Gonzalez late-night hero; all is even in south Florida

The Marlins' last Series win at home was against Cleveland in 1997.
MIAMI (AP) -- Alex Gonzalez had extra reason to cheer when Roger Clemens walked off the mound -- with the Rocket gone, he had a better chance of getting a hit.
A game that was supposed to belong to Clemens turned in the Florida Marlins' favor at the end, thanks to Gonzalez.
Gonzalez broke out of his slump in stunning fashion, leading off the bottom of the 12th inning with a home run that lifted Florida over the New York Yankees 4-3 Wednesday night to even the World Series at 2-all.
"I had a feeling," Gonzalez said.
Memorable exit
The night had a warm-and-fuzzy feel when Clemens walked off the mound after seven innings in what might have been his final appearance. Flashbulbs lit up Pro Player Stadium and everyone in the park cheered him, including the Marlins.
"It kind of just hits you a little bit, everything that's happened over your career," Clemens said. "When you battle like I have over my career and you get the respect of your peers, that's all you can ask for."
Marlins fans weren't so appreciative when the Yankees showed their penchant for providing a late-inning jolt in October.
Pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra saved the Yankees with a two-out, two-run triple in the ninth that tied it at 3. And the drama was just beginning once the clock passed midnight.
At 12:28 a.m., Gonzalez hit a low line drive off Jeff Weaver that barely cleared the left-field wall, right in front of a sign reading "1997 World Champions."
Gonzalez had been only 5-for-53 this postseason. He had been 0-for-4 in this game, striking out twice against Clemens.
Weaver, the odd man out on the Yankees' staff for most of the season, began warming up in the first inning when Clemens gave up three runs.
Weaver took over in the 11th in his first appearance since Sept. 24.
"I felt fine. After not throwing to a lot of hitters for a long time, it was nice to get in there," he said.
Looper the winner
Both teams threatened in extra innings, with Marlins reliever Braden Looper escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 11th and posting the victory.
The Yankees had won seven straight extra-inning games in the Series since 1964. The previous two were among the most stirring in their storied history, set up when Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit two-out, two-run homers in the bottom of the ninth on consecutive nights against Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim in 2001.
But the Marlins also knew a thing about late magic. Their last Series win at Pro Player was an 11-inning victory in Game 7 against Cleveland in 1997.
"That's what this is all about. You've got two great teams that deserve to be here, and you saw great baseball tonight," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Torre and Clemens already have talked, in fact, about the Rocket being in the bullpen later in the Series.
While Clemens did not win, the Yankees at least made sure he did not lose.
Shut down for eight innings by Carl Pavano, New York came back in the ninth against Ugueth Urbina.
Bernie Williams, who had four hits, singled with one out, Hideki Matsui walked and Jorge Posada grounded into a force play. David Dellucci came in to run for Posada, and Sierra fouled off two full-count pitches before tripling into the right-field corner.
All the elements were in place for Clemens' coronation. His place in the Hall of Fame is already assured, and the Yankees hoped he could go out with a win that would put them one victory for yet another championship.
But the plucky Marlins had other ideas.
Miguel Cabrera, only 1 when Clemens made his major league debut in 1984, put the Marlins ahead with a two-out, two-run homer in the first. Clemens gave up another run in the first. Clemens finished his outing by striking out Luis Castillo.
The sendoff
"We got five straight hits in the first inning; we thought we were going to get to him early," Florida's Jeff Conine said. "It was really nice to see the crowd give him a sendoff like they did."
Clemens' teammates patted him on the back as he made his way to the bench, waving his hand. The ovation continued and Clemens came out of the dugout to acknowledge the cheers from the Marlins, patting his heart and doffing his cap.
Catcher Ivan Rodriguez clapped his hands as did the other Marlins, and manager Jack McKeon saluted Clemens from the dugout. It made for a rare scene -- opponents saluting someone on the other bench during a game that meant so much.
"Roger Clemens is the best pitcher ever. I'm very happy he finished strong," Rodriguez said.
Pavano shut down the Yankees on seven hits and one run over eight innings. He walked none, struck out four and helped himself by getting Derek Jeter to ground into two double plays.
NEW YORKFLORIDA
abrhbiabrhbi
ASrano 2b6010Pierre cf4000
Jeter ss6010LCstillo 2b4000
JaGbi 1b6020IRdrgz c5120
BWllms cf6240Cbrera rf5112
Matsui lf3010Looper p0000
Posada c4010Conine lf5130
Dllucci rf0100Lowell 3b5010
KGarca rf3000DeLee 1b5021
Sierra ph1012AGnzlz ss5111
Cntrras p0000Pavano p2000
JRivra ph0000Urbina p0000
Weaver p0000Hlndsw ph1000
ABoone 3b4001CFox p0000
Clmens p2010JEcrcn rf0000
NJhnsn ph1000
Nelson p0000
Flherty c2000
Totals443123Totals414104
New York010000002000--3
Florida300000000001--4
No outs when winning run scored.
DP--Florida 2. LOB--New York 10, Florida 7. 2B--Jeter (3), BWilliams (1), IRodriguez (2). 3B--Sierra (1). HR--Cabrera (1), AGonzalez (1). S--Dellucci, LCastillo, Pavano. SF--ABoone.
IPHRERBBSO
New York
Clemens783305
Nelson110001
Contreras200014
Weaver L,0-1111100
Florida
Pavano871104
Urbina122210
CFox1 1-320022
Looper W,1-01 2-310001
Weaver pitched to 1 batter in the 12th. Umpires--Home, Jeff Kellogg; First, Ed Rapuano; Second, Tim Welke; Third, Randy Marsh; Left, Larry Young; Right, Gary Darling. T--4:03. A--65,934.