NEW YORK, 20 October 2003 — Fleet-footed leadoff man Juan Pierre drove in two runs and scored another to lead the Florida Marlins to a 3-2 win over the perennial powerhouse New York Yankees in Saturday’s opening game of the 99th World Series.
Starter Brad Penny, 21-year-old lefty Dontrelle Willis and closer Ugueth Urbina combined to hold down the long-ball hitting Yankees as Florida took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game Two in New York. The young Marlins, who swept the last two games in Chicago to defeat the Cubs for the National League title, again showed poise and grittiness in outbattling New York before a capacity crowd of 55,769 watching the home team compete in their 39th World Series and in quest of their fifth title in eight years.
Pierre slashed a two-run single to left to score Jeff Conine and Juan Encarnacion and snap a 1-1 tie in the fifth, and got the Marlins off by scoring the first run in the opening frame after making a perfect drag bunt to start the game.
Pierre, who hit .305 during the season and led the majors with 65 stolen bases, continued a hot, postseason pace that has seen him register 11 hits in his last 26 at-bats.
The Yankees climbed to within 3-2 on Bernie Williams’ homer into the rightfield bleachers off Penny in the sixth but New York could not catch the fast-running Marlins.
New York had earlier squandered chances by hitting into two doubles plays and having a runner picked off third. Urbina thwarted Yankee threats in the eighth and ninth.
With men on first and third and two outs in the eighth after Hideki Matsui’s third hit of the game, he struck out Jorge Posada to shut the door. In the ninth, he walked Jason Giambi and pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra to put two on with one out. But he caught Alfonso Soriano looking at strike three on a 3-2 pitch and then got Nick Johnson to pop out to center to end the game.
Earlier, the Yankees tied it 1-1 with a run in the third. Karim Garcia led off with a bloop down the left field line that rookie Miguel Cabrera misjudged and let drop in front of him and then bobbled for an error allowing Garcia to reach second.
Derek Jeter lined a single to center to score Garcia and send Johnson, who had walked, to third. But Bernie Williams then flied to short left and rifle-armed catcher Ivan Rodriguez picked off Johnson as he stumbled and tried to crawl back to the bag. Penny got the win, while Yankee starter David Wells, who had entered the game with a 10-2 career postseason record, took the loss. Scheduled was to go for the Marlins in Game Two is left-hander Mark Redman, while the Yankees counter with southpaw Andy Pettitte.
