Results tagged ‘ Chris Davis ’

‘Pronk’ Bonks O’s In Ninth, Wells Wins It In 10th

GAME 44

YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 4 (10 Innings)

Some teams are built with a lot of money. Some teams are built with a collection of players with special skills. But successful teams are built with lots of players who have heart.

The 2013 New York Yankees are a team with an awful lot of heart and that was on display Monday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Down 4-3 with one out in the ninth inning and Orioles closer Jim Johnson on mound, Travis Hafner blasted an opposite-field home run into the bleachers in left-center to tie it and Vernon Wells laced a game-winning RBI double in the 10th inning as New York came from behind to down Baltimore in front of a paid crowd of 24,133.

Hafner and Wells embody the heart of what has been called “The Replacements” and they provided the Yankees with the clutch hitting just when they needed it.

The Orioles took a 3-2 lead away from left-hander CC Sabathia and the Yankees in the bottom of the seventh inning when Nick Markakis slapped an RBI double to left-center to score Alexi Casilla and J.J. Hardy followed one out later with an RBI double down the right-field line.

The Orioles made their 2012 wild-card run largely on the strength of their incredible 24-6 record in one-run games. But 2013 is looking like a much different season for them.

Johnson, who had entered the game having blown his last two save opportunities, fell behind Hafner 3-1 when the 35-year-old designated hitter sent a belt-high outside fastball into the 80-degree evening air and by the time it landed Johnson was hanging his head in disbelief.

David Robertson (3-0) came in to pitch a scoreless ninth inning that sent the game into extra innings, where the Orioles posted an incredible 16-2 record in 2012.

What a difference a year makes!

Ichiro Suzuki opened the top of the 10th with a line-drive double into the right-field corner off right-hander Pedro Strop (0-2)

Wells, who entered the game as pinch-hitter in the eighth inning then picked on a 1-2 hanging slider from Strop and slashed it to the base of the wall in left and the ball bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double that scored Suzuki.

After Austin Romine bunted Wells to third, Brett Gardner was retired on hard grounder and Strop walked Robinson Cano intentionally.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter replaced Strop with left-hander Brian Matusz to face Hafner. But Hafner spoiled the strategy by slashing a 0-1 slider into right for a single to score Wells with an insurance run.

Mariano Rivera, who entered the evening a perfect 16-for-16 in saves this season, pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th, punctuating his 17th save by striking out Chris Dickerson swinging to push the Orioles’ current losing streak to six games.

Believe me when I say that this one really hurt the Orioles.

Sabathia, who was 19-4 with a 2.90 ERA in his career against the Orioles including two victories in the 2012 playoffs, was unable to keep any of leads the Yankees kept providing him with throughout the evening.

Cano opened the scoring with a solo home run  -  his American League-leading 13th of the season  -  off former Yankee right-hander Freddy Garcia with one out in the first frame. David Adams followed with a one-out homer of his own, his first in the major leagues, in the second inning.

But Chris Davis reclaimed a share of the A.L. lead in homers with his 13th home run off Sabathia with one out in the bottom of the second.

Two innings later, Markakis tied it up at 2-2 with a one-out RBI single to score Steve Pearce, who led off the inning with a double.

But Lyle Overbay promptly untied it for the Yankees in the seventh with a leadoff home run in the bleacher sin right center off left-hander Troy Patton.

Sabathia then ran out of gas in the seventh and surrendered the lead to the Orioles.

Sabathia gave up four runs on 11 hits and he struck out two in 6 1/3 innings. Garcia, meanwhile, yielded two runs on three hits and two walks while he fanned two in six innings for the O’s.

The Yankees extended their winning streak to three games and, combined with the loss by the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox, they extended their lead in the American League East to 1 1/2 games. The Orioles fell to 23-21 and they are now a whopping five games behind the Yankees in third place in the division.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Hafner’s dramatic home run and RBI single in the 10th must have Yankee fans saying “Raul who?” because Hafner is making them forget how important Raul Ibanez was to the Yankees during the stretch drive and in the playoffs last season. Hafner is hitting .267 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs.
  • Wells, another reclamation project courtesy of general manager Brian Cashman, knew his playing time would be reduced when Curtis Granderson returned but he is proving to be very valuable off the bench. With his game-winning double in the 10th, Wells is hitting .267 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs, which is third on the club behind Cano and fellow “Replacement” Overbay.
  • Adams’ rookie legend may be growing by leaps and bounds in just five major-league games. Adams was 2-for-4 including his homer. Adams also made some sterling plays in the field, which is surprising because he is not considered to be a good fielder. Adams is 6-for-18 (.333) with a home run and two RBIs and is looking like he might be staying long after Kevin Youkilis comes off the 15-day disabled list.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Sabathia was just not very sharp at all in this game. In his past two starts, Sabathia has given up 21 hits and two walks in 12 1/3 innings for Walks and Hits to Innings Pitched (WHIP) of 1.82. The Orioles used an opposite-field approach against the left-hander and they burned him repeatedly with it. Sabathia is also paying for a dip in velocity in his fastball.
  • Granderson is struggling at the plate and it may be a byproduct of rushing through his rehab in just five games. Granderson was 0-for-4 with a strikeout and he did not get a ball out of the infield. He is 4-for-19 (.211) without a home run and an RBI in five starts.

BOMBER BANTER

First baseman Mark Teixeira reported on Monday that he took his first at-bats in a simulated game in Tampa, FL, and he was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. It was the first at-bats for Teixeira since he tore the sheath in his right wrist in March. Teixiera is hoping to play in his first game of the season by June 1 but that timetable may be a bit too optimistic.  . . .  Both Youkilis (back) and Alex Rodriguez (hip) took ground balls and batting practice at the team’s spring complex on Monday as both rehab their injuries. Manager Joe Girardi said that Youkilis likely will not be activated before the Yankees return home in a week. Though Rodriguez was able to take ground balls at third base on Monday, his timetable has not changed. He is expected back some time after the All-Star break.  . . .  The Yankees entered the day with a all-time major-league best 18-0 record in one-run games this season and they were within two outs of losing their first one-run game. But Hafner’s homer and Wells’ RBI double allowed them to extend the mark to 19 games.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game road series with the Orioles on Tuesday.

Right-hander Phil Hughes (2-3, 5.88 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Hughes will have to better on Tuesday because he is coming off what he called his worst major-league start on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. Hughes lasted only two-thirds of an inning and gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks. He is 6-5 with 5.47 ERA lifetime against the Orioles.

Baltimore is countering with right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (2-2, 4.58 ERA). Gonzalez is being activated from the 15-day disabled list after he sustained a troublesome blister on his right thumb. He is 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by MY9.

 

Kuroda Drops Big Goose Egg On Befuddled Birds

GAME 11

YANKEES 3, ORIOLES 0

Some artists work in oils. Some artists work in clay. Other artists work in stone.

On Sunday night, a paid Yankee Stadium crowd of 34.154 and a national television audience watched right-hander Hiroki Kuroda paint the corners of the plate with a baseball to produce nine innings of epic mastery over the Orioles.

Kuroda (2-1) pitched a complete-game shutout, giving up only five hits and no walks while striking out five as New York won the rubber game of its three-game series against division-rival Baltimore.

For those who might have any lingering doubts that Kuroda, 38, was still bothered by a bruised right middle finger he sustained in his first start of the season, he quelled them by not allowing a single Oriole to reach second base until the ninth inning.

Though the Yankee offense had some similar trouble early against Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (0-2), they did manage to break through for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Brennan Boesch, inserted into the lineup to spell a struggling Ichiro Suzuki, led off the inning with his second single of the game and Francisco Cervelli followed a single of his own.

Lyle Overbay advanced Boesch to third with a line drive that was caught just short of the warning track in right and Jayson Nix followed with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Boesch with the game’s first run.

Brett Gardner then added to Kuroda’s run support with a towering drive above the second deck in right-field that clanked off the foul pole for his second home run of the season.

Kuroda pretty much took it from there by keeping the Orioles’ powerful sluggers off-balance with his assortment of sliders, split-finger fastballs and sinkers. He threw 79 of his 113 pitches for strikes (70 percent) and he only reached a three-ball count on three hitters.

Kuroda induced 18 ground-ball outs and only two of the last 23 batters he faced reached base on singles in what was the fifth shutout of his career.

“He was throwing all of his pitches for strikes,” said the Orioles’ Chris Davis, who struck out three times.

The Yankees have now won five of their last six games and they improved their season record t0 6-5. The Orioles fell to 6-6.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Because of the status of ace left-hander CC Sabathia and the adulation Yankee fans show left-hander Andy Pettitte, Kuroda sometimes get overlooked. Kuroda simply is one of the best No. 2 starters in baseball and this game proves the point. Kuroda looked like he was teasing a cat with a bird on a string as he pitched to the Orioles. Kuroda simply epitomizes the effectiveness of pitching with craft and smarts. He was just outstanding on Sunday.
  • Everybody keeps saying the Yankees lack power but Gardner has two home runs! The Yankees actually entered the game second in the major leagues in home runs and with guys like Nix, Cervelli, Boesch and Gardner hitting them they all add up. Long-term the Yankees do need Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira back. But they are keeping afloat with what they have.
  • Manager Joe Girardi rested Suzuki and his .176 batting average on Sunday and Boesch plays and collects two of the team’s seven hits and scores the game’s first run. Boesch, 27, was picked up off the scrap heap after the Detroit Tigers cut him loose in late March. But Boesch is hitting .313 in limited play and he has real value as a bench player.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Nothing to complain about here. There were two Yankee errors by Nix and Kevin Youkilis but neither resulted in anything because Kuroda was brilliant. I have seen Kuroda pitch great games but this one may be the best I have seen.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees have decided to push Pettitte’s next start back to Friday against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Pettitte was scheduled to start in Sunday’s game but was scratched because he suffered back spasms on Thursday. The Yankees had originally planned to allow Pettitte to pitch either Tuesday or Wednesday but pushed it back to Friday as a precaution.  . . .  It appears that Granderson will not be able to return by the May 1 date the Yankees had hoped. Granderson suffered a fractured right forearm on Feb. 24 and he has been rehabbing at the team’s minor-league complex in Tampa, FL. However, Girardi said Granderson has not begun swinging a bat yet so it is too soon to predict when he will be able to come back.  . . .  Eduardo Nunez, who has missed the past two games with a bruised right wrist, will try throwing on Monday and hopes to be able to start in Tuesday’s game against Arizona.

ON DECK

The Yankees will get a well-deserved day off on Monday and open a home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (0-1, 7.71) will toe the rubber for the Yankees. Nova had his last start against Cleveland rained out on Wednesday. That was a blessing for the Yankees because Nova was not effective in his first start of the season against the Tigers. Nova has never faced the Diamondbacks.

Arizona will start right-hander Brandon McCarthy (0-1, 7.71 ERA). After getting blasted for six runs in five innings in his first start, McCarthy gave up just four runs in 6 2/3 innings in a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is 2-0 with a 5.79 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Orioles Blast Three Homers To Cool Off Yankees

GAME 10

ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 3

Ryan Flaherty, Nick Markakis and Nolan Reimold each hit solo home runs and Jason Hammel pitched six solid innings as Baltimore edged New York on Saturday in front of a paid crowd of 41,851 at Yankee Stadium.

All three solo home runs came off Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes (0-2), who is showing signs that he is now paying for missing all of spring training with a bulging disk in his upper back.

Hughes was hammered for five runs on nine hits and two walks and struck out three in four-plus innings of work.

The Yankees scored all their runs as a result of their new acquisitions. They got a pair of solo home runs from Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells and an RBI single from Lyle Overbay. But the Yankees could not overcome Hughes’ struggles enough to mount a late charge against the Baltimore bullpen.

Brian Matusz, Darren O’Day and closer Jim Johnson shut out the Yankees in the final three innings and Johnson was credited with his fifth save of the season.

Hammel (2-1) gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk while he struck out four to pick up the victory.

The Yankees had their four-game winning streak halted and their season record fell to 5-5. The Orioles improved to 6-5.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Wells blasted his third home run of the season to bring the Yankees to within 5-3 but the Yankee offense pretty much died after that. Wells was 2-for-4 in the game and even got himself an outfield assist in throwing out Adam Jones trying to stretch a hit into a double. Wells is hitting .333 in the early going and it appears he is loving the fact he is playing every day again.
  • Hafner also stroked his third home run of the season to lead off the second inning. It was a laser shot that landed in the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center. Hafner is hitting .303 so far and he is looking more like the star he was with the Indians than the injured wreck he has been the past five seasons.
  • David Phelps made a case for himself to be inserted into the starting rotation. He came into the game in the fourth with the Yankees trailing 5-3 and a runner on second and no outs. He then proceeded to retire six batters in a row, four of them by strikeout. He ended up pitching four shutout innings and the only hit he gave up was Jones’ single and Wells threw him out at second.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Hughes, 26, is basically pitching his own version of spring training and it shows. Hughes simply lacked command of all of his pitches and the Orioles just teed off on him. The Yankees have to hope he will right himself as he gets stronger. Hughes, who was second in the American League in giving up 35 home runs in 2012, also needs to try harder to keep the ball in the ballpark.
  • It is hard to criticize Kevin Youkilis because he came into the game hitting a team-best .424 and he had at least one hit in all of the team’s first nine games. But he was Missing In Action (MIA) on Saturday. He was 0-for-5, including a strikeout and hitting into an inning-ending double play. His average fell to .368.
  • Hammel used shortstop Jayson Nix as an escape hatch to maintain the lead for the Orioles. Nix bounced back to Hammel in the second inning with a runner on. In the fourth, Nix struck out looking with two on and in the sixth he fouled out to first baseman Chris Davis with two on.

BOMBER BANTER

Shortstop Eduardo Nunez only was available to pinch-run and the Orioles took advantage by targeting Nix to shut down rallies. Manager Joe Girardi used pinch-hitter Brennan Boesch for Nix in the eighth inning with two and two out, but Boesch struck out swinging against O’Day. That forced Girardi to shift catcher Francisco Cervelli to second base, Robinson Cano moved from second base to shortstop and Chris Stewart was inserted behind the plate for the ninth inning. It was Cano’s first major-league appearance at shortstop and only Cervelli’s second appearance at second base. Nunez, who left Friday’s game with a bruised wrist after being struck by a pitch from Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, will not be available to play in the field until at least Tuesday.  . . .  Girardi refused to comment on new allegations surrounding Alex Rodriguez and a clinic in Miami that allegedly supplied players with performance-enhancing drugs. Major League Baseball reportedly believes it has unearthed evidence that a representative for Rodriguez attempted to have documents purchased from the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic.  Girardi said the team is aware of the charges but he said the news has not affected the clubhouse at all.

ON DECK

The Yankees will hope to win the rubber game of the three-game weekend series with the Orioles on Sunday.

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (1-1, 6.75 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Kuroda, still suffering the effects of a bruised right middle finger incurred in his first start, gave up three runs in the first inning and struggled with his command in 5 1/3 innings against the Cleveland Indians on Monday. But still he won the game. He is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA in his career against the O’s.

The Orioles will start left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (0-1, 3.75 ERA). Chen gave up three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three over 6 1/3 innings in a loss to Clay Buchholz and the Boston Red Sox. Chen was 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA against the Yankees in 2012.

Game-time will be 8:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN.

 

Yanks, ‘Jonesing’ For Victory, Triple Up On Orioles

GAME 9

YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 2

As the old saying goes “If you watch enough baseball you can guarantee that you will see something you never saw before,” Yankee fans saw some pretty strange things on Friday in their game against the Orioles.

With the game hanging in the balance in the late innings, the Yankees pulled out the victory when a Gold Glove center-fielder dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded and the Yankees protected that lead by turning one of the craziest triple plays ever.

In the end, CC Sabathia pitched eight solid innings and Mariano Rivera tossed a scoreless ninth for his second save as New York ran its current winning streak to four games by defeating Baltimore on a damp, cold and windy evening in front of paid crowd of 35,033 at Yankee Stadium.

After the Orioles tied the game at 2-2 in the seventh by scoring an unearned run, Miguel Gonzalez (1-1) opened the bottom of the inning by walking Francisco Cervelli and Orioles manager Buck Showalter removed Gonzalez in favor of left-hander Troy Patton.

Brett Gardner advanced Cervelli to second with a sacrifice bunt, his second of the game. One out later, Patton walked Kevin Youkilis intentionally so he could pitch to the left-handed-hitting Travis Hafner. But Patton hit Hafner on the left thigh on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases and Showalter brought in right-hander Pedro Strop to pitch to the right-handed-hitting Vernon Wells.

Wells lofted a 2-0 fastball to the warning track in straightway center-field and Orioles outfielder Adam Jones had the ball carom off the tip of his glove to allow all three runs to score without the benefit of a hit in the inning.

The Orioles rallied against Sabathia in the eighth inning when Alexi Casilla and Nick Markakis led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Then, on a full count, Manny Machado slapped a sinking liner that second baseman Robinson Cano caught on a short hop and he flipped the ball to shortstop Jayson Nix to erase Markakis at second.

Instead of firing the ball to first, Nix turned and threw the ball to Youkilis at third to catch Casilla in a rundown. Youkilis flipped back to Nix and Nix tossed back to Youkilis, who then was able to get Casilla with lunging tag about halfway back to second.

Youkilis got up and fired the ball to first baseman Lyle Overbay to catch Machado halfway between first and second base. Overbay then threw back to Cano at second to tag a sliding Machado to complete a very odd triple play.

The last time the Yankees turned a triple play at home was June 3, 1968, against the Minnesota Twins. It was also the first 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 triple play in major-league history, dating back to 1876.

Meanwhile, Sabathia (2-1) was actually cruising with a 2-1 lead going into the seventh until a Youkilis error on a Matt Wieters ground ball was followed by an odd balk call from first-base umpire Larry Vanover. Sabathia was standing on the mound wiping his left hand on his pant leg waiting for a sign when the call was made.

One out later, J.J. Hardy bounced a slow roller up the middle to score an unearned run for the O’s that tied the game.

Sabathia scattered eight hits, walked none and struck out nine in his eight innings of work.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, struggled with his command, giving up five hits and five walks while fanning four in six-plus innings.

With the victory the Yankees surpassed the .500 mark for the first time this season at 5-4. The Orioles fell to 5-5.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Cano did not cool off much after the two rainouts in Cleveland. The All-Star second baseman was 2-4 and he drove in the tie-breaking run in the fifth inning after the Yankees perfectly executed some “small ball.” Cervelli worked Gonzalez for a walk and Gardner advanced him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cano then slapped an opposite-field bullet into left to score Cervelli. Cano is now batting .324 and he leads the Yankees in RBIs with eight.
  • Youkilis has not cooled off either. He was 3-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI. He drove in the tying run in the third after Gardner walked and Cano advanced to third with a single. Youkilis then ripped a line-drive single to left to score Gardner. Youkilis is batting a team-best .424 and he is second on the team with seven RBIs.
  • Despite the bogus balk call, Sabathia was excellent for the second outing in a row. His career record against the Orioles is now 17-4 and in his last two starts he has given up two runs (one earned) on 12 hits and three walks while he has struck out 13 batters. He lowered his season ERA to 2.25.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Youkilis sometimes giveth and sometimes he giveth away. He committed one fielding error and one base-running blunder that cost the Yankees dearly. In the third inning when he singled in Gardner he rounded first base way too far and Casilla was able to throw him out attempting to slide back into first base on a throw to Chris Davis. If he had held the Yankees would have had runners at first and third and one out. His fielding error in the seventh eventually led to the score being tied.
  • Ichiro Suzuki looks lost at the plate early in the season. He came into the game hitting .185 and was 0-4 with two strikeouts and he failed to get a ball out of the infield.
  • On a night that was cold and the wind was blowing in Wells insisted on hitting towering fly balls that went nowhere until he connected on the ball in the seventh that Jones dropped in center. Wells ended up 0-for-4 and his batting average fell to from .360 to .310. He also stranded a team-high four base-runners.

BOMBER BANTER

It would not be the Yankees if we did not report on some new injuries. Shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who is starting for the injured Derek Jeter, had to be removed from his second game within a week after being hit by a pitch. Nunez was struck in the right wrist by a pitch from Gonzalez and he was forced to leave the game in the top of the third inning. He was replaced by Nix. X-rays indicated no break in the wrist and only a contusion. He is listed as day-to-day. Nunez was struck in the right bicep on a pitch from Doug Fister last Friday in Detroit and missed two starts.  . . .  Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Friday that Andy Pettitte will not be able to make his scheduled start on Sunday due to back spasms. Girardi said the injury is not serious and he hopes Pettitte will be able to pitch Tuesday or Wednesday at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Phil Hughes, who had his start on Thursday skipped, will now pitch Saturday and Saturday’s scheduled starter, Hiroki Kuroda, will pitch on Sunday.  . . .  Cleveland Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who was ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Yankees for hitting Youkilis with a pitch after Cano hat hit a two-run home run, was suspended by Major League Baseball for eight games and fined an undisclosed amount. Carrasco, who was forced to serve out a six-game suspension last week stemming from a similar incident when he threw at the head of Billy Butler against the Royals in July 2011, is at Triple-A Columbus and can’t be used in a major-league game until he serves out the eight-game suspension at the major-league level. Carrasco’s six-game suspension was delayed to this season because he underwent Tommy John surgery before he could serve the suspension.

ON DECK

The Yankees put their four-game winning steak on the line on Saturday in the second game of the series against the Orioles.

Hughes (0-1, 6.75 ERA) was tagged for four runs (three earned) on eight hits and in four-plus innings in a loss to the Tigers on April 6. Hughes is 6-4 with a 5.10 ERA in his career against Baltimore.

He will be opposed by right-hander Jason Hammel (1-1, 4.97 ERA). Hammel allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings in Sunday’s series loss to the Twins. Hammel is 1-3 with a 6.20 lifetime against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 4:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

Yankees Suffer Another Afternoon For The Birds

GAME 3

ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 1

Brian Roberts doubled twice and scored two runs and left-hander Brian Matusz pitched two scoreless innings as Baltimore defeated New York in front of a crowd of 7,335 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, FL.

Roberts’ doubles sparked the Orioles to an early 2-0 lead. He stroked a one-out double in the first, advanced to third on a balk and scored on a two-out RBI single from Adam Jones. Roberts slapped another one-out double in the third and scored on an RBI single by Nick Markakis.

Matusz (1-0) gave up two hits to the first two batters he faced but retired the next five to earn the victory. Left-hander Vidal Nuno (0-1) took the loss despite the fact that five of the six batters he retired struck out looking, including Markakis, Matt Wieters, Chris Davis, Conor Jackson and Manny Machado.

The Yankees’ scored their lone run in the ninth inning on a walk and stolen base by Corban Joseph and an RIBI single by Walter Ibarra. The run broke a string of 19 consecutive scoreless innings for the Yankees.

The Yankees fell to 1-2 in Grapefruit League play while the Orioles are 3-0.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Leadoff hitter Brett Gardner was 3-for-3 with three singles and second batter Jayson Nix collected two singles in three at-bats. The rest of the Yankees were 3-for-28 (.107). Gardner, who missed virtually all of the 2012 season with a right elbow injury, is hitting .667 in the early going. Nix is hitting .750 in the two games he has played.
  • Though Nuno was touched for Roberts’ double and Jones’ RBI single, he certainly looked impressive in striking out five batters in his two innings of work. Nuno, 24, was signed by the Yankees last winter off the independent Washington Wild roster and he’s been dominating minor-league hitters ever since. At Double-A Trenton Nidal was 9-5 with a 2.45 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 114 innings in 20 starts last season. Since he has learned a change-up he being tabbed as an older version of Manny Banuelos, who will miss the 2013 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
  • Josh Spence, a 25-year-old Australian left-hander, was the only Yankee hurler to pitch a perfect 1-2-3 inning and that was in the ninth. The Yankees claimed Spence off waivers from the San Diego Padres in early November after he was 4-2 with a 4.20 ERA 31 games at Triple-A Tucson.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • For the second straight day the Yankees’ offense was pretty much missing in action. If Ibarra had not driven in Joseph in the final frame the Yankees would have been 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position in their last two games.
  • If Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera are seeking to stake a claim to replace Curtis Granderson as the team’s starting left-fielder as he recovers from a broken right forearm they have got to do better than they did on Monday. Diaz was 0-for-3 and stranded six base-runners. He hit into a double play and did not get a ball out the infield. Rivera also was 0-for-3 including a strikeout.
  • Before you get too angry at the Yankees’ pitching staff for giving up five runs just remember that pitchers such as Nuno, Bryan Mitchell, Corey Black, Shane Greene, Ryan Pope, Kelvin Perez and Spence are not battling for roster spots. They are all headed back to the minors. The Orioles, in contrast, threw veterans like Matusz, Tommy Hunter, Pedro Strop and Mark Hendrickson.

BOMBER BANTER

With the Yankees looking to replace Granderson, veteran outfielder Johnny Damon told ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay that he would be interested in returning to the Yankees if he got a call to come to spring training. Damon, 39, said he is willing to fill in for Granderson for the six weeks he will miss, he would play for the minimum salary and would need about three or four weeks to get in shape. Asked about the possibility of bringing Damon to camp, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, “We will focus on what we have at this time.”  . . .  Mariano Rivera threw 32 pitches in a live batting-practice session on Monday, and CC Sabathia threw batting practice to hitters for the first time this spring as the rehabbing hurlers continue prepare for Opening Day.  . . .  Manager Joe Girardi said that outfield prospects Tyler Austin and Slade Heathcott will not be considered to open the season in New York.  . . .  Yankees outfielder Melky Mesa said that even after Granderson’s injury, he still plans to leave camp to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.  Bench coach Tony Pena will be managing the Dominican squad.

ON DECK

The Yankees will travel to Clrawater, FL, on Tuesday to take on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Hot prospect right-hander Jose Ramirez will draw the start for the Yankees. He will be opposed by veteran right-hander Kyle Kendrick.

The Yankees will send Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis and Travis Hafner to play in the game. Relievers Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson are also scheduled to make the spring debuts.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast live on the MLB Network.

 

Yankees Ride CC Past Birds To Earn Spot In ALCS

 

To ride a horse is to ride the sky.

 

                                                                                      – Author Unknown

 

GAME 5 – AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

YANKEES 3, ORIOLES 1

The New York Yankees entered the postseason with one unquestioned ace. The Baltimore Orioles entered the postseason saying that their best pitcher was the pitcher scheduled to pitch that day. Unfortunately for the Orioles, not having that one horse you can ride throughout the postseason proved to be the difference in this series.

CC Sabathia pitched his first career postseason complete game and he struck out a personal postseason best nine batters on Friday to lead New York to an ALDS-clinching victory in Game 5 over upstart Baltimore in front of a raucous paid crowd of 47,081 at Yankee Stadium.

With the victory, the American League East-champion Yankees will advance to the American League Championship Series and host the American League Central-champion Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

Sabathia (2-0) gave up one run on four hits and two walks and threw 78 of his 121 pitches for strikes to run his ALDS record with the Yankees to 5-0 and he remains undefeated in his last eight postseason starts. In addition, he ran his career record against the Orioles, including his two postseason victories in the series, to 18-4.

The game unfolded as yet another pitchers’ duel between Sabathia and Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel (0-1), who also squared off in Game 1 of the series.

Both pitchers retired the first nine batters they faced until Nate McLouth slapped an opposite-field single to left off Sabathia to open the fourth inning.

Hammel, however, extended his perfect streak through four innings until Mark Teixeira opened the fifth with a single over the Orioles’ overshift into right-field. Manager Joe Girardi then decided to make the Orioles pay for not bothering to hold Teixeira on first base, as they have done through the entire series.

Teixeira stole second after swiping only two bases in the regular season and not stealing any in his career in postseason play.  Teixeira then scored the first run of the game on a single up the middle by Game 3 hero Raul Ibanez.

Yankee fans got a bit of a pre-Halloween scare with two out in the sixth when McLouth hit a ball down the right-field line that was ruled a foul ball. The Orioles protested the call but the umpires upheld the original call of foul after a brief video review indicated the ball clearly traveled in front of the foul pole as it landed in the second deck. Sabathia then struck out McLouth to end the inning.

Hammel ran into more problems in the sixth when he issued a one-out walk to Derek Jeter and Jeter scored a line-drive double off the 385-foot marker in right-center by Ichiro Suzuki.

Two batters later, Hammel was removed from the game by Orioles manager Buck Showalter after yielding two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six batters in 5 2/3 innings.

The Yankees padded their lead in the seventh inning when Curtis Granderson, who entered Game 5 of the series 1-for-16 with nine strikeouts, blasted a solo home run down the line in right into the second deck off Orioles left-hander Troy Patton.

Staked to a 3-0 lead, Sabathia began the eighth inning having pitched a dominant one-hitter and he issued a lone walk to Matt Wieters in the fifth inning.

But Yankee fans had to bite their nails when Sabathia gave up a leadoff single to Wieters and a walk to Manny Machado. After Sabathia fanned Mark Reynolds, Lew Ford slapped a single into left to score Wieters and break up Sabathia’s shutout.

Sabathia then induced Robert Andino to hit a weak comebacker to Sabathia’s right of the mound. However, Sabathia threw to second too late to get a sliding Ford in what was scored a single.

With the crowd nervous for the first time all afternoon, Sabathia wriggled out of the inning by striking out McLouth and getting J.J. Hardy on a slow hopper to Jeter at short.

With his ace having thrown 29 pitches in the eighth and 111 pitches overall,  Girardi – who bravely elected to bench Alex Rodriguez for this game in favor of Eric Chavez – opted to have Sabathia finish out the contest.

Girardi was determined to ride his big horse to the end.

It took Sabathia only 11 pitches to get Adam Jones on a routine fly to center, Chris Davis on a swinging strikeout and Wieters on a comebacker to himself. Sabathia trotted three strides towards first base and easily flipped the ball to Teixeira to put the final nail in the coffin to the Orioles’ improbable playoff run.

Over the course of the season, the Yankees defeated the Orioles in 12 of 23 games and outscored them by four runs. In this series, they were 3-2 and outscored the Birds 16-10.

By virtue of having the best record in the American League, the Yankees will have home-field advantage in the best-of-seven ALCS. It will be the team’s 15th appearance in the championship series and their first since the 2010 season.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Though the Yankees blew a chance to begin the ALCS with Sabathia on the mound when they lost Thursday, the ace left-hander bailed them out with a truly dominant outing. In his two games in the series, Sabathia was 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA. He gave up just three runs on 12 hits and two walks and struck out 16 in 17 2/3 innings. In what definitely was a pitchers’ series, Sabathia was clearly the Most Valuable Player.
  • Ibanez came through with another crucial hit in the series to drive in the game’s first run. Though he only received nine at-bats in the series, Ibanez had four hits, including a game-tying and game-winning homer, and three RBIs. In benching, Rodriguez, who was 2-for-16 with nine strikeouts, Ibanez was placed in the No. 5 spot in the order and he came through again.
  • Granderson probably deserved to be benched as much as A-Rod, but he was 2-for-3 with a home run in the game. After a regular season in which Granderson led the team in home runs and RBIs, he was conspicuous in his struggles through the first four games of the series. Now he has something positive going for him leading up the ALCS.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I could mention the awful hitting of Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Rodriguez and Granderson. But you can say the same about Jones, Wieters, Reynolds and Hardy of the Orioles. This was a pitchers’ series and both teams staffs held the other team down for long stretches. The difference was the Orioles did not have anyone who could match the brilliance of Sabathia.

BOMBER BANTER

It is not often that a three-time A.L. MVP and the highest-priced player on the payroll is benched for the deciding game of a postseason series, but Girardi informed Rodriguez via text message at about 1 p.m. EDT that he would not be starting Game 5. A-Rod replied, “I will be ready of you need me.” Rodriguez had been pinch-hit for in Game 3 and Game 4 of the series. He did not play in Game 5. Chavez played third batted and batted ninth. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.  . . .  Reliever Joba Chamberlain was unavailable for Friday’s game due to a swollen and bruised right elbow he sustained when he was struck by a piece of a shattered bat in the 12th inning of Thursday’s game. His status for the ALCS is unclear and he is listed as day-to-day.

ON DECK

After the Yankees were bounced out the 2011 ALDS in five games by the Tigers last season, the Yankees will be looking a measure of revenge in 2012. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series will be Saturday.

The Yankees will start left-hander Andy Pettitte (0-1, 3.86), who gave up three runs in seven innings of a tough-luck 3-2 loss to the Orioles in Game 2 on Monday. In 23 career starts against the Tigers, Pettitte is 10-9 with a 3.66 ERA. But he is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA in his seven starts at Yankee Stadium this season.

The Tigers will counter with right-hander Doug Fister (0-0, 2.57 ERA). Fister gave up two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven in seven innings in Game 2 in a no-decision against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. Fister is 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA lifetime against the Yankees. Although Fister won the deciding Game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees last season, he was 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA against them in the series.

Game-time will be 8 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by TBS.

 

CC, Yankees Ride 5-Run Ninth To Soar Past Birds

 

Well now C., C.C. Rider, well now see 
See what you have done 
Well now C., C.C. Rider, well now see 
See what you have done 

 

                 - Lyrics to “C.C. Rider” by Chuck Willis and Ma Rainey

 

GAME 1 – AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

YANKEES 7, ORIOLES 2

Before this series began, the Orioles were counting on the fact that CC Sabathia came into Sunday’s game with an 0-2 record and a 6.38 ERA in the regular season against the Orioles after posting a spectacular 16-3 mark against them in his career.

They also believed their vaunted bullpen, led by closer Jim Johnson and his 51 saves, would hold the Yankees down long enough for the Orioles to sneak off with another one of their patented one-run victories at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Neither of those two things happened, however.

Sabathia pitched a brilliant 8 2/3 innings and the Yankees pounded Johnson in the ninth inning for five runs on five hits, including a tie-breaking leadoff home run from Russell Martin, as New York clipped the wings of Baltimore to take a pivotal 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

The game was tied 2-2 when Orioles manager Buck Showalter elected to bring Johnson into the game to attempt to hold the Yankees scoreless in the top of ninth. However, Johnson elevated a sinker on a 2-0 pitch to Martin and the veteran catcher blasted a long line drive into left-field that landed six rows up into the bleachers.

You could hear a collective gasp in the crowd because the deluxe sinker-baller Johnson had only given up only three home runs all season and none after June 5.

Raul Ibanez followed with a sharp ground single into right and Derek Jeter then executed a perfect hit-and-run single into the hole between first and second to advance Ibanez to third. Eduardo Nunez was inserted into the game to run for Ibanez.

Ichiro Suzuki then delivered a swinging-bunt single that scored Nunez and one out later Robinson Cano, who came into the game hitting .615 in his last nine games but was 0-for-4 on the night, slapped an opposite-field double to score Jeter and Suzuki. Cano advanced to third on a throwing error by J.J. Hardy.

Johnson (0-1) left in favor of right-hander Tommy Hunter and Nick Swisher was able to loft a fly ball into center to score Cano with fifth and final run charged to Johnson.

Meanwhile, Sabathia (1-0) pitched skillfully and came within one strike of pitching a complete game against a team that was playing in its first postseason since 1997 in front of a raucous towel-waving paid crowd of 47,841.

The Yankees actually broke open the scoring in the game before some of those fans had enough time to dry off their seats after a two hour and 21 minute rain delay had pushed back the first pitch to 8:42 p.m. EDT.

Jeter, who led the major leagues in hits this season with 216, stroked a hard-hit single up the middle off Orioles starter Jason Hammel. Suzuki, playing in his first postseason game since his rookie season of 2001 with the Seattle Mariners, then laced a double to the wall in left-center that scored Jeter standing up.

That run stood until the third inning when Chris Davis lined a single to center off Sabathia and Lew Ford followed with a single in the hole between shortstop and third into left-field. Robert Andino laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance them a base and Sabathia perhaps made his only real mistake of the whole evening.

Sabathia hung a first-pitch slider and Nate Mclouth slapped it into right-center to score Davis and Ford to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead.

The Yankees tied it up in the fourth by taking advantage of some wildness on the part of Hammel, who had not started a game since Sept. 11 because of a recurrence of a right knee injury that landed him on the disabled list early in the season.

Alex Rodriguez drew a walk to lead off the frame and one out later Swisher was walked on a 3-2 pitch. Mark Teixeira followed with a towering shot that hit the top of the scoreboard in right-field to score Rodriguez, however, Teixeira was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double on a bullet throw from Davis.

The game remained tied until the ninth but Sabathia earned the victory by turning away several serious Oriole scoring threats.

The Orioles mounted a rally in the fifth when Davis led off with a broken-bat single to right and one out later Andino rolled a ball just past a diving Jeter into left. However, Sabathia fanned McLouth looking and he retired Hardy on inning-ending groundout.

The Orioles put two men on base with two out in the sixth on a Mark Reynolds single and an error by Jeter on a short-hop grounder off the bat of Manny Machado. But Sabathia got Davis to fly out to center to end the threat.

In the eighth, Hardy led off with an opposite-field double to right. But Sabathia struck out Adam Jones swinging, got Matt Wieters out on a foul pop to Teixeira and Reynolds rolled out to Jeter to strand Hardy and set the stage for the Yankees five-run explosion in the ninth.

Sabathia surrendered two runs on eight hits and one walk while he fanned seven batters in a gutty 120-pitch outing. He left with two out in the ninth after Ford hit a two-out double on a 1-2 pitch.

David Robertson came on and struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Flaherty swinging to end the contest in front a quiet and dispirited Camden Yards crowd.

The Yankees had some chances to score more runs earlier in the game off Hammel. But base-running blunders and the fact the team was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position until the ninth saved the Orioles.

After Suzuki doubled in Jeter in the first he was thrown by Wieters trying to steal third. Teixeira getting thrown out trying to stretch his RBI single in the  fourth also short-circuited a potential big-inning.

Hammel gave up two runs on four hits and four walks while he struck out five in 5 2/3 innings.

Reliever Troy Patton escaped a two-on, two out jam in the sixth on a running catch of a ball off the bat of Curtis Granderson in foul territory in deep right by Davis.

The Yankees mounted a threat against Patton in the seventh when Martin and Ibanez drew back-to-back walks to start the inning.

After reliever Darren O’Day gave up a sacrifice bunt to Jeter that advanced Martin and Ibanez, Suzuki hit a hot smash to Andino and he threw Martin out at the plate. Rodriguez ended the threat by striking out swinging.

The ninth, however, would prove to be a much different story against Johnson.

The Yankees hold a vital 1-0 lead, having taken a game on the road in the best-of-five series. Since divisional play began, teams with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five sets have won 48 of the previous 68 series.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Sabathia shook off the long rain delay and retired the first six batters he faced. He threw 80 of his 120 pitches for strikes (67 percent).  Sabathia also redeemed himself after pitching so poorly this season against the Orioles in his three starts and the 6.23 ERA he recorded in the best-of-five ALDS loss in 2011 to the Detroit Tigers.
  • Martin has been delivering clutch home runs lately and this one was probably even more important than his three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 28 that broke open a game the Yankees eventually won 11-4 to keep their lead in the American League East. Though Martin hit .211 this season, a hot final month allowed him to post a career high 21 home runs.
  • Though Suzuki’s base-running foray in the first hurt, he delivered for the Yankees in the game by going 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. He also combined with Jeter to reach base six times in 10 plate appearances.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Rodriguez is virtually useless to the Yankees. He did draw a walk and score the tying run in the fourth. However, in his other four trips to the plate he struck out three times and rolled out weakly to short. After another disappointing season, Rodriguez is continuing his inept hitting in the playoffs.
  • Granderson was not much better. He was 0-for-3 with an intentional walk. He hit into a fielder’s choice, fouled out to right and struck out. That is odd for Granderson because he entered play with a career average of .313 in division series play. In the seventh inning reliever Brian Matusz deliberately walked Teixeira on four pitches to face Granderson with two out and he struck him out on three pitches.
  • The runners-in-scoring-position curse that has followed the Yankees much of the season almost sunk them against the Orioles. The Orioles were 3-for-8 but those five times they did not deliver against Sabathia cost them the game. The Yankees were very lucky to have won.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees posted a 25-man roster for the series that included some surprises. The Yankees found out middle infielder Jayson Nix was healthy enough to put on the roster. His left hip flexor injury he sustained in game on Sept. 27 was supposed to have sidelined him for 10 to 14 days but he was cleared to play on Saturday. In addition, Andruw Jones was left off the roster in favor of outfielder Brett Gardner and Nunez. Jones struggled badly in the second half and ended up hitting just .197. The Yankees also elected to go with a 11-man pitching staff that did not include 12-game winner Ivan Nova, veteran Freddy Garcia or reliever Cody Eppley. Late-season acquisition Derek Lowe was placed on the roster along with rookie right-hander David Phelps.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to deal a severe blow to the Orioles if they can win a second game at Camden Yards on Monday.

The Yankees have decided to go with 40-year-old left-hander Andy Pettitte (5-4, 2.87 ERA), who happens to be the all-time leader in postseason victories and boasts a 19-10 record with a 3.83 ERA in 42 starts. Pettitte was 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in his three starts after being activated from the disabled list with a broken bone in his left ankle. He is 27-6 with a 3.52 ERA lifetime against the Orioles.

The Orioles will counter with a rookie right-hander from Taiwan in Wei-Yin Chen (12-11, 4.02 ERA). Chen wore down in September as evidenced by his 0-4 record and 5.05 ERA in his final six starts of the season. Chen started against the Yankees four times and was 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA.

Game-time will be 8 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by TBS.

 

Yankees Get Off Canvas In Seventh To KO Orioles

GAME 132

YANKEES 4, ORIOLES 3

The Yankees played a game on Saturday that was very similar to the climatic fight scene with Rocky Balboa in the original “Rocky.” For the first six rounds, I mean innings, they were knocked down, hurt badly and they seemingly were clinging to the ropes in desperation.

But they came off the ropes swinging. It may have not looked pretty but New York sent nine men to the plate and scored three runs in the seventh inning to rally from a 3-1 deficit to down Baltimore and push their lead in the American League East back to three games.

For the first six innings Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (12-8) had the Yankees befuddled.

He retired the first 11 batters he faced in order until Robinson Cano hit an 0-2 pitch that was out of the strike zone over the wall to the opposite field in left for his 28th home run of the season. Of course, at that time Chen and the Orioles still held a 3-1 lead.

When the sixth inning began, Chen had given up only two hits and a walk while striking out four batters.

Steve Pearce, who was only in the game because Curtis Granderson had to leave in the third inning with a tight right hamstring, started off the rally innocently enough with a one-out single, his first hit for the Yankees.

With two out Jayson Nix worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch and Eduardo Nunez, who was just brought up on Saturday as the rosters expanded, stroked a broken-bat bloop single into left-center to score Pearce and end Chen’s afternoon.

Manager Buck Showalter summoned hard-throwing right-hander Pedro Strop to pitch to Ichiro Suzuki.

But Strop had issues with his command and he walked Suzuki to load the bases. Derek Jeter then ended up down in the count 0-2 before working it back to 3-2. And Strop promptly walked Jeter on an inside slider just out of the strike zone. Score tied.

Nick Swisher then continued the most improbable of two-out rallies by stroking a routine hard-hit grounder to the shortstop who is currently leading the majors in fielding percentage in J.J. Hardy and Hardy inexplicably booted it to allow Nix to score with what turned out to be the winning run.

Most of the 46,122 fans at Yankee Stadium who paid to see this heavyweight matchup stood up and cheered in delight.

It was these same fans who watched in horror as rookie right-hander David Phelps uncharacteristically walked six and hit a batter in his 4 2/3 innings of work.

Phelps walked Nick Markakis to start the game and after a Hardy single advanced him to third Markakis scored on a double-play groundout off the bat of Nate McLouth.

An inning later, Phelps hit Chris Davis with a 3-2 pitch and walked Mark Reynolds to begin the frame. Omar Quintanilla advanced them both on a sacrifice bunt and rookie Manny Machado scored Davis with a single up the middle.

Matt Wieters added the Orioles’ third run by leading off the fourth inning with a home run into the second deck in right-field.

Phelps, though he was wild, did keep the Yankees in the game because he gave up only three hits. The bullpen bailed the rookie out by shutting down the Orioles the rest of the way.

Boone Logan (6-2) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory in relief.

David Robertson pitched a perfect eighth inning and Rafael Soriano struck out two of the three batters he retired in the ninth to pick up his 35th in 38 chances this season.

The Yankees improved their season record to 76-56 while the Orioles fell to 73-59. But the damage from the game is that the Orioles blew a golden opportunity to come within a single game of the Yankees. Now they can leave the Bronx no closer than two games behind.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Jeter’s at-bat against Strop was a classic illustration of what makes “The Captain” so special. Jeter was called out on strikes on a low pitch in sixth inning and he had words about it with home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook. But Jeter fought from 0-2 down in the count to 3-2 and earned the walk from Strop by taking two very close pitches. That was very courageous and it paid off big-time for the Yankees.
  • Most Yankee fans will say Phelps stunk and disappointed them. But I would say Phelps showed more strength as a pitcher than I have ever seen in a rookie. He basically had no command and gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings. He never gave the Orioles a chance to break the game open and he battled with what little he had. That showed me a lot. Phelps is a keeper.
  • The most overlooked player in the Yankees’ seventh inning had to be Nix. Nix drew two walks on the day and the second was a big one because it allowed Nunez the chance to drive in Pearce. Nix is hitting .254 but this is a very good role player who gives the Yankees good effort at the plate and he is very steady in the field. Nix does not get enough credit for what he does for the team.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • This team obviously is missing two big weapons in Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. That makes it hard on the rest of the team to step up. But they need to stop making pitchers like Miguel Gonzalez and Chen look like they are Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. The Yankees won on Saturday with just four hits and they used three walks and an error to their benefit. But the offense has to wake up soon.
  • Andruw Jones is very close to earning himself a designated for assignment. With Nunez around to bat from the right side, Jones may be out of a job if he keeps putting up 0-fers as he did again on Saturday. He was 0-for-4 and did not get a ball out the infield against a rookie left-hander. He is now hitting .203.
  • Russell Martin remains a major liability at the plate. He also was 0-for-4 and his batting average is now .196. With Francisco Cervelli back on the roster it might be time to let him have a shot to see what he can do with the bat. It certainly can’t be worse than what Martin has done.

BOMBER BANTER

Granderson had a precautionary MRI at New York-Presbyterian Hospital after the game and it appears his injury is not considered serious. Granderson grimaced as he struck out looking in the second inning and did not come out for the third. Manager Joe Girardi said that Granderson could be in the starting lineup on Sunday.  . . .  Girardi also told reporters that Rodriguez could rejoin the team in St.Petersburg, FL, on Monday when the Yankees face the  Tampa Bay Rays. Rodriguez is rehabbing his fractured left hand at Class-A Tampa and the stint could end on Sunday.  . . .  Along with Nunez and Cervelli, the Yankees also brought up outfielder Chris Dickerson, left-handed pitcher Justin Thomas and right-handers Cory Wade and Adam Warren. Infielder Casey McGehee will also be added to the roster when Class-A Charleston’s season ends.

ON DECK

The Yankees have a chance to win the rubber game of the series on Sunday against the Orioles.

Phil Hughes (13-11, 4.02 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Hughes is 2-1 and has given up three earned runs over his last 21 innings. He is 5-3 with 5.00 ERA in his career against the Orioles.

Right-hander Chris Tillman (7-2, 3.26 ERA) will start for the O’s. Tillman allowed one hit and struck out five in seven shutout innings to beat the White Sox in his last start. He is 2-3 with a 8.42 ERA lifetime against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by TBS and locally by the YES Network.

 

Maryland Native Teixeira Clips Orioles’ Wings

GAME 35

YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 5

For the past four seasons Orioles fans having been booing Maryland native Mark Teixeira whenever he comes to the plate at Camden Yards in some misguided thought that Teixeira owed the city of Baltimore enough that he should have signed a free-agent contract with their team for less money.

On Monday night, Teixeira treated those fans to what they have been missing the last four years by launching a majestic two-run blast in the seventh inning to break up a 5-5 tie to lead New York to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Baltimore.

Former Yankee reliever Luis Ayala (1-1) gave up a leadoff single to Alex Rodriguez, his third single of the game. One out later, Teixeira ripped into a 1-2 fastball on the outside corner and pulled into the right-field bleachers for his fifth home run of the season.

Reliever David Phelps (1-1) picked up his first major-league victory in relief with a scoreless inning of work. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the season.

The game was a back-and-forth affair because neither starting pitcher was able to pitch effectively.

The Orioles jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Ivan Nova in the first inning on an RBI single by J.J. Hardy and an RBI double by Adam Jones.

But the Yankees struck back against Jason Hammel in the fourth inning on a two-run double off the bat of Nick Swisher. They added another run in the fifth on a two-out solo home run by Curtis Granderson, his 12th of the season which was hit so hard it landed over the right-field  stands and out onto Eutaw Street.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Nova was unable to hold the lead in the fifth. Nova walked Robert Andino, rookie Xavier Avery then tripled to right-field to score Andino. Then Hardy followed with a his ninth home run of the season to hand the Orioles a 5-3 lead.

But Hammel was unable to hold the lead either.

The Yankees loaded the bases on Hammel in the sixth on a Robinson Cano double and successive walks to Teixeira and Swisher, which ended Hammel’s night. Ayala induced a ground ball off the bat of Raul Ibanez but it was misplayed into an error by Chris Davis and two runs scored.

Hammel was charged with five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks and he struck out three in five-plus innings. Hammel had previously not given up more than two runs in any of his previous six starts.

Nova left the game with one out in the sixth inning when he came up limping on his right foot after fielding a high bouncing ball off the bat of Wilson Betemit. With two out in the third inning, Nova was struck on the right foot on a ball hit by Nick Markakis but he was able to remain in the game.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record against the Orioles to 5-2 and the season record is now at 20-15. The Orioles dropped to 22-14.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Once again, the bullpen showed its superiority over the Orioles. In the final 3 2/3 innings Clay Rapada, Phelps, Boone Logan, Cory Wade and Soriano combined to shut out the Orioles the rest of the way on three hits and one walk and they struck out six batters. In contrast, the Orioles’ ineffective bullpen gave up three runs on four hits, three walks, two hit batters and struck out two in four innings. Ouch!
  • After his average dropped to .212 last Thursday when he was 0-for-3 against the Rays, Teixeira has a modest four-game hitting streak going with his 2-for-4 night against the Orioles. In that span, Teixeira is 6-for-16 (.375) with a six runs scored and two RBIs. He has raised his average to .231.
  • Granderson’s 12th home run ties him with Adam Dunn of the White Sox for second place in the American League in home runs. Josh Hamilton of Texas leads with 18. Granderson also contributed a sensational running catch to the deepest part of the ballpark on a shot off the bat of Hardy in the seventh inning.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Nova did not pitch effectively because he struggled with his command. He sureendered five runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out four in his 5 1/3 innings of work. Despite the fact he is 4-1, his ERA is now 5.44 and he will need to pitch much better going forward.
  • Weird stat of the game: Despite the fact the Yankees scored eight runs and collected 11 hits they were a miserable 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
  • Derek Jeter entered Sunday’s game with the Mariners having not hit into a double play this season. But he hit into two of them on Sunday and he hit into two more on Monday. So he now has hit into four double plays in his last eight at-bats. He also struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and he is 0-for-5 this season with the bases loaded.

BOMBER BANTER

This game could be very costly for the Yankees. Nova left the game with a bruise and a sprain in his right ankle. X-rays of his right ankle taken after the game were negative but it is unclear if Nova will be able to make his next scheduled start. In addition, Rapada had to be helped in to the clubhouse because of a severe viral infection and Ibanez left the game in the ninth inning after being struck on the right elbow on a pitch from reliever Dana Eveland. Ibanez told reporters he thought he would able to play on Tuesday.  . . .  Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Monday that reliever David Robertson has been unable to pitch for the past four days due to a soreness in his left ribcage. Robertson felt the discomfort after a he threw two-thirds of an inning in a non-save situation against the Rays on Thursday. He is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to sweep the Orioles in this two-game road series on Tuesday.

The Yankees will have a good shot with CC Sabathia (5-0, 3.51 ERA) starting. Sabathia has won his last five starts and he is coming off his best start of the season. He threw eight innings of shutout baseball and struck out a season-high 10 in beating the Rays on Thursday. Sabathia also owns a 16-2 record and a 2.86 ERA in his career against the Orioles.

His opponent will be left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (3-0, 2.43 ERA). Chen held the Rangers to two runs in 7 2/3 innings in his last start. He has no record and 3.18 ERA after just one start against the Yankees this season.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by MY9.

 

Yankees Say Sayonara To O’s With Kuroda’s Gem

GAME 22

YANKEES 2, ORIOLES 1

Just when the pundits, press and fans became apoplectic over the inconsistency of the Yankees’ starting pitching Hiroki Kuroda followed CC Sabathia’s outstanding eight-inning outing on Sunday with a gem of his own on Monday.

Kuroda (2-3) held the Orioles to one run on four hits and one walk and struck out three over seven innings of work and he got a two-run home run from Eric Chavez as New York continued their dominance over Baltimore at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y.

The 37-year-old right-hander even protected his one-run lead with a dazzling defensive play of his own at home plate in the seventh inning.

With Nick Markakis on third and Matt Wieters on second and two out, Kuroda threw a 1-0 pitch to Wilson Betemit that hit the dirt and rolled past Russell Martin. Markakis broke for home, Martin scrambled to the ball, made a backhand toss to Kuroda, who blocked the plate and applied the tag to Markakis to end the inning.

Right-hander Jason Hammel (3-1) took his first loss of the season, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and fanning five in six innings. His big mistake came on a first-pitch fastball to Chavez in the second inning with Mark Teixeira on first and one out.

Chavez blasted the pitch 375 feet off the wall of the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center to give the Yankees a lead they would never relinquish thanks to Kuroda and the bullpen duo of David Robertson and Mariano Rivera.

Robertson pitched a perfect eighth by striking out the side. Meanwhile, the 42-year-old future Hall-of-Fame closer Rivera needed only nine pitches to dispatch the Orioles in the ninth for his fifth save of the season and the 608th of his career.

The Orioles broke the seal on the scoring in the top of the second inning when Adam Jones drew a walk, he adavnced to third on a Matt Wieters single and he scored on a deep sacrifice fly off the bat of Chris Davis. However, Kuroda, with help from the Yankees’ bullpen, shut down the Orioles the rest of the way.

With the victory the Yankees improved their season record to 13-9. The Orioles, who have now lost all four contests they have played against the Yankees this season, fell to 14-9.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • It is real easy to see now why the Yankees shelled out $10 million on a one-year contract for Kuroda. He kept the Orioles off balance with a mixture of sliders and split-finger fastballs. He threw 52 of his 87 pitches for strikes (60 percent) and he lowered his season ERA to 3.69. In his last two outings against good-hitting teams in the Rangers and the Orioles, Kuroda has given up just three runs on nine hits and three walks in 13 2/3 innings. That is an ERA of 2.03 and a WHIP of 0.90.
  • Once Kuroda handed off the one-run lead to Robertson and Rivera, it was lights out for the Orioles. Robertson blew away the Orioles with a fastball clocked as high as 94 mph. He fanned Betemit swinging and Mark Reynolds and Robert Andino were caught looking on perfectly placed fastballs on the outside corner at the knees. Rivera has not been scored upon since he blew his first save on opening day against Tampa. In his last 7 1/3 innings, he has given up just three hits and no walks and he has struck out seven batters.
  • Chavez’s home run in the second was his third of the season and that is one more than Chavez hit all of last season for the Yankees in 58 games. Chavez is getting more playing time with Brett Gardner on the disabled list and manager Joe Girardi’s decision to use Alex Rodriguez more often as the designated hitter. The 34-year-old veteran is taking advantage of it, hitting .321 with three home runs and five RBIs.
  • Teixeira was 2-for-3 in the game and he finished April with a .244 average, which is far cry better than his career average of .190 in the opening month.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

When the starter goes seven innings, the bullpen holds a slim one-run lead and the team plays errorless defense, there is not much negative to say. The Yankees could have gotten their offense untracked more, but Hammel is the Orioles’ ace and he entered the game with a 1.73 ERA.

BOMBER BANTER

Eduardo Nunez made his first major-league start in left-field and he handled all five of his chances without making an error. He made an excellent catch on sinking liner off the bat of Markakis in the first inning and he made an excellent catch at the wall on Davis’ sac fly in the second. But his catch of liner off the bat of Andino was a bit of an adventure as he caught the ball sprawling awkwardly to the turf.  . . .  One reason Nunez played left was because Nick Swisher is out with a slight strain of his left hamstring. Swisher hopes to return in three days but Girardi said it will be closer to a week before he allows Swisher play.   . . .  Gardner, meanwhile, is targeting a return from the disabled list on Thursday when he is eligible to be activated. He has been sidelined with a strained right elbow  . . .  The numbers may not show it, but Andy Pettitte declared himself ready to help the Yankees now. Pettitte gave up six runs (five earned) on 10 hits, walked none and struck out eight in six innings of work for Class-A Tampa in the Florida State League on Monday. Pettitte threw 96 pitches and he said he could make his next start for the Yankees. However, general manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees would prefer that Pettitte make one more minor-league start on Saturday and he could be ready to pitch for the Yankees on May 10.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game home series with the Orioles on Tuesday.

The Yankees will start right-hander Phil Hughes (1-3, 7.88 ERA). He lasted just 2 2/3 innings of his last start against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Hughes is 4-2 with a 5.24 ERA in his career against the Orioles.

The Orioles will counter with struggling left-hander Brian Matusz (0-3, 5.66 ERA). Matusz gave up two runs in six innings in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays but he did not get a decision. He has lost 12 straight decisions dating back to last season and he is 2-5 with a 5.10 ERA lifetime against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

« older posts | back to blog home |
Theme: MLB “retro” | Get a free blog at WordPress.com
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.