Padres: This Day in History: Reliving Game 4 of the 1998 World Series

Today, we continue reliving the 1998 World Series between the Padres and Yankees by remembering game four, which occurred on this day, October 21st, eighteen years ago.

A heartbreaking game three loss put the San Diego Padres in a virtually impossible situation entering the fourth game of the 1998 World Series. But despite the circumstances, San Diego fans packed Qualcomm Stadium all the way up to the rafters, anticipating Kevin Brown‘s start against Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees.

For fans who were looking for a pitching duel, the matchup lived up to the hype. Brown pitched very well, though the Yankees were able to get on the board in the sixth. On the other side, Pettitte dominated the Padres, shutting them out over seven and a third innings.

Though the Yankees were able to put up two insurance runs in the top of the eighth to take a 3-0 lead, San Diego would not go down quietly, knowing that their remote chance at their first ever world championship was in jeopardy.

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The Padres went to the bottom of the eighth still trailing by three, but got two base runners against Yankee reliever Jeff Nelson. With Ken Caminiti representing the tying run. In the middle of the at-bat, New York summoned hall of fame closer Mariano Rivera from the bullpen for the final outs. Still, Caminiti managed to single to load the bases, giving San Diego a real chance to cut into the three run lead, if not tie the game.

But as Rivera did so often in his storied career, he recorded a clutch out against Jim Leyritz, sending the game to the ninth. As Rivera returned for the bottom of the ninth, the Padres’ offense led off the inning reaching base. But a double play made the outcome look even more bleak for San Diego, and a subsequent groundout clinched the 24th championship in Yankees’ history.

Next: Preller Suspension Over, Returns Ahead of Busy Offseason

The dream season for the Padres had come to a close. It was a memorable 1998 even despite the disappointing outcome, and San Diego fans seemed to take the defeat in stride as much as it could have. This completes our series on the 1998 World Series. Thank you for joining us as we relived these four memorable games.