Martinez, Jeter restore element of excitement in World Series.(Chicago Tribune)

NEW YORK _ Talk about being overdue. Not only had Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter been slumping but also baseball had been starving for hitting heroes.

With two swings of their bats Wednesday night, Martinez and Jeter allowed the New York Yankees to even the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Their home runs off Byung-Hyun Kim gave the Yankees a 4-3 victory in 10 innings, making them the first team since 1929 to escape a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Their heroics at least will slow the chatter about how pitching makes all the difference in the playoffs. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson certainly have made that look like the case, getting Arizona within one out of a 3-1 edge in the Series before Kim's unraveling. Hard to believe the Diamondbacks survived while scoring only 13 runs in their first seven playoff games.

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