OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Bernie Williams drove home five runs and Orlando Hernandez came through when his team needed him most Sunday as the New York Yankees sent their American League Division Series to a Game 5 with a 9-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
After losing the first two games of the series at home, New York's three-year reign as baseball's No. 1 team appeared over.
But after surviving a tense, 1-0 victory Saturday, the Yankees hammered the Athletics Sunday and the two teams headed back to New York to decide which will advance to the ALCS. The winner will take on either Cleveland or Seattle in a best-of-seven series that will begin Wednesday.
Game 1 starters Mark Mulder for Oakland and Roger Clemens for New York will be in action Monday.
Hernandez struggled throughout the regular season and spent three months on the sidelines with arm problems.
Facing elimination, however, New York manager Joe Torre sent Hernandez out to save the season and he did so. Hernandez has 10 playoff decisions and has won nine of them.
Sunday's effort was not a gem by any means, but he escaped huge problems in the first, endured a two-run third and eventually survived five innings while his teammates were roughing up Oakland starter Cory Lidle.
Oakland put runners on second and third with none out in the first, but the Athletics could not get the ball out of the infield for the rest of the inning. Jason Giambi fouled out to third, Jermaine Dye popped out to shorstop, Terrence Long walked to load the bases and Jeremy Giambi fouled out to first.
New York then began to take control in the second when Williams and Jorge Posada walked and Oakland second baseman F.P. Santangelo committed a fielding error on a ball hit by Paul O'Neill that allowed Williams to score. A ground ball to second from Scott Brosius brought in Posada from third.
With one out in the third, Derek Jeter singled and David Justice walked and both runners scored on a double by Williams.
Oakland scored its only two runs in the third, but even then the Athletics were hit by bad news. Miguel Tejeda doubled to start the inning and Jason Giambi walked, but Dye then fouled a ball off his leg and suffered a broken tibia.
Ron Gant came in to replace Dye and struck out, after which Long singled home Tejeda. Giambi stopped at second on the base hit, but went to third on a Hernandez wild pitch and scored on Jeremy Giambi's grounder to first.
New York then broke the game open in the fourth. O'Neill doubled to start the inning, went to third on a sacrifice by Brosius and scored on Alfonso Soriano's single.
Soriano then stole second, Jeter walked, Justice singled to load the bases and Williams drove in two more runs witgh a single.
The game remained 7-2 until the ninth, when the Yankees added two runs -- one of them coming in on a double by Williams.
It was a potential breakout game for the New York offense, which won Saturday despite recording just two hits. In the first three games, the Yankees had managed four runs in 19 hits.
