Escape from Chicago: Johnson No-No Bid Turns into 7-6 Yanks Win

So far i've only posted about Randy Johnson once, that was his last impressive outing of the season in Texas. In this one, he definitely lived up to a reputation even taller than he is. The Big Unit stepped onto the mound in the Windy City and put the vaunted slugging White Sox bats to slumber through 6 2/3 innings, striking out 5 and walking 2. Johnson did not give up a hit until the 7th inning, when Tadahito Iguchi broke up his bid for a 3rd career no-hitter on a hanging slider he slapped through the left side of the infield. Johnson's last no-hitter was a Perfect Game on May 18, 2004 against the Atlanta Braves.

After that, it was obvious fatigue and mechanical failure were there to stay, and Torre pulled the Unit with no outs after he allowed 2 runs. Ron Villone came in and got out of a bases loaded jam to end the inning. while the Yankees had staked a 7-2 lead after an impressive show of power, the White Sox set off their own fireworks in the 8th. They battered Flamethrowin' Farnsworth, scoring 4 runs, including a 3-run blast from Joe Crede and a solo shot from Iguchi. Mariano Rivera then relieved Ron Villone and got A.J. Pierzinski to line a soft shot back to the mound to end the 8th. The 9th inning saw Mighty Mo plunk Brian Anderson to allow a base runner with only one out. He then came back to strike out leadoff man Scott Posednik and induce Jim Thome into a game ending force at second. Rivera earned his 29th save of the season and helped Johnson earn his 12th win.

Despite the nail-biting finish, the game began as a laugher. The Yankees offense got to John Garland early when Johnny Damon scored the first run on a single by Bobby Abreu in the top of the 1st. The Bombers then went yard with home runs by Melky Cabrera and Abreu in the 5th, and Robinson Cano in the 6th. The 7th saw Alex Rodriguez hit a single to score Andy Phillips, and Jorge Posada ground out to second to allow Jeter to come home and cap the scoring at 7. At the time, it seemed like just a little padding—and turned out to be the clincher in a surprisingly close one.