Tagged: Derek Jeter
Yanks Win Opener 6-3, “By The Script”
So, on a far from perfect weather day in the beautiful Bronx, New York, a new baseball season began yesterday at The Stadium with the Yankees taming the Tigers 6-3, by perfectly executing their 2011 “playbook script” that hopefully will be repeated many times this year, leading the Yanks to their 28th World Championship.
The Yanks received a solid start from their ace CC Sabathia, who tossed 106 pitches over six innings, allowing three runs (two earned), on six hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts, leaving the game with the score tied 3-3. Manager Joe Girardi then called on the bullpen to follow a script that was written well before the start of spring training. And the key relievers delivered by building and completing a perfect “bridge to victory”.
Joba Chamberlain (W,1-0), pitched a scoreless seventh; Rafael Soriano nailed down a scoreless eighth, rolling out a diamond studded carpet for the “Great Mariano” who closed out the 6-3 win by pitching a perfect ninth inning, recording his first save, and 560th save of his Hall of Fame career.
The Bronx Bombers also lived up to a script that was written in stone many years and championships ago by blasting two homeruns: a three-run shot by Mark Teixeira, off Detroit starter Jason Verlander in the third, that gave the Yanks a 3-1 lead; And a leadoff homer by Curtis Granderson in the seventh, off former Yankee Phil Coke (L,0-1), that broke a 3-3 tie, and proved to be the game-winning hit and run of the game.
The Yankees scored another run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Derek Jeter that scored Russell Martin that upped the Yanks lead to 5-3. The Captain did not get a hit in this game, and remains at 2,926 career hits, still 74 short of the magic 3,000 total.
In the eight inning, the Yankees scored their final run on a RBI single by Nick Swisher that drove home Alex Rodriguez with run number six. A-Rod reached second in this inning on a long shot to right-center that he though was going into the bleachers for a homer. But the ball ended up hitting the base of the wall, and then rolled back towards center with the Tigers outfielder trying to chase it down.
Rodriguez was in his homerun-trot at this time looking into the Yankees dugout as he headed to first base; then he realized the ball was not going out, so he hustled to second for a double on a hit that should have been a triple. Anyway, A-Rod did end up scoring the run. But for sure, a play like this is not part of the Yankees playbook, and hopefully will not be repeated by any Yankee player this season.
Finally, special mention must be offered about the outstanding defensive plays made by Curtis Granderson – three great plays by the defensive star of the game … A diving catch in the first inning; Another diving catch in the sixth; and, A beautiful over the head, running catch in the ninth with Mariano Rivera on the mound. Five Stars For Granderson !!!!!
So, overall, it was a great “Opening Day” for the New York Yankees.
And on a “cold and rainy” not so perfect day in the Bronx, it was a perfect way to start this new baseball season.
– Jimmy Curran, “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Hank And Hal Dictate Soriano Signing
Just like their father, “The Boss”, George, the Steinbrenner boys, Hank and Hal, made their presence felt loud and clear by overruling GM Brian Cashman, ordering the signing of the Rays All-Star closer Rafael Soriano to become the Yankees “Bridge-to-Mariano” during the upcoming season, and hopefully in 2012. By 2013 if the “Great Mariano” retires, Soriano could become the next Yankees closer replacing the sure “first-time ballot” Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera.
The above account of this move was reported in the Saturday, January 15, 2011 edition of the New York Daily News by Hall of Fame baseball writer Bill Madden, and Roger Rubin, a day after the Yanks announced the signing of Soriano.
As reported by Madden and Rubin, this turn around of the Yankees decison to sign Soriano goes back to “less than a week” ago when, “GM Brian Cashman had said he wouldn’t give up the first-round draft pick required to ink Soriano. But Hal and Hank Steinbrenner didn’t agree with this game plan – according to a source familiar with the Yankees’ thinking – and overruled him, giving the righthander a deal that could ultimately go to three years and pay him $35 million.”
The article goes on to say, “The overwhelming concern among the Yankees brass, the source said, was that the club was going into the season with an uncertain starting rotation and little protection for closer Mariano Rivera. The move leaves the team without the draft pick Cashman coveted, but with one of the best bullpens in baseball.”
Also, “According to the source, the Steinbrenners were bothered by Cashman’s blueprint. One of the big issues was that Joba Chamberlain, a prized prospect yet to reach an expected high ceiling, was going to be Rivera’s primary set-up man.”
“Cashman had maintained his confidence in homegrown relievers Chamberlain and David Robertson, but Bombers’ braintrust did not. If nothing else, they saw Soriano, coming off a career best 45-save season with a 1.73 ERA, as a premium insurance policy they couldn’t pass up.”
Along with the re-signing of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the signing of Rafael Soriano is also one of the Yankees most important moves of this very disappointing off-season, so far. Not getting Cliff Lee, who signed with the Phillies; And not pursuing Carl Crawford, who signed with the Red Sox, really have been two major set-backs for the Yanks. Also, it looks like Andy Pettitte is leaning towrads retirement. So this leads to many interesting decisions that have to be made during spring training.
I praise Hank and Hal Steinbrenner for taking charge of the Soriano signing, like they should have.
Now I hope Hank and Hal will also settle another very pressing matter regarding the Yankees pitching staff by sending down the orders to put Joba Chamberlain in the starting rotation during spring training, to “finally” give Joba every opportunity to succeed as a starter this season.
After CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes, the Yankees starting rotation is “very weak” and “uncertain” as of this date. Surely Joba Chamberlain can fill the role of the fourth or fifth starter very nicely this season if he is given the chance, that, in my view, he really has not been given [so far] in his brief major league career.
Again, I say: “Let the great Joba debate continue” !!!
– Jimmy Curran, “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Jeter Talks Have Gone On Way Too Long, Already
What are the Yankees doing? And what are they thinking? Sign Derek Jeter to a new contract, already. In my view, these drawn-out negotiations are starting to become an embarrassment to the whole New York Yankees organization.
No matter how anyone wants to spin these negotiations, it is very clear the next contract that Jeter signs with the Yankees has very little to do with his overall play on the field and at the plate [which is still better than most shortstops in baseball, by the way]. It’s all about the “Captain” as an all-time iconic player in the history of the Yankees franchise, standing along side the greatest of the greats in pinstripes: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Mariano Rivera, and many other All-Stars and Hall of Famers.
Of course, Jeter is near the top, right behind: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Berra. And when he finally does retire, he will become the next great link to carry on the awesome Yankees history and tradition at future Old-Timers’ Days at Yankee Stadium over the next 40 or 50 years. It will be Derek Jeter who will be announced last at these events, called out onto the field from the dugout to thunderous rounds of applause from many different generations of Yankee fans. How will the Yankees Universe be altered if the these current contract talks are allowed to degenerate into any form of disrespect of the Yankees Captain?
The Yankees front office talks about staying within a certain payroll budget of around $200 million, and how these talks with Jeter are “strickly business” and “not personal”.
Well, to be perfectly honest, as a Yankees fan, I could care less about how high the payroll is. It is reported that the New York Yankees are worth $1.5 – $2 billion, and the YES Network is worth about $3 billion. So this is a $5 billion organization that just recently increased ticket prices at Yankee Stadium – ticket prices that are already outrageously way too high. Yet at the same time it seems they want to nickel-and-dime one of their best all-time players. I make this comment in context to the overall net worth of the Yankees, and the overall “value” of Derek Jeter to the Yankees franchise. And I really think this is a fair observation based on the facts that are being reported [so far] throughout the sports media.
In my view, I think it is very important for the New York Yankees to sign Derek Jeter to a contract he is totally happy with, somewhere in the range of four to five years at about $20 million per year, because this would be a very “smart” and “good” business decision.
If for some reason the “UNTHINKABLE” happens, and Derek Jeter does not re-sign with the Yanks – a truly unimaginable thought in my mind – I’m sure all Yankee fans will take this “very personally”.
So in the end, these talks with Jeter are personal, “very personal”. But it is also “good business” to give Derek what he wants!
– Jimmy Curran, “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Eight Wins In-A-Row For Bronx Bombers
The Yankees (86-50) continued on their path to another first place finish in the AL East by taking the first two games of their three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3 and 7-5, in the Bronx, increasing their winning streak to eight games, and upping their lead to 2.5 games over the second place Rays (83-52). The third place Red Sox (76-60) lost a day-night double-header by an identical 3-1 score in both games to fall 10 games out of first, and 8 games behind the Rays in the wild card race.
The Bronx Bombers are on a late-season roll.
In the first game of this series, the Yanks were led to victory by another fine performance by Curtis Granderson, (2-for-3), with two walks, one run, and three RBI’s. Granderson continues his hot hitting ways since working on his swing with hitting coach Kevin Long. A great game by Brett Gardner, (1-for-3), with two walks, three runs, and one RBI, also contributed to the 7-3 win.
The Yankees bullpen also delivered a solid effort after starter Ivan Nova was replaced on the mound after throwing only four and two-thirds innings. Kerry Wood (W,3-4) was awarded the win by the official scorer for pitching the best of the Yankee relievers [in the opinion of the scorer]. The win could have easily been awarded to Mariano Rivera who closed out the victory by tossing a six-pitch scoreless ninth.
Berkman was (2-for-4); Pena was (2-for-4), with one RBI; and the rookie Nunez, who played short for Derek Jeter [who had a day off], raised his batting average to .308 with a (2-for-4), one run, day.
Derek Jeter was the major topic of discussion in the sports sections of the New York newspapers, and on Sports Talk radio, this past week. More on Jeter in another post.
In Game Two of this series, Manager Joe Girardi provided more controversy when he replaced starter Javier Vazquez in the fifth inning, with two outs, and runners on first and third, with the Yankees in the lead 5-3.
Over-managing by Girardi? Maybe, as this was the third time over the last couple of weeks that the Yankee manager has replaced his starting pitcher with only four and two-thirds innings of work on the mound. Nova in the first game of this series, and Dustin Moseley in his last start, were the other two starters to fall victim to Girardi’s quick hook.
Ironically, Moseley, who was called into this game to replace Vazquez, was taken out of the rotation and sent to the bullpen after his last start. And Vazquez, after two good bullpen appearances, was placed back into the rotation in Moseley’s spot to make this start against the Blue Jays. Sounds very confusing and over-calculating by the Yankees braintrust, doesn’t it?
At any rate Moseley replaced Vazquez in this game. And just as quick as one of Girardi’s hooks of late, he allowed a two-run double to Lyle Overbay that tied the score 5-5.
Vazquez could have been just as ineffective, or maybe he could have gotten out of the jam. At least he should have been given the opportunity to get the final out, and complete five innings that would have given him a possible chance to earn the win as the starting pitcher. Probably Vazquez should have just remained in the bullpen at this time since he has been effective in that role in his previous two appearances.
Well, the game remained tied until the seventh inning when Marcus Thames blasted a two-out, two-run homer (#11), that drove home Robinson Cano who kept the inning going with a two-out single, moving the Bombers into a 7-5 lead.
Thames has been just as hot at the plate as Granderson in recent weeks, hitting .314 with seven home runs and 13 RBI’s over his last ten games in the lineup.
Other than Moseley the bullpen was very solid the rest of the way in this game, as Logan, Chamberlain (W,2-4), Wood, and Rivera all pitched a scoreless inning each from the sixth inning on.
The Great Mariano closed out this 7-5 victory by recording his 29th save.
Anyway, when all was said and done, the Yankees ended up winning their eight straight game to stay atop the AL East by 2.5 games.
Even with the best record in baseball there is always room for some controversy.
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Bombers Back On Track; CC Tames Tigers 6-2
Thirteen times this season the Yankees faced a starting pitcher they had never seen before, including Max Scherzer (8-9) of the Tigers and Bryan Bullington (1-2) of the Royals, both of whom earned victories against the Yanks in their last two back-to-back losses. In these games against unknown starters the Yanks have a record of (4-9). Interesting numbers with really no explanation as to [why?] this continues to happen.
So in last night’s second game of four against the Detroit Tigers at the Stadium in the Bronx, which featured a battle of both teams aces, Justin Verlander (13-7) vs. CC Sabathia (15-5), one would think with the way the Yanks have been playing of late, they would be greatly challenged to score many runs against Verlander. CC would have to be money [again] for the Yanks to win this game.
This is not to say the Yankees would rather face some rookie pitcher instead of Verlander, or Verlander instead of a rookie starter. They have no control over who pitches against them on the mound. This only talks to the point that the Yankees have not been playing very well lately and really needed a win [a must-win in fact] as they entered this game against the Tigers tied for first place in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Well, the first inning provided much drama as Austin Jackson led off the game by hitting Sabathia’s first pitch into the left-field seats for a quick 1-0 Detroit lead. This was the former Yankee’s second homer of the year.
Not to be left out of this discussion, Curtis Granderson, whom the Yankees received in the trade for Jackson, made two outstanding catches in centerfield in the first. The first catch was made after a long run to just in front of the wall of the right-centerfield bleachers; and the second catch was a great diving play running towards left-center.
In the bottom of the first the Yanks battled right back. Brett Gardner led off with a single, and advanced to second on a walk to Derek Jeter. After Teixeira made the first out, Cano walked to load the bases. Then, Nick Swisher, back in the lineup after sitting out the last game with a right forearm injury, stroked a two-run single to move the Yanks into a 2-1 lead.
Granderson delivered again in the second inning by blasting a solo home run (#12), into the rightfield bleachers. This upped the Bombers lead to 3-1.
Justin Verlander (L,13-8), threw a lot of pitches in the early innings, and was finished at the end of the fifth. He tossed 114 pitches while allowing three runs, on five hits, five walks, and five strikeouts.
The Yankees did exactly what Joe Girardi talked about before the game. They got to Verlander, who had a 7.12 ERA in the first inning of his starts this season, early on in this game. Girardi said, “They [the lineup] did a great job. When Justin gets on a roll, he’s really difficult. We put some runs on the board early and made them stand up.”
Schlereth replaced Verlander. And in the sixth, the Yanks scored again on a two-out double by Gardner (2-for-3, with a walk, and run), which was followed by a RBI single by Jeter to give the Yanks a 4-1 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Brandon Inge hit a homer (#8), to cut the score to 4-2.
Then in the bottom of the seventh, Robinson Cano also homered (#22); and, Pena drove home a run on a sac-fly to right to increase the Yankees lead to 6-2.
CC Sabahia (W,16-5), the first 16-game winner in the American League, struggled in the first few innings, but settled down nicely to pitch seven soild innings, throwing 115 pitches, while allowing two runs, on five hits, three walks, and nine strikeouts.
Money !!!
David Robertson pitched a scoreless eight. And Mariano Rivera closed out this 6-2 victory by pitching a scoreless ninth.
A must-win game, “Won” by the New York Yankees !!!
* Historic Note: In the fifth inning, Jorge Posada stroked a single to center, his 1,558th career hit, which tied Posada with Thurman Munson on the all-time hit list.
* Injury Report: – Alex Rodriguez (strain of left calf), listed as day-to-day.
– Lance Berkman (sprained right ankle), listed as day-to-day.
– Andy Pettitte (left groin strain), injured July 18th …
(Probably will not be back until the middle of September)
* And, Yogi Berra was back at Yankee Stadium for the first time since he suffered an injury as a result of a fall at his home. Yogi was not able to attend this year’s Yankees Old Timers’ Day celebrations on July 17th. Also, he could not attend the Hall of Fame inductee events about a week after Old Timers’ Day. Welcome back Yogi.
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Yanks Bats Still Quiet … Lose 3-1 To Tigers
The last time the Yankees were shutout in back-to-back games was on May 12-13, 1999 against the Angels. Until the ninth inning of last night’s game against the Detroit Tigers at the Stadium, it looked like this rare event would happen again, as the Tigers held a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. The Yanks did finally score a run, though; but, lost the game 3-1.
This loss coupled with the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 victory over Cliff Lee and the Texas Rangers, dropped the Yankees into a first place tie with the Rays in the AL East, both with a record of (72-46). The Boston Red Sox (67-52) did not have a game scheduled yesteday. So they picked up a half game on the Yanks and are now 5.5 games behind in third place.
The Tigers took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run homer (#7) by Ryan Raburn off Yankees starter Javier Vazquez.
Vazquez (L,9-9), lasted only four innings in this contest, throwing a way too high total of 106 pitches, while allowing two runs, on five hits, four walks, and six strikeouts.
Meanwhile, the Yankees were having trouble with [yet] another pitcher they were facing for the first time, Tigers starter Max Scherzer. The Yanks lost 1-0 to the Royals Bryan Bullington, in his first start against the Bombers on Sunday. And this game against the Tigers was trending in the same direction – another shutout loss.
Scherzer (W,8-9), delivered a soild six innings on the mound, throwing 115 pitches, while giving up no runs, on only two hits, two base-on-balls, and six strikeouts.
After Scherzer’s night was over after six innings, the Yankees did have some chances to score against the Tigers bullpen. But they left two runners on base in the seventh, and two runners on in the eight.
In the top of the eight, however, Miguel Cabrera hit a solo home run (#28) off Joba Chamberlain, to give the Tigers an insurance run that upped their lead to 3-0.
The game then entered the bottom of the ninth with closer Jose Valverde on the mound. And he did his best to help the Yankees end their scoring drought by basically self-imploding on the mound.
Robinson Cano walked, and was forced at second on a grounder by Joge Posada. Then, Curtis Granderson (3-for-3, with a walk), hit a hard line-drive single to right, which was followed by a walk to Francisco Cervelli that loaded the bases. Brett Gardner was up next, and was issued another walk by Valverde that forced home a run to break the shutout and cut the Tigers lead to 3-1.
Now, with one out, and the bases loaded, Derek Jeter was up at the plate. Jeter battled in a long at-bat, but on a 3-2 pitch grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Gardner slid hard into Carlos Guillen trying to breakup the DP. But Guillen stayed his ground to make the play, throwing to first to seal the Tigers 3-1 victory.
The Yankees not only lost this game; they also lost Alex Rodriguez to a left calf injury; and Nick Swisher to a right forearm injury during the game. And with Lance Berkman also out with a strained foot injury from the Royals series, the Yankees are very short in the lineup and on the bench for the next few games as all injured players are listed as day-to-day.
A nice touch occurred in the first inning of this game when Johnny Damon batted for the first time. The Yankee Stadium crowd gave him a very warm round of applause, as this was Damon’s first time back to the Bronx since his free-agent signing with the Tigers.
Game Two of this series on Tuesday, August 17th, features a match-up of “aces” …
Justin Verlander (13-7, 3.72) vs. CC Sabathia (15-5, 3.14).
In my view, this is a “must-win” game for the New York Yankees !!!
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Real Get Away Day! Yanks Lose 1-0 To Royals In 2:07
After a power display of five home runs in their 8-3 victory over the Royals in Game Three of this four-game series in Kansas City, the Yankees really wasted everybody’s time yesterday by going down very meekly 1-0 against starter Bryan Bullington (W,1-2), in just two hours and seven minutes on the final day of a very disappointing 3-3 road trip.
The game was over by the end of the first inning when the Royals scored the only run of the day. After one out, Bloomquist singled, then stole second and advanced to third when Cervelli threw the ball over Cano’s head into centerfield which set-up a nicely stroked RBI single to right by Billy Butler for the 1-0 lead by K.C.
A.J. Burnett (L,9-10), retired the next two batters to end the first. And got out of a first and second no-out situation in the second inning. But that was it. There would not be any other serious threats of scoring by either team the rest of the way. So this was a real get-a-way day, as the Yankees traveled home on the earliest flight possible with a 1-0 loss to reflect on.
Manager Joe Girardi was very unhappy with this loss, saying after the game “We needed to win, and it’s unfortunate. [Ending this road trip] (3-3) is not what we wanted; We need to play better, and win series’.”
A lot of credit has to given to Bullington, though. As Derek Jeter said, “It’s not like we came in here struggling with the bats. He [Bullington] threw the ball well; Whether we’ve seen him once or a hundred times, the way he threw today he was going to beat us”.
Bullington looked like a Cy Young Award candidate in this start, as he retired the first 13 batters he faced. And allowed only two hits, a single by Cano in the fifth, and a single by Gardner in the seventh; and, one other base-runner, a walk to Thames in the eight, in route to tossing 96 pitches over eight scoreless innings, while striking out five.
Royals closer Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth to preserve this 1-0 victory by recording his 33rd save.
As Girardi said, this loss was “unfortunate”. And also unfortunate was the [wasted] outstanding effort delivered by A.J. Burnett, who threw 103 pitches over eight complete innings, allowing the one run, on only four hits, three walks, and six strikeouts.
After the game, A.J. praised Bryan Bullington, saying “He kept us off-balance, and pitched a heck of a game. That’s basically the story. The way Bryan was throwing the ball, it was his day”.
And, so, I guess, that was the story. It was just the Royals day, on this get-a-way day.
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
The Butler Did It; HR Drowns Yanks 4-3
Billy Butler hit a solo home run off the opposite field foul pole down the rightfield line to give the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning of a rain-soaked game at Kauffman Stadium in Game Two of their four-game series against the New York Yankees.
The homer, which turned out to be the game-winner, came just before the second rain-delay of two hours and ten minutes in this game [an earlier delay lasted thirty-one minutes], to make this an official game in favor of the Royals, as the rain and lightning continued to light-up the Kansas City sky throughout the night.
Kansas City took a 3-0 lead off Yankees starter Dustin Moseley (L,2-2), in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Betancourt, and a sacrifice fly by Jason Kendall.
The Yankees battled right back to tie the score in the top of the third when they put together a rally powered by five hits off Royals starting pitcher Kyle Davies (W,6-7).
After Derek Jeter made the first out, Curtis Granderson blooped a hit to centerfield; Mark Teixeira doubled down the rightfield line; Alex Rodriguez hit an infield RBI single to cut the score to 3-1; Robinson Cano stroked a run-scoring single to right to drive home Teixeira with the Yanks second run; Jorge Posada was [just] safe at first after grounding into a (3-4) force play at second base, setting-up a first and third situation for Lance Berkman, who hit a hard line drive RBI double into the rightfield corner to tie the score at 3-3. Davies ended the rally by striking out Austin Kearns for the final out of the inning.
After the long rain-delay in the fifth, both bullpens delivered excellent performances to hold the score at 4-3. The Yanks did have a chance to tie the score in the sixth, though, but stranded two runners; and, had a runner at second in the eight, but again could not score. So the game entered the top of the ninth with the Royals closer Joakim Soria now on the mound.
Jeter led off the ninth with a single. Then, after Granderson and Teixeira were retired by Soria, A-Rod hit a two-out single to create a first and third situation for Cano. But Cano grounded out to second for the final out that gave Soria his 32th save, as he preserved the Royals 4-3 victory.
This loss was a golden opportunity lost by the Bronx Bombers (71-44), as both the Rays and Red Sox also lost their games yesterday.
The Tampa Bay Rays (69-46), were shutout 5-0 by the Baltimore Orioles, who are now (9-2) since Buck Showalter took over leadership of the team as new manager. And the Boston Red Sox (66-51) blew an 8-2 lead, losing to the Texas Rangers 10-9 on a walk-off homer by Nelson Cruz in the 11th inning.
So, the pennant races continue with all games being very important during this part of the baseball season. And no team or game should be treated lightly, as every game must be played like a playoff game.
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Yanks Make Statement In 7-6 Comeback Win In Texas
As the second game of this two-game mini-series against the Texas Rangers entered the sixth inning, it did not look very good for the New York Yankees. Cliff Lee was cruising along to another complete game victory. Javier Vazquez was terrible; already out of the game after allowing six runs, on eight hits, two walks, and “no” strikeouts, in four and a third innings. And the Yanks were losing 6-1 in what surely looked like the Rangers would end the night with a two-game sweep of the Bombers.
Then, the Yanks scored a run in the sixth to cut the score to 6-2. And got a couple of RBI hits by Lance Berkman and Brett Gardner in the top of the seventh to tighten the score even more, but still in favor of the Rangers, 6-4.
More importantly, though, Lee was not going to pitch any further than the seven and a third innings he already tossed. Lee’s night ended in the seventh, like U.S. Grant was leading the charge. But making a powerful charge, comeback, and statement were the Yankees – the Yankees from the Bronx.
Until the seventh, Lee was pitching like the pitcher the Yankees had thought they made a trade for a few weeks ago. Brian Cashman tried to work out a deal, but better players from the Rangers brought the ace to Texas. The Yanks will have to wait until this winter before Lee starts seraching for houses in the New York area, again. Certainly the wait will be worth it. But Lee would have been a very important addition to the Yankees starting staff right now, even after seeing him leave yesterday’s game way too early. Of course, way too early as far as the Rangers were concerned.
Cliff Lee left the mound after throwing 106 pitches over seven and a third innings, in which he allowed four runs, on eight hits, “no” walks, and “eleven” strikeouts. Still a much better outing than Vazquez.
Lee’s departure started a parade of six relievers from the Rangers bullpen.
Marcus Thames (3-for-5), with two runs, and two RBI’s, blasted a home run, his fourth this season, in the top of the eight, to close the score to 6-5.
After Mitre and Wood held the Rangers scoreless in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, this game entered the top of the ninth with the Yanks still trailing 6-5.
Texas Manager Ron Washington mixed and matched pitchers in the ninth, starting with closer Neftali Feliz.
Feliz walked Berkman, which was followed by a single by Brett Gardner (2-for-4). Derek Jeter (3-for-5) was up next, and was set to bunt the runners over. But Feliz threw a wild pitch which did the same job a bunt would have done – advance both runners.
Curtis Granderson was now in the game as a pinch-runner for Berkman, and scored the tying run on a RBI single up the middle [of a drawn-in infield] by Jeter.
The next batter, Nick Swisher, struck out.
Thames was up next and faced new reliever Alexi Ogando.
And, Marcus Thames delivered once again, by lining a RBI single to leftfield that moved the Yanks into the 7-6 lead.
The Yanks battled all the way back from being down 6-1, to now taking the lead into the bottom of the ninth inning.
Enter The “Great” Mariano Rivera.
The inning started like the night before for Mariano, by giving up a hit. This time a triple to Elvis Andrus.
So, with the tying run at third, Mariano retired Michael Young on a fly ball to right for out number one; Got Josh Hamilton to hit a soft ground ball to the mound for the second out; And, ended the game by getting Vladimir Guerrero to hit a grounder to third for the final out, which earned The Great Mariano his 24th save.
Game over. The Yankees win 7-6, completing their comeback and statement.
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Moseley “Dust-in-Time”. Replaces A.J.; Beats Sox 7-2
A.J. Burnett was supposed to start Game Three of the four-game series against the Boston Red Sox; but, Burnett suffered some back stiffness in a throwing session before the game. So, Joe Girardi decided to scratch the struggling starter, and move up Dustin Moseley one day in the rotation to replace A.J. and start the ESPN Sunday Night Game vs. the Sox.
This move also affected Phil Hughes, who will also be moved up in the rotation to start the final game of this series on Monday afternoon. Burnett is expected to start Tuesday’s game against the Rangers when the Yanks begin a six-game road trip in Texas [two games vs. the Rangers; and, four games against the Kansas City Royals].
There were many story lines in this game, but the brillant pitching performance by Moseley was the lead story.
Dustin Moseley (2-1), delivered a solid six and a third innings on the mound, allowing two runs, on six hits and two walks, while striking out five. Boston scored their runs on a fifth inning solo homer by Bill Hall (#13), off Moseley; and, a pitch-hit RBI single by Mike Lowell in the seventh off reliever Joba Chamberlain.
Joba was not effective in his outing, as he also walked a batter before a not-too-happy manager Joe Girardi replaced him with Boone Logan who got out of the late-inning jam.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Lance Berkman doubled, and scored on an infield hit by Brett Gardner, that included an error by second-baseman Hall, which allowed the first run to score. And, then, Derek Jeter stroked a solid line drive RBI single to center that plated Gardner with the Yanks second run.
This was Jeter’s 2,874th career hit, which passed the great Babe Ruth on the all-time hit list, positioning the captain in 39th place on the historic list. The New York Giants Mel Ott is next on the list, as Jeter continues on his path to becoming the first Yankee player to reach 3,000 lifetime hits, and many more, depending on how long Jeter decides to play for the Bronx Bombers.
With the score 2-1 as the Yanks entered the bottom of the fifth, the Bombers exploded for five runs to break this game wide open.
Mark Teixeira led off the the inning with his 25th homer, making Teix only the fourth Major League player to hit at least 25 homeruns in each of their first eight seasons in the bigs. The other players to achieve this rare stat were Eddie Mathews, Darryl Strawberry, and Albert Pujols. Very cool, indeed !!!!
The Yankees then scored the rest of their runs in the fifth when Robinson Cano crossed the plate on an error by catcher Kevin Cash on an attempted pickoff throw; A RBI double by Berkman who was (3-for-4) in the game, finally breaking through with the production the Yankees expect from him; And, a two-RBI double by Jeter, that capped the five-run inning, giving the Yanks a 7-2 lead, which completed the scoring in this contest.
Red Sox starter Josh Beckett (L,3-2), was knocked out of the game in the bottom of the fifth, after a very poor showing in this game. The Yanks pounded out 11 hits, and walked twice, in route to scoring their seven runs off Beckett, which increased his ERA to 6.21.
The bullpen was effective the rest of the way for the Sox, as Delcarmen ended the fifth inning with a strikeout. And, Tim Wakefield delivered three scoreless innings in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. But, the Sox could not produce a comeback rally, and the score stayed at 7-2 in favor of the Yanks.
Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup playing third base for the Yanks. And showed no ill effects from the batting practice ball that was hit off his left ankle before Saturday’s game. A-Rod was (1-for-3), with a walk and run scored, and, also, a stolen base, the 300th of his career.
David Robertson recorded the first two outs of the ninth, including walking a batter, which inspired Girardi to bring in Mariano Rivera to get the final out in this very important game, even though it was not a save situation.
The Great Mariano delivered once again by throwing one pitch which resulted in out number three, preserving another Yankees victory.
And, so it goes.
The Yankees (69-41) remain in first place in the AL East by 2.5 games over the Tampa Bay Rays (67-44), who lost 1-0 yesterday against the Toronto Blue Jays, in a game in which the Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow had a no-hitter with two-outs in the ninth inning that was broken up by an infield single by Evan Longoria. Morrow stayed in the game after the hit to earn a 1-0 complete game shutout, which is just as rare as a no-hitter these days in baseball. The three-game sweep by Jays continued a five-game losing streak by the Rays.
With their loss in the Bronx, the Red Sox (63-49) stay in third place, seven games behind the Yankees, and five games behind the Rays.
The Yankees now look to win this series from the Red Sox with a victory in Game Four at the Stadium, Monday afternoon, in the Beautiful Bronx, New York.
– Jimmy Curran “BY&L” – Baseball, The Yankees, and Life …
Baseball, The Yankees, and Life... 