June 28, 2009: The New York Yankees and the New York Mets face each other at the Mets' new ballpark, Citi Field in Queens, in the last game of a 3-game Interleague, intra-city series, on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
After just missing the Playoffs by 1 game in each of the last 2 seasons, and the Pennant by 1 run the year before that, the Mets opened their new home, next-door to the now-demolished Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, by going just 37-36.
The Yankees had started the season at 13-15, before Alex Rodriguez returned on May 8, from a hip injury that caused him to miss all of those games. He hit a home run on the 1st pitch he saw on the season, and stayed hot. The Yankees got hot, too, going 29-17 going into this game, including 4 straight, and that including having won the 1st 2 of the series, 9-1 on Friday night and 5-0 on Saturday night.
The Yankees led 3-2 after 8 innings, as Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang outpitched Cuban pitcher Liván Hernández, younger brother of Orlando "El Duque" Hernández, who had pitched for both teams, much more successfully for the Yankees (as is usually the case.)
The Yankees loaded the bases loaded with 2 out in the top of the 9th, after Mariano Rivera got the last out in the bottom of the 8th. Because Interleague games in National League parks meant (from 1997 to 2019, and in 2021) that the designated hitter couldn't be used, Rivera had to bat, or be lifted for a pinch-hitter. Yankee manager Joe Girardi decided he needed Rivera's arm in the bottom of the 9th more than anyone's bat now, and left Rivera in, for only the 3rd plate appearance of his 15-year career to that point.
Francisco Rodríguez, known as "K-Rod" for his strikeouts, was the Mets' pitcher. In 2002, at the age of 20, and having pitched only 5 regular-season games, the Venezuelan pitched in 11 of the 16 postseason games played by the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, helping them win the World Series. Three times, he led the American League in saves, including in 2008, when he set a record that still stands with 62 saves.
The Mets shoveled $37 million over 3 years at him in the 2008-09 off-season, hoping he would be to them what Rivera had already been to the Yankees: The best closer in New York, if not the dominator of an entire era.
In the 9th, K-Rod had allowed a leadoff single to Jorge Posada. He got Melky Cabrera to ground into a force play. He walked Brett Gardner. He got Johnny Damon to fly out to right field. Then, Met manager Jerry Manuel decided to walk Derek Jeter intentionally. True, it was 3rd base that was open, not 1st base. But there were 2 outs, and a play could be made at any base; and, in his previous big-league batting appearances, he struck out against Ryan Franklin of the Philadelphia Phillies on June 20, 2006; and, 4 days before this game, he flew out to center field against Manny Acosta of the Atlanta Braves. So setting Rivera up to be the inning-ending out made sense.
Except Rivera worked a full count, and then K-Rod threw the 3-2 pitch high and inside. Ball 4. The runners moved over, and Cabrera scored. Mariano Rivera, at the age of 38, had his 1st career run batted in.
Mo then finished the Mets off in the bottom of the 9th, giving the Yankees a 4-2 win. It was 500th career save. He told the media that his 1st career RBI means more to him.
The Yankees would run their winning streak to 7 games, and 13 out of 15, before going on to win the World Series. The Mets ended up 70-92, far out of the Playoff hunt.
Mariano would finish his career with 652 saves, making him the all-time leader. He retired in 2013, at the age of almost 44 -- making him the last person born before I was to be an active Major League Baseball player. In 2019, he became the 1st player to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched just 2 1/2 seasons for the Mets, retiring after the 2017 season with 437 saves. He becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2023. (UPDATE: Through the election of 2026, he has not been elected.)
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June 28, 2009 was a Sunday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tommy Hanson outpitched Brad Penny. The Braves' runs came on solo home runs by Chipper Jones and former Angels star Garret Anderson. David Ortiz went 1-for-4.
* The Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins, 5-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Jamie Moyer, age 46, outpitched Brian Tallett, 30. Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Ryan Howard went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Jimmy Rollins did not play.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Jonny Gomes hit a home run for the Reds, and Willy Taveras, Brandon Phillips and Ramón Hernández each got 3 hits.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-0 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. John Danks pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, outpitching Carlos Zambrano, and Scott Linebrink completed the 4-hit shutout. Alexei Ramírez and Jermaine Dye hit home runs for the South Siders.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Ryan Sadowski made his major league debut, and he pitched 6 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, outpitching Jeff Suppan. Bob Howry pitched a hitless 7th and 8th, and Jonathan Sánchez struck out the side in the 9th to complete the 4-hit shutout. Sadowski appeared in only 6 more games in the majors, all that season, and in them, went 1-4 with a 5.64 ERA. On his 26th birthday, he was a nobody; on his 27th, he was a has-been.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Justin Morneau hit a 3-run home run. Albert Pujols went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Texas Rangers, 2-0 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Chad Gaudin pitched 8 innings, allowing just 1 hit, a single to Michael Young in the 1st inning. Heath Bell finished the 1-hit shutout.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 12-8 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-5.
* And the Colorado Rockies beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.
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