up in the area and recalled sitting in the right-field seats when the Padres played Detroit in the 1984 World Series. ... Sign of the times Dept.: At Yankee Stadium, there's a sign in the outfield for Budweiser; at Qualcomm, there's a sign for Bimbo Bakeries.
