Marlins one win from title
MIAMI (AP) -- Brad Penny bounded off the mound, pumping his fist like crazy. His celebration may have been a bit premature, but he had the right idea.
The Florida Marlins -- yes, the same Marlins who seemed headed toward a last-place finish back in late May -- are one win away from the World Series crown.
Penny won for the second time in the Series and contributed a two-run single, Alex Gonzalez struck again with his Hall of Fame-bound bat and the Marlins won 6-4 Thursday night to seize a 3-2 lead.
"I think the whole country now really sees what kind of players these guys are," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.
Didn't quit
Down early 6-1, the Yankees didn't quit. But when Bernie Williams' bid for a tying two-run homer in the ninth was caught a few feet from the wall, their best chance was gone.
"We haven't been down this road many times," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Now, it's come to this: The Marlins, with ample pitching options, head back to Yankee Stadium with two chances to win their second title in seven years.
McKeon did not announce his starter for Game 6 Saturday night. He hinted that he might use ace Josh Beckett on three days' rest, though Mark Redman, the Game 2 loser, remains in the mix.
"We've got to stay tough. They ain't going to hand it to us," Beckett said. "We came back on the Cubs, we've seen it, we've been on that side of it. We need to bear down and try to win that first game."
Game 2 winner Andy Pettitte will be asked to save New York's season. He's done well in big spots before, and is tied with John Smoltz with 13 career postseason wins.
Sellout
The sellout crowd of 65,975 at Pro Player Stadium pulsated all evening as Florida moved to the brink of an amazing upset. One man paid tribute in his own way -- in the late innings, he ran across the entire outfield wearing only a Marlins cap.
Slumping Alfonso Soriano was benched, Jason Giambi was hurt and starter David Wells left after one inning with an injury, leaving a lineup more suited to play Tampa Bay in June than Florida in October. Giambi hit a home run in the ninth as a pinch hitter to make it 6-3.
Penny mowed down the Yankees for seven innings, featuring a fastball that reached 99 mph and giving up one earned run. He also took the opener, an impressive week for a guy who went 14-10 this year and lost his rotation spot in the NLCS after a bad outing.
A .143 career hitter, Penny's single off losing pitcher Jose Contreras made it 3-1 in the third, an inning keyed by Gonzalez's RBI double.
"It was a first-pitch fastball. I was swinging at the first pitch, no matter what," Penny said.
Bothered by an apparent blister, Penny gave up an RBI single to Derek Jeter in the seventh. Trailing 6-2, New York went on to load the bases with two outs before Williams -- baseball's career postseason leaders in homers and RBIs -- hit a routine fly that got Penny excited.
Willis contributes
Dontrelle Willis pitched a scoreless eighth and reliever Braden Looper gave up Giambi's homer in the ninth. The Yankees never gave up, and Jeter followed with a single for his third hit.
After Enrique Wilson's RBI double, Ugueth Urbina took over and faced the tying run. A night after giving up pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra's tying, two-run triple with two outs in the ninth, Urbina got Williams on the long fly ball.
"I thought when he first hit it, it had a shot," Torre said.
Urbina retired Hideki Matsui on a grounder to first for his second save.
Wells was forced to leave after the first inning, the victim of back spasms.
"You want to go in and try to go out there and give your team quality innings," he said. "I think if I would have gone out there, I would have just fallen right to the ground."
Wilson, subbing for Soriano at second base, threw away a ball in a rundown that set up Mike Lowell's two-run single in the fifth for a 6-1 lead.
Giambi replaced
Giambi was pulled from the starting lineup because of a bad left knee and replaced by Nick Johnson. Soriano also pinch hit, and struck out for the 26th time in this postseason.
After Williams hit a sacrifice fly in the first, the resilient Marlins rallied.
Juan Pierre continued to cause problems for the Yankees with an RBI double in the fourth.
"We've just got to go up there and play our game and not put too much pressure on ourselves," Pierre said. "They've got to win two games. That's big. We've only got to win one."
NEW YORKFLORIDA
abrhbiabrhbi
Jeter ss4231Pierre cf3011
EWilsn 2b4021LCstillo 2b4000
BWllms cf4011IRdrgz c4110
Matsui lf5000Cbrera rf4010
Posada c4010Willis p0000
NJhnsn 1b4120Looper p0000
KGarca rf3010Urbina p0000
ASrano rf1000Conine lf3110
ABoone 3b4010Lowell 3b3112
DWells p0000DeLee 1b3210
Dllucci ph1000AGnzlz ss4121
Cntrras p0000Penny p2012
JRivra ph1000JEcrcn rf1000
CHmnd p0000
Sierra ph1000
Nelson p0000
JaGbi ph1111
Totals374124Totals31696
New York100000102--4
Florida03012000x--6
E--EWilson (1), DeLee (1). DP--New York 2, Florida 1. LOB--New York 9, Florida 6. 2B--EWilson (1), Pierre (2), Conine (1), AGonzalez (2). HR--JaGiambi (1). CS--AGonzalez (1). S--Penny. SF--BWilliams.
IPHRERBBSO
New York
DWells100000
Contreras L,0-1354434
CHammond222000
Nelson220014
Florida
Penny W,2-0782124
Willis110001
Looper1-332200
Urbina S,2 2-300000
Umpires--Home, Ed Rapuano; First, Tim Welke; Second, Randy Marsh; Third, Larry Young; Left, Gary Darling; Right, Jeff Kellogg. T--3:05. A--65,975.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.