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Game 1

Saturday, October 27, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark

Arizona showed no opening day jitters and chased Yankee's starter Mike Mussina after just three innings. The Yankees gave up 5 unearned runs and the Diamondbacks rode Curt Schilling's seven strong innings to a 9-1 rout. Craig Counsell homered off Mussina in the first and Luis Gonzalez homered in the third, drove in two runs, and scored twice.

Game 2

Sunday, October 28, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark

Arizona continued to take control of the series behind the arm of Randy Johnson. The Big Unit pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only four baserunners while striking out 11 Yankees. Matt Williams hit a three-run homer in the seventh off Yankee starter Andy Pettitte as Arizona won 4-0 and took a commanding two games to none lead as the series headed to New York City.

Game 3

Tuesday, October 30, 2001 at Yankee Stadium

The series was opened in New York by President George W. Bush, who memorably threw out the ceremonial first pitch, a strike to Yankees backup catcher Todd Greene. Bush became the first sitting President to throw out a World Series first pitch since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. He also threw it from the mound where the pitcher would stand, unlike most ceremonial first pitches which are thrown off the mound. Chants of "USA, USA" rang throughout Yankee Stadium. Yankees starter Roger Clemens allowed only three hits and struck out nine in seven innings of work. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera pitched two innings for the save. Scott Brosius broke a sixth inning tie with an RBI single to left. The Diamondbacks wasted a great outing from starter Brian Anderson by committing three crucial errors and running themselves out of the first inning.

Game 4

Wednesday, October 31, 2001 at Yankee Stadium

Arizona manager Bob Brenly took a gamble and start Curt Schilling on three days' rest. It worked as Schilling pitched seven strong innings and left the game with a 1-1 tie. The Diamondbacks took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth on an Erubiel Durazo double and a fielder's choice, which prompted Brenly to bring in closer Byung-Hyun Kim for a two inning save. Kim struck out the side in the eighth, but the Yankees began their comeback in the ninth. First, Jeter tried bunting, but was out by one revolution. Then Paul O'Neill lined an opposite-field single in front of left fielder Luis Gonzalez. After Bernie Williams struck out, Tino Martinez hit a miraculous two-run homerun on the first pitch he saw from Kim over the right-center field wall, tying the game 3-3. Brenly stuck with his closer as the game headed into extra innings. As the scoreboard in Yankee Stadium read 12:00 the name Mr. November was born. On a 3-2 pitch from Kim, Derek Jeter hit an opposite field walk-off homerun to give the Yanks a 4-3 victory and tie the series at 2.

Game 5

Thursday, November 1, 2001 at Yankee Stadium

For Game 5, Brenly started Miguel Batista, who pitched a strong 7 2/3 scoreless innings. Mussina bounced back from his poor game one start, but allowed solo home runs to Steve Finley and Rod Barajas in the fifth. With the Diamondbacks leading 2-0 in the ninth, Brenly again went to his closer, and yet again the team from New York showed the world what the Yankees could do. Jorge Posada doubled to open the inning, but Kim retired the next two batters. Then, with 2 outs in the ninth Scott Brosious drilled a 1-0 pitched over the left field wall to tie the game at two. For the second straight night, the game went into extra innings and the Yankees won it in the 12th when Alfonso Soriano knocked in Chuck Knoblauch with a base hit off Albie Lopez. New York went ahead three games to two in the series as the teams headed back to Arizona. Possibly the most emotional moment of this game was when in the top of the 9th inning, with the Yankees down 2-0, Paul O'Neill (retiring after the series) was serenaded by Yankees fans chanting his name in unison. O'Neill walked off the field and tipped his cap.

Game 6

Saturday, November 3, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark

With Arizona in a must-win situation, the Diamondbacks provided Randy Johnson all the offense he would ever need. Johnson struck out seven in six innings of work, giving up just two runs. The Diamondbacks rocked Yankee starter Andy Pettitte for six runs after two innings and nine more runs against reliever Jay Witasick in one and a third innings before Randy Choate and Mike Stanton kept them scoreless for the rest of the game. They hit six doubles and Danny Bautista went 3-4 with 5 RBIs. They set a World Series record with 22 hits and handed New York its most lopsided loss in 293 postseason games. The 15-2 win evened the series at three games apiece and set up a game seven for the ages between Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, again pitching on three days' rest.

Game 7

Sunday, November 4, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark

It was a matchup of two 20-game-winners in the series finale that would crown a new champion. Clemens at 39 years old became the oldest game seven starter ever. Schilling had already started two games of the series and pitched his 300th inning of the season on just three days' rest. The two aces matched each other inning by inning and after seven full, the game was tied at 1-1. Many felt that Schilling had pitched long enough, but Brenly stayed with his ace into the eighth. The move backfired as Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run on an 0-2 pitch. After Schilling got one out, he gave up a single to David Justice, and he left the game trailing 2-1. Brenly brought in Miguel Batista to get out Derek Jeter and then in an unconventional move, brought in the previous night's starter Randy Johnson, who had thrown 104 pitches, in relief to finish out the game. It proved to be a smart move, as Johnson got out all four Yankees he faced.

With the Yankees ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, manager Joe Torre turned the game over to his ace closer Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save. Rivera was one of the surest things in the late innings, and he had pitched brilliantly throughout the postseason up to that point. Rivera struck out the side in the eighth and lowered his ERA in the postseason to a major league-best of 0.70. Although he was sharp in the eighth, this game would end in a ninth inning comeback, but this time it would be the Diamondbacks. Mark Grace led off the inning with a single to center. The real turning point was Rivera's errant throw to second base on a bunt attempt by Damian Miller, putting runners on first and second. Rivera appeared to regain control when he fielded Jay Bell's bunt and threw out pinch-runner David Dellucci at third base. However, the next batter, Tony Womack, drove a double down the right-field line that evened the score. After Rivera hit Craig Counsell with a 1-1 pitch, Luis Gonzalez would become the hero, knocking a soft single to center on an 0-1 pitch that plated Jay Bell with the winning run. This ended New York's bid for a fourth consecutive title and brought Arizona its first championship in just its fourth year of existence.