The 1978 Yankees won the first two games of the their six game series with the 1998 Yankees and the last two to win the series four games to two and improve their record to 44-40. The '98 Yankees fell to 42-30.
Five of the six games were decided by three runs or less. The '78 Yankees scored five runs in the first two innings and held on for a 5-2 win. In Game Two, Mickey Rivers broke a 2-2 tie in the 9th with a two-out RBI single against Mariano Rivera for a 3-2 win. The '98 Yankees evened the series with a 6-3 win in Game Three and a 3-2, 12 inning victory in Game Four. Chad Curtis hit a two-out RBI single in the 12th for the win, spoiling Jim Beattie’s 10 strikeout outing for the '78 Yankees. It appeared the '98 Yankees would win their third straight game in Game Five, but Graig Nettles hit a walk-off two-run homer off Rivera for a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 win for the '78 Yankees. They won the final game by the largest margin of the series, 5-1. Ron Guidry pitched a complete game and struck out nine.
Reggie Jackson leads the '78 Yankees in hitting at .328 with 25 home runs, 61 RBI, 62 runs scored, and a 1.011 OPS. Rivers is hitting .326 with 27 stolen bases. Nettles is hitting .277 with 17 home runs and 50 RBI. Guidry moved over .500 at 8-7 with a 2.45 ERA. Goose Gossage picked up a couple of more saves to give him 27 on the season with a 2.93 ERA.
Bernie Williams had his average drop to .349 with 22 home runs, 75 RBI, 61 runs scored, and a 1.072 OPS. Derek Jeter’s average dropped to .324 with 18 homers, 57 RBI, 62 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, and a .937 OPS. Paul O’Neill raised his average to .289. Tino Martinez hit his 20th home run. It was a rocky series for Rivera who picked up two saves but also two losses, including the blown save in Game Five; he is now 2-3 with 17 saves and a 2.52 ERA. The '98 Yankees will battle with the 49-41 1947 Yankees in the next series.