Results tagged ‘ Derek Holland ’

Garcia Bests Rangers Despite Hamilton’s Blasts

GAME 117

YANKEES 3, RANGERS 2

The final score on Wednesday should read Yankees 3, Rangers 0, Josh Hamilton 2.

On a night where a pair of mammoth solo home runs by Hamilton was all Texas could muster for an offense, Freddy Garcia and New York held on to take the first three games of a four-game series between the two top teams in the American League.

The Yankees scored three runs in the third inning off Rangers starter Scott Feldman (6-8) on an RBI double by Nick Swisher, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Curtis Granderson and a big two-out RBI single by the red-hot Eric Chavez.

That was all Garcia eventually would need. But Hamilton made it interesting by launching a 400-foot blast off Garcia into the second deck in right with one out in the fourth inning. It was the first regular-season home run Hamilton has hit in the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.

The home run also ended a drought of 20 innings in which the Rangers were held scoreless in this series by the Yankees.

The Rangers were able to load the bases on Garcia right after the Hamilton homer. However, Garcia was able to wriggle out of further trouble by inducing Geovany Soto to hit into an inning-ending double play.

But with one out in the sixth, Hamilton was able to connect off Garcia again with a moon shot measured at about 455 feet into second deck in right. It was his major-league leading 34th home run of the season.

But Garcia was able to complete 6 2/3 innings. Other than the two home runs, Garcia shut down the Rangers on just two other hits and a walk and he struck out six to win his third straight start. Garcia now has won five games since he was inserted into the rotation on July 2, which leads the team.

Garcia also is 5-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his last seven starts against the Rangers, dating back to 2004.

Jayson Nix, playing in place of an ailing Robinson Cano, opened the third against Feldman with an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on a lined single by Derek Jeter. Swisher, who was 3-for-8 with two home runs and seven RBIs in the first two games of the series, added to the Rangers’ misery with a bloop opposite-field double that landed just inside the line in left-field to score Nix while Jeter made it to third.

Granderson followed with a high fly to deep center that easily scored Jeter. Then, one out later, Chavez, who entered the day hitting .550 in his last five games, stroked an opposite-field single that scored Swisher.

But after that inning, Feldman got stingy and pitched around a lot of danger to keep the game close.

Feldman left after six innings having given up thee runs on seven hits and four walks and he struck out seven. After going 3-for-3 with runners in scoring position in the third, the Yankees were held to 0-for-8 the rest of the game and they stranded 10 runners.

Boone Logan replaced Garcia with two out and nobody on to retire pinch-hitter Michael Young to end the seventh. David Robertson then pitched a 1-2-3 eight, striking out two batters.

Rafael Soriano came on in the ninth and struck out Hamilton swinging and retired Adrian Beltre on a deep line drive to the warning track in left.

On a play in which Swisher dug out a one-hop throw from Chavez and stayed on the bag on a grounder off the bat of Nelson Cruz, first-base umpire Marty Foster incorrectly ruled that Swisher came off the bag for what was scored an error on Chavez. That added a bit of drama for the crowd of 45,921 who braved an hour and 45 minute rain delay in the Bronx to see this clash of A.L. titans.

But Soriano pitched around the error and retired David Murphy on a ground-ball force out to pick up his 29th save in his 31 opportunities this season.

With the victory, the Yankees have won seven out of their last eight games. They also have a streak of eight straight home victories over the Rangers that dates back to last season.

Their season record is now 70-47, the best record in the American League. The victory also gives the Yankees a six-game edge over the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. The Rangers fell to 67-49.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • What has been the biggest knock on the 2012 Yankees? Their supposedly suspect starting pitching, of course, with CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte on the disabled list. But David Phelps, Hiroki Kuroda and Garcia have combined to give up just four runs on 12 hits and four walks and fanned 13 batters in 18 2/3 innings against a very good hitting Rangers team. That is a starters’ ERA of 1.93 and a WHIP of 0.86. This staff is better than they might seem just looking at their ERAs. In his nine starts since July 2, Garcia has not given up more than three earned runs in eight of them and he has an ERA of 3.69 in those starts.
  • Chavez continues to turn back the clock to his 2001 season with Oakland in which he hit .288 with 32 home runs and 114 RBIs. Chavez was 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in the game. In his last six starts, Chavez is 14-for-23 (.609) with three home runs and seven RBIs. The 34-year-old veteran is doing more than his share filling in for an injured Alex Rodriguez.
  • Swisher is just about as hot as Chavez. In the series he is 4-for-13 (.308) with two home runs and eight RBIs. In his last nine games, he is 13-for-39 (.333) with two home runs and 11 RBIs. His hot streak has raised his season batting average to .263.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Some poor strategy and some poor execution of a bunt cost the Yankees a few potential chances to tack on to their lead. Ichiro Suzuki led off the sixth with an infield single. Instead of having Suzuki steal or having Nix bunt Suzuki over, manager Joe Girardi had Nix swing away and he hit into a double play. In the eighth, Nix did bunt after another leadoff infield single by Suzuki and Nix reached first because the bunt was so well placed. However, Jeter popped up his bunt attempt and reliever Mike Adams let it drop and turned it into a double play that killed the rally.
  • Mark Teixeira had a night to forget. He was 0-for-4, struck out three times and he did not get a ball out of the infield. Teixeira entered the game with an eight-game hitting streak in which he was 11-for-32 (.344) with three homers and five RBIs.
  • Russell Martin’s season from hell continues. The Rangers’ pitchers pretty much used the catcher, who entered the game hitting .199, as an escape hatch to big innings. Martin was 0-for-3 with a walk and he stranded seven runners. Martin lined out to right on the first pitch off reliever Alexi Ogando with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.

BOMBER BANTER

Cano was held out of Wednesday’s game due to a stiff neck, but Girardi said he did not think it was anything serious. Nix replaced Cano at second base and was 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored.  . . .  In Rodriguez’s absence, Chavez, Nix and Casey McGehee have gone a combined 26-for-68 (.382) with seven homers, 15 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 19 starts at third base.

ON DECK

The Yankees can take out their brooms and complete a four-game sweep of the mighty Rangers on Thursday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (11-6, 4.70 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees. Nova gave up two runs on five hits and a walk and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. He is 2-1 with a 4.67 ERA in his career against the Rangers.

The Rangers will counter with left-hander Derek Holland (7-6, 4.92 ERA). Holland was locked in a pitching duel with Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Holland struck out nine and retired 22 of the 24 batters he faced, but he settled for a no-decision. He may want to wear a batting helmet on the mound Thursday because he is 0-5 with a 9.26 ERA lifetime against the Yankees.

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

 

Yankees Get 8 CCs Of Sabathia To Outgun Rangers

GAME 16

YANKEES 7, RANGERS 4

If you want to be the best team in the American League than you want to play the best team in the A.L. and beat their best with your best. New York did just that to Texas on Monday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX.

CC Sabathia pitched a solid eight innings and Alex Rodriguez homered and Derek Jeter contributed four hits as the Yankees defeated what was a red-hot Rangers team.

Sabathia (2-0) gave up four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out eight batters to win his second consecutive start. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season.

The Yankees’ offense, meanwhile, made life a living hell for Rangers starter Derek Holland (2-0). Holland gave up seven runs on nine hits and four walks and struck out one in six innings. He is now 0-5 in his career against the Yankees.

The Yankees struck early off Holland, loading the bases in the first inning and Curtis Granderson hit a looping two-out single to center give the Yankees an early 2-1 lead.

After the Rangers scored a run on a Josh Hamilton double-play grounder, the Yankees struck for four runs in the fifth inning, capped by Rodriguez’s 414-foot blast into the left-field seats for a three-run home run to give the Yankees a 6-1 lead.

They added a run in the sixth when backup catcher Chris Stewart hit a one-out double off the wall in left-center and Jeter scored him with a double off the wall in right-center.

Sabathia did surrender a solo home run to Hamilton in the sixth and a two-run double by Craig Gentry in the seventh. But he retired the last five batters he faced on routine grounders before giving way to Rivera.

Before the game, manager Joe Girardi was hoping Sabathia would pitch into the late innings to give a needed break to his overtaxed bullpen and Sabathia did just that, throwing 77 of his 109 pitches for strikes and keeping the Rangers’ power-laden offense at bay long enough for the Yankees to get to Holland.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record to 10-6 and they are now tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the A.L. East. The Rangers fell to 13-4.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Sabathia did give up four runs but this was, by far, his best performance of the season. Other than the scratch run he allowed in the first and Hamilton’s home run in the fifth, Sabathia pitched dominant baseball for the first six innings. He hurt himself with a leadoff walk to Nelson Cruz in the seventh and then he gave up one-out doubles to Brandon Snyder and Gentry, who were the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters in the lineup. He is now 11-3 in his career against the Rangers.
  • Jeter’s amazing start to the season just keeps getting better by the day. He reached on a infield single in the first, singled to left-center in the second, rolled a single into left in the fifth and then stroked his RBI double in the sixth. His 4-for-5 night raised his season average over .400 to .411. He also has 13 RBIs from the leadoff spot.
  • Rodriguez hit his third home run of the season off Holland on an 0-1 fastball that did not get in as far as Holland would have liked. Rodriguez, who was walked in his first two trips to the plate, was waiting for it and sent it into the bleachers in left-center. After a slow start at the plate, Rodriguez has homered twice in his last three games and has driven in five of his seven runs in that span.
  • Granderson’s two-run single set the tone for the game because it came after Mark Teixeira had struck out for the second out of the inning with the bases loaded. Granderson hung in against the left-handed Holland to fist a 1-2 pitch into center to score two runs and give Sabathia an early cushion against the Rangers.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Teixeira entered the game having great success against Holland, who had given up three home runs to him in his young career. But Teixeira struck out with the bases loaded in the first, rolled into a double play in the the third and bounced out to short again the fifth against Holland. He was 0-for-4 in the game coming off his six RBIs against the Red Sox on Saturday.
  • With Brett Gardner on the disabled list, Girardi elected to use Andruw Jones in left and insert Eduardo Nunez as the DH on Monday. They combined to go 0-for-8 and Nunez only managed to get one ball out of the infield.
  • Jeter made a careless error in the second inning on a ground ball off the bat of Cruz. Jeter lobbed the ball to first and it short-hopped Teixeira and bounced away from him. Fortunately, the error did not hurt the Yankees. Sabathia retired the next two batters and Cruz was stranded at first.

BOMBER BANTER

The status of right-handed starter Michael Pineda will have to wait another day. A scheduling conflict will force Pineda to meet with the team physician on Tuesday and he also will undergo an MRI dye contrast test on his ailing right shoulder. The Yankees hope to have the results of the tests later that evening. Pineda, 23, had to halt a bullpen session in Tampa, FL., last week after 15 pitches due to weakness in his shoulder.  . . .  Freddy Garcia has received a reprieve from Girardi. Garcia will make a start in the weekend home series against the Detroit Tigers, despite an 0-3 record and a 9.75 ERA in his first three starts. Girardi said Garcia will pitch either Saturday or Sunday.

ON DECK

Since Hideki Matsui pretty much retired the nickname “Godzilla” then the second game of the Yankees-Rangers series between two former Japanese League stars should be titled “Rodan vs. Anguirus” if you are up on your 1950s Japanese movie monsters.

The Yankees will start 37-year-old right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (2-1, 5.00 ERA). Kuroda, who pitched 11 seasons for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, has been bad, good and then bad again in his first three starts. He gave up six runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Twins on Wednesday. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA against the Rangers.

Opposing him will be Yu Darvish (2-0, 3.57 ERA). The 25-year-old Darvish, who pitched seven seasons for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, gave up just two hits but walked and struck out five in 6 1/3 innings in a 10-3 victory over the Tigers. Darvish has never faced the Yankees.

Game-time will be 8:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Yanks-Bosox Rainout Buffers Bobby V’s Torture

GAME 16

YANKEES vs. RED SOX (POSTPONED – RAIN)

The game scheduled between New York and Boston on Sunday was canceled at 3 p.m. due to a heavy downpour engulfing Fenway Park.

It is nothing compared to the firestorm surrounding the Red Sox in the wake of their 7-20 collapse last September, their change in general manager and manager and their dreadful 4-10 start this season. The fact they blew a 9-0 lead after five innings on Saturday to end up losing to the Yankees 15-9 has merely ripped off the fresh scabs from an entertaining week of upheaval.

If we didn’t know any better we might think that manager Bobby Valentine took up a weather plane and seeded the clouds to rain himself to stop the hail of runs his team’s pitching staff is handing out like Halloween candy and the chorus of boos cascading from the stands upon him.

Valentine admitted after the debacle on Saturday that he needed to do a better job. But, like it or not, Valentine has become the symbol of the discontent in Red Sox Nation.

His mismanagement of two games last week and the dustup he had with Kevin Youkilis were fueling most of the anger aimed at Valentine. But Sunday’s loss was really not Valentine’s fault. But the fact that his club surrendered that huge lead shows just how deep-seeded and difficult the root of the problem is to identify.

It seems to be a lot deeper than some chicken and beer.

Theo Eptein fled to Chicago and Terry Francona took his class act out of the dugout to the television booth. Owner John Henry and team president Larry Lucchino sought out Valentine to right the ship. But they are not offering him any of the largesse it would take to fix the hull.

Unwilling to venture past the limits of the luxury tax, Valentine and new general manager Ben Cherington kind of look like the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” valiantly trying to fight a battle without limbs. Such is the sad state of affairs in Beantown. Well, it is not so sad for those in the Bronx.

The rainout on Sunday gives the Red Sox time to find the answers and gets some players healthy before they play the Yankees again at Fenway. No makeup date has been announced. It is anybody’s guess whether the game will actually matter.

BOMBER BANTER

Yankee manager Joe Girardi decided to shift Sunday’s scheduled starter, CC Sabathia, to start on Monday against the Rangers in Arlington, TX. He also said that Hiroki Kuroda and Phil Hughes will follow Sabathia in the three-game series. Ivan Nova will open the home series against the Tigers on Friday. However, Girardi has not announced who will start on Saturday. Freddy Garcia (0-1, 9.75 ERA) would be in line to make the start. But Garcia could be skipped in order to keep Sabathia on schedule to pitch every fifth day.  . . .  Girardi said he expectes to have Brett Gardner back in the lineup on May 3 when the Yankees begin a four-game series with Kansas City. Gardner was placed on the disabled list with a strained and bruised right elbow he suffered making a diving catch on a sinking line drive on Tuesday. Gardner is hitting .321 this season.  . . .  Michael Pineda will meet with a team physician in New York on Monday to evaluate recurring tightness behind his right shoulder. The 23-year-old right-hander has to end a bullpen session on Saturday after 15 pitches because of pain in his shoulder. He will remain on the 15-day disabled list and it unclear when Pineda now might be able to return.

ON DECK

The Yankees first test against two-time American League champion Texas begins on Monday.

Sabathia (1-0) gave up three runs on four hits in six innings against the Twins to earn his first victory of the season on Tuesday. He is 10-3 with a 4.44 ERA against the Rangers in his career.

The Rangers will start left-hander Derek Holland (2-0, 3.10 ERA), who gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in seven innings against the reeling Red Sox in his last start. Against the Yankees, Holland is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts.

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

 

Tex Lays Down Law As Yanks Bushwhack Rangers

GAME 66

YANKEES 12, RANGERS 4

When Mark Teixeira came up to the major leagues with the Rangers, he learned a lot about hitting from his teammates Michael Young and Alex Rodriguez. On Wednesday night, it was obvious that the help they provided paid huge dividends as he got older.

Teixeira blasted a pair of home runs and drove in four runs to lead New York on an air assault on the Texas pitching staff in another laugher at Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira connected on a two-run home run hitting right-handed against left-handed starter and loser Derek Holland in the first inning to give the Yankees an early 2-0 lead. He later connected for another two-run homer in the sixth inning hitting left-handed off right-hander Mark Lowe to extend the Yankees lead to 9-4. It is the 11th time in his career that Teixeira has hit home runs from both sides of the plate in one game, tying him with Eddie Murray and Chili Davis for first on the all-time list.

It also was Teixeira’s 20th and 21st home runs of the season and ties him with teammate Curis Granderson and Toronto’s Jose Bautista for first in the major leagues. His two home runs were part of a five-home run barrage on the Rangers, giving the Yankees a major league-leading 103 home runs on the season.

Eduardo Nunez, who is replacing an injured Derek Jeter at shortstop, hit a solo home run in the fourth and Ramiro Pena, who was called up on Tuesday from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Jeter on the roster, also homered in the sixth inning. Robinson Cano hit a three-run shot off Rangers closer Neftali Feliz in the eighth inning to close out the onslaught.

Ivan Nova (6-4) was the beneficiary of the run support. Nova gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out two batters over 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory.

The Yankees, meanwhile, pummeled Holland (5-2) for six runs on seven hits and five walks in only five innings. In the past two days, the Yankees have beaten two Ranger starters who were a combined 12-1 for 12 runs on 13 hits and six walks in 6 2/3 innings.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record to 38-28 and they are now a season-best 10 games over .500. They remain 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. The Rangers fell to 36-33.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Teixeira has been on a huge tear since June 5. He is 10-for-32 (.313) during that span with five home runs and 15 RBIs. His four RBIs on Wednesday now give him the team lead in RBIs with 53, one better than Granderson. Teixeira and Granderson are the first Yankee teammates to have 20 or more home runs at this stage of the season since 1961 when Mickey Mantle had 22 and Roger Maris had 27.
  • Nunez continues to impress after just two games replacing Jeter. He was 2-for-4 with a homer, a single and two stolen bases. In the last two games, he is 4-for-8 with two runs scored and two RBIs. He has raised his average to .250 from .214. In addition, Nunez turned 24 on Wednesday. Yankee players may start jokingly calling Jeter “Wally Pipp.”
  • Cano’s home run was his 14th of the season and he now has 45 RBIs. Though he is far off his .363 batting average he had posted at this time last season, Cano is still producing in the No. 5 spot and no second baseman in the American League is close to his numbers.
  • Pena was given a start at third base to allow Rodriguez to DH and he contributed a solo home run in the sixth inning off Rangers reliever Mark Lowe. Pena also added a single in the second inning and he finished 2-for-4 on the day.
NAGGING NEGATIVES
  • Despite Nunez’s fine day at the plate and on the bases, he also committed his sixth error of the season on a Josh Hamilton grounder to lead off the fifth inning. Nunez chose to play the ball off to the side and the ball bounded over his glove into center-field. It shows that although Nunez is a good hitter with execellent speed, he is still a work in progress in the field.
  • Catcher Francisco Cervelli is still having issues with his throwing. In the first inning he was unable to throw out Ian Kinsler attempting to steal on a pitchout. Cervelli’s throw short-hopped past Nunez and rolled into center-field. Teams continue to take advantage of Cervelli’s throwing problems while starting catcher Russell Martin tries to recover from back stiffness.
  • Nova was not sharp in his outing but he did seem to be able to limit the damage. In the first six innings, the Rangers left seven runners on base and Nova left with two outs in the sixth clinging to a 6-4 lead.

BOMBER BANTER

As expected, manager Joe Girardi announced that 32-year-old minor-league veteran Brian Gordon will start for the Yankees on Thursday. The Yankees signed Gordon as a free agent when he opted out of his contract with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Triple-A Lehigh Valley club. Hector Noesi, who warmed up in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game but did not pitch, will remain as the long reliever in the bullpen.  . . .  The Yankees added right-handed reliever Cory Wade to the roster two days after signing him to a minor-league deal. Wade pitched the eighth inning on Wednesday and had a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. Wade was 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA for the Rays’ Triple-A Durham club but was released. The Yankees sent down right-hander Kevin Whelan to make room on the roster for Wade.  . . .  In addition, the Yankees transferred reliever Rafael Soriano to the 60-day disabled list. Soriano threw a bit on Tuesday but the Yankees were not convinced he had progressed enough to continue a throwing program. So Soriano will rest for at least a week before throwing again. Soriano has been sidelined since May 14 with right elbow inflammation.  . . .  Martin missed another game due to back pain. He has now missed seven of the last eight games. Girardi said although Martin’s back is better, he will start him until Martin can tell him the back pain is gone.  . . .  Jeter will not travel with the Yankees on their road trip to Chicago and Cincinnati but, instead, he will go to Tampa, FL, to begin a rehab program for his strained right calf. Jeter is eligible to return to the roster on June 29.

ON DECK

The Yankees have already won the season series with the Rangers and they have won the first two games of this three-game set. They will go for the sweep on Thursday.

The Yankees will substitute Gordon for Bartolo Colon, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Gordon was 5-0 with an International League-best 1.14 ERA at Lehigh Valley. His only stint in the majors came with the Rangers in 2008. He gave up one run on four hits in four innings.

The Rangers will counter with left-hander C.J. Wilson (7-3, 3.09 ERA). Wilson is 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA in his last four starts. Wilson has not faced the Yankees this season. Last season, he was 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA against them.

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

Hail To ‘Chief:’ Garcia Baffles Rangers In Yankee Debut

GAME 13
YANKEES 5, RANGERS 2
After his masterful performance on Saturday the New York Yankees might consider playing “Hail To The Chief” when Freddy Garcia leaves the mound after a good game.
The 34-year-old right-hander, who is nicknamed “Chief” because of his resemblance to the character Chief in the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” drove Texas hitters nuts with six innings of two-hit, no-run baseball as New York beat the Rangers at Yankee Stadium.
Garcia (1-0), who had not pitched as a starter since an exhibition game on March 29, showed no rust at all on a dark, cold, damp and windy day in the Bronx, N.Y.
Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano backed up Garcia with a homer apiece. Teixeira hit a two-run home run the first inning and added a run-scoring fly ball in the third. He then singled ahead of Cano’s two-run home run that capped the scoring the ninth.
Derek Holland (2-1) took the loss despite pitching a solid 7 2/3 innings for Texas. 
Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his sixth save in six chances. It is the earliest point of the season in which Rivera has collected six saves.
With the victory, the Yankees raised their season record to 8-5. The Rangers dropped to 10-4.
PINSTRIPE POSITIVES
  • With his fifth home run of the season, Teixeira tied Jorge Posada for the team lead and he also is tied with Miguel Cabrera, Texas’ Nelson Cruz and Posada for the American League lead. Teixeira’s three RBIs give him 14, which ties him with Cleveland’s Asdrubal Cabrera for the A.L. lead.
  • Cano’s home run extended his hitting streak to eight games. He has three home runs and 10 RBIs and he is hitting .315 on the season. 
  • To show how masterful Garcia was against a good-hitting Texas team, four of the six innings he pitched were 1-2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out one and threw 84 pitches, 55 of them strikes (66%). No Ranger base-runner made it past second base.
  • After grounding into a record six double plays on Friday, the Yankees hit into only one double play on Saturday. 
NAGGING NEGATIVES
  • The Yankees relieved Garcia in the seventh with their end of the game troika of Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and Rivera. Chamberlain and Rivera did their jobs but Soriano nearly blew the lead for Garcia in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff double, one out later walked a batter and then gave up back-to-back RBI singles by Elvis Andrus and Michael Young before inducing an inning-ending double play. Soriano’s ERA is a hefty 9.53 after two bad outings.
  • Brett Gardner was rested for two games with a left-hander pitching so Andruw Jones could get some at-bats. Jones was 2-for-3 but was replaced by Gardner in the eighth. Gardner reached base in the ninth on an error and promptly got picked off by Darren Oliver. When it rains it pours for Gardner this season.
  • Posada is also struggling at the plate despite his five home runs. Posada was 0-for-3 and his batting average has dipped to .171.
BOMBER BANTER
For the second time this season the Yankees rewarded fans who braved the awful weather conditions. They offered free tickets to anyone who have a valid ticket for Saturday’s game, whether you attended the game or not. The paid attendance was 41, 876 but there were a lot fewer than that actually in the stands.  . . .  Alex Rodriguez left the game in the seventh inning with what was called lower back and oblique stiffness. Rodriguez told reporters that he felt the discomfort before the game and it got progressively worse in the cold conditions. No tests are planned and he is considered day-to-day. A-Rod was 0-2 in the game with a walk and he was replaced by Eric Chavez.  . . .  It took until the 13th game of the season but Gustavo Molina made his first appearance with the Yankees behind the plate. Because of off days and rainouts the Yankees were able to allow Russell Martin to catch the first 12 games. Molina was the only position player in Major League Baseball who was on the Opening Day roster and had not played in a game until Saturday. Molina was 0-for-3.
ON DECK
The Yankees were able to draw even in the three-game series and will go for the series victory on Sunday night.
The Yankees will rely on their ace left-hander CC Sabathia (0-1, 1.45 ERA), who gave up one run in 5 2/3 innings in a loss against the Red Sox last Sunday. He is 8-3 with a 4.29 ERA against the Rangers in his career.
The Rangers will counter with 27-year-old right-hander Alexi Ogando (2-0, 0.00 ERA), who has pitched 13 scoreless innings in his first two starts. He has not faced the Yankees as a starter but is 1-0 with 0.00 ERA lifetime.
Game-time will be 8:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN.

Pettitte Gets Yankees Back On Track

YANKEES 9, RANGERS 2


With Paul McCartney in attendance behind home plate, the New York Yankees got back to where they once belonged.
Behind a solid seven innings from Andy Pettitte and a five-run uprising in the seventh inning the Yankees returned the favor and beat the Texas Rangers 9-2 on Wednesday night.
Pettitte (11-6) gave up two runs on five hits and three walks as the Yankees evened the three-game series at one apiece and held their six-game lead in the American League East on Boston. 
Pettitte’s workmanlike gem gave the Yankees their fifth win in seven games.
“That’s the way it’s been my whole career, so that’s the way I like it, really,” Pettitte told MLB.com. “I don’t need a whole lot of attention. I just want to go out and help this team win. I just want to do my job and help us try to win another championship, and I’ll be happy.”

“Andy came down and shut down a pretty potent offense tonight,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “These guys really swing the bats. His stuff was outstanding. The location of his fastball was really good, his cutter was really good again tonight. That’s seven strong innings.”

Pettitte used his rediscovered cutter to strike out seven batters en route to the victory. He is undefeated in his past six starts.

“I didn’t feel that great, but I was able to get ahead with some of my breaking ball stuff,” Pettitte said to MLB.com. “The command of my fastball wasn’t quite as good as I would have liked for it to be, but the cutter was real good again.”

Pettitte also relied on his defense to wriggle out of danger. Of the four double plays the Yankees recorded on the night, Pettitte induced three of them. His first in the first inning off the bat of DH Ivan Rodriguez ended a bases-loaded one-out threat.

“I love the way he’s throwing the ball,” Girardi told MLB.com. “A number of double plays tonight, and he got a ton of ground balls because he was down in the zone. He got a sinker in and a good cutter that really kept them off balance. He has been really big for us.”

McCartney, who attended the game with actor Jack Nicholson and “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels, must have agreed with that assessment.
The victory for Pettitte was No. 189 as a Yankee, which ties him with Lefty Gomez at third place on the club’s all-time list. He now only trails only Red Ruffing and Whitey Ford.
Pettitte’s only problem was retiring lefty David Murphy, who came into the game on a 3-for-27 slide. Murphy drove in Chris Davis with a double to the wall in left-center in the fifth inning. The Yankees appeared to have a play on Davis at the plate, however, Robinson Cano dropped the relay throw and Davis scored easily.
Murphy added a solo home run in the seventh inning, driving a 1-1 pitch into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center to draw the Rangers to within two at 4-2.
Jorge Posada keyed the early offense with a three-run home run in the second inning, his 17th of the season, and Jerry Hairston Jr., who started for Johnny Damon, added a solo shot in the fourth inning to give Pettitte a 4-0 lead.
Hairston only started because the lefty-swinging Damon had struggled when he last faced Holland. Hairston made the manager look prophetic with his home run.

“You just want to do something positive that day,” Hairston said. “I think I’ve learned that, being in this type of role where you’re playing third [base] or center field or left field. You just try to do something positive.”

The Yankees managed to drive rookie left-hander Derek Holland (7-8) from the game in the seventh inning with a leadoff double from Cano and Hairston worked a walk after fouling off pitch-after-pitch in a 12-pitch duel with Holland.
Rangers manager Ron Washington summoned right-hander Jason Jennings from the bullpen and he imploded. He committed an error on Melky Cabrera’s sacrifice bunt and the bases were loaded with no outs.
Derek Jeter followed with a two-run single, Nick Swisher doubled in Cabrera and Mark Teixeira capped the uprising with a single off the wall in right to score Jeter and Swisher. After surrendering an early lead and having a furious ninth inning rally come up a run short Tuesday night the Yankees made sure the Rangers had no illusion of having a chance to come back.
Posada was the only worrisome part of the night for the Yankees. Struck on the glove by a foul tip off the bat of Nelson Cruz, the veteran catcher left the game in the eighth inning with a bruised left ring finger. 
“Andy pitched outstanding,” Posada said to MLB.com. “He did a lot of good things. He had a very good sinker and changeup at times. He just gave up a bad cutter to Murphy and a curveball to Murphy again that he left up. But othe
r than that, he was outstanding.”

The Yankees will try to win the series Thursday afternoon with right-hander A.J. Burnett (10-7, 4.08 ERA), who was clobbered for a career-high nine runs in five innings against the Red Sox at Fenway Park last Saturday as the Yankees lost 14-1. Burnett is winless in August and has lost back-to-back starts for the first time this season. 
However, Burnett beat the Rangers on back-to-back starts on May 26 and June 2, firing a combined 13 innings and giving up just three runs.
The Rangers will send young right-hander Dustin Nippert (4-2, 3.95 ERA) to the hill. Nippert is 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA on the road this season while he is 3-0 with a 1.76 ERA at home. He has not faced the Yankees this season.
Gametime is 1 p.m. EDT.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.