2033 WS GAME 5

MONDAY, OCT. 24, 2033                                     PAGE A1


MARLINS RULE THE WORLD!
SECOND STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FOR FLORIDA

BY LEE GANNON

SPORTSWRITER

MIAMI MORNING SUN

NEW YORK - IT'S NOT OFTEN A GAME OPENS WITH THE FIRST HITTER HOMERING.

MORE RARE EVEN THEN IS WHEN THE LEADOFF HITTER'S COUNTERPART FOLLOWS SUIT IN HIS HALF OF THE INNING.

RARER YET, THAT BOTH HOMERS LANDED IN THE NEARLY IDENTICAL SPOT MAY EVEN BE CALLED MIRACULOUS.

BUT IT WASN'T MIRACLES THAT PUSHED THE MARLINS TO THEIR SECOND STRAIGHT WORLD SERIES - IT WAS PLAIN POWER THAT HELPED FLORIDA TO A 11-8 WIN SUNDAY OVER THE YANKEES TO WRAP UP THE SERIES FOUR GAMES TO ONE.

GEOFFREY BATISTA LAUNCHED AN OPPOSITE FILED BLAST TO RIGHT TO OPEN THE GAME - ONE OF HIS TWO HOMERS AND A TOTAL OF SEVEN DINGERS FOR FLORIDA.

ALIVIN PARKER SINGLE IN ANOTHER RUN AND IT WAS THE MARLINS AHEAD 2-0 BEFORE YANKEE LEADOFF HITTER BYRON WILKES HOMERED TO ALMOST THE SAME SPOT A BATISTA TO MAKE IT 2-1.

FLORIDA STARTER KEVIN BLACK LASTED JUST 2.1 INNINGS, GIVING UP 5 RUNS ON 5 HITS AND A PAIR OF WALKS. BUT HIS OFFENSE HAD PROVIDED FIVE RUNS IN THE THIRD BEFORE NEW YORK FOLLOWED WITH FOUR IN ITS HALF TO PUT THE MARLINS UP 7-6 AFTER THREE INNINGS.

THE YANKEES HAD TIED IT 2-2 IN THE SECOND BEFORE THE MARLINS' BIG INNING. NEW YORK STARTERNNNN HUNG AROUND TO GIVE UP A LEADOFF BLAST TO BATISTA HIS EIGHTH HOMER OF THE POSTSEASON, GOOD FOR 1Y RBI's.

PEDRO MORALES SLASHED A DOUBLE IN THE LEFT-CENTER BLAST AND ALL-TIME HOME RUN LEADER AARON CONNER UNLEASHED A MAMMOTH SHOT THAT LANDED IN THE HIGH CENTERFIELD BLEACHERS AND IT WAS 5-2.

NNNNN STAYED IN TO WITNESS BACK-TO-BACK BLASTS BY JOHNNY NEWHAN AND CHAD WILLIAMS, BUT THE YANKEES KNOCKED BLACK OUT AND IT WAS A CONVERTED TRY TO TWO PENALTY KICKS, 7-6.

DOUG DONALDSON PITCHED AN INNING, ALLOWING A RUN AND CASEY RAMIRO COULDN'T STOP THE YANKEES EITHER, ALLOWING TWO RUNS 2.2 INNINGS.

MATT HAYEK SETTLED THINGS DOWN WITH 1.1 INNINGS OF SCORLESS WORK AND ANDY MITCHELL FOLLOWED WITH A SCORELESS INNING BEFORE KEVIN ALVAREZ GOT THE LAST TWO OUTS.

THE YANKEES TIED THE GAME AT 7 IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH BUT THE MARLINS' UNTIED IT THE NEXT HALF INNNING WHEN JOVANNY MONTANEZ SINGLED IN WILLIAMS.

IT LIKED THE SEVENTH WAS ALL SHE WROTE AS SHINGO SHINJO ROCKED A DEEP BALL AND NEWHAN'S SECOND BLAST OF THE GAME - A TWO-RUN RIP, LIFTING THE MARLINS TO AN 11-7 LEAD.


 GAME FIVE       1 2 3  4 5 6  7 8 9  R  H  E
MARLINS           2 0 5  0 0 1  3 0 0  11 15 0
YANKEES           1 1 4  0 1 0  1 0 0   8  13 0

53 DEGREES, CLEAR
WIND: 11.1 MPH, BLOWING OUT TO CENTER

MVP-AARON CONNER, WHO HIT .429, WAS A SURPRISE CHOICE FOR WORLD SERIES MVP.