Results tagged ‘ Eric Wedge ’

Yankees Sink Mariners After ‘King Felix’ Exits Early

GAME 39

YANKEES 4, MARINERS 3

The epic showdown between former American League Cy Young Award winners Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia on Tuesday may have ended in what could be scored a draw. But the New York Yankees ended up victorious by virtue of a technical knockout of Hernandez.

Trailing 3-1 when “King Felix” abdicated the mound, New York rallied for three runs in the seventh inning off the Mariners’ bullpen to defeat Seattle in front of a paid crowd of 41,267 at Yankee Stadium.

Reliever Shawn Kelley (2-0) bailed Sabathia out of a jam in the top of the seventh with runners on first and third and one out by striking out Kelly Shoppach and retiring former Yankees’ 2012 playoffs legend Raul Ibanez on a flyout to get credit for the victory.

Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his 624th career save and his 16th save in as many chances this season.

Mariners left-hander Charlie Furbush (0-2) was saddled with the loss.

Lyle Overbay, who in some way “caused” Hernandez to leave the game, and Robinson Cano keyed the crucial rally in the seventh.

Chris Nelson led off the frame with a bloop single to center off right-hander Yoervis Medina and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Austin Romine struck out swinging, Mariners manager Eric Wedge summoned Furbush.

Brett Gardner drew a walk and Cano followed by lacing a 3-2 slider off the base of the wall in right-center to score Nelson and Gardner to tie the game at 3-3.

Wedge elected to have Furbush walk Vernon Wells intentionally but Furbush also ended up walking Curtis Granderson  -  who was activated from the 15-day disabled list and was playing in his first game of the season  -  to load the bases.

That brought up Overbay, who had stroked a two-out double off Hernandez in the sixth to plate the Yankees’ first run of the night. After working the count to 3-2, Overbay laced a line drive to deep center that easily scored Cano with what proved to be the game-winning run.

Hernandez had been in control against the Yankees much of the night. However, a misplay by Hernandez that led to a collision with Overbay in the fourth inning doomed him.

With one out and Wells on first, Overbay hit a bouncer that just eluded a dive by first baseman Kendrys Morales but the ball was gloved by second baseman Robert Andino, who double-clutched and threw to Morales at first base. However, Hernandez also came over to cover first and was standing in the baseline behind Morales when Overbay collided with him, striking the back of Hernandez’s left knee.

Though first-base umpire Alan Porter originally called Overbay out, the umpiring crew discussed the play, ruled Hernandez was guilty of obstruction and awarded first base to Overbay.

Hernandez noticeably limped and stretched out his back throughout the rest of his outing until he was removed after six innings. The 27-year-old ace yielded one run on five hits and two walks while he punched out eight batters.

The Mariners, meanwhile were able to build a 3-0 lead on Sabathia.

They scored an unearned run in the third when, with one out ,Overbay committed a fielding error on a ball off the bat of Michael Saunders. One out later, Kyle Seager ripped a double to the wall in right-center to score Saunders.

They padded their lead in the sixth when Shoppach slapped a first-pitch single to the opposite field in right and Ibanez, who hit three dramatic late-inning home runs for the Yankees during the 2012 playoffs, showed the fans what they were missing when he roped a two-run home run into the first row of the bleachers in right-field.

Sabathia left in the seventh having given up three runs (two earned) on a season-high 10 hits and two walks but he also fanned season-high 10 in 6 1/3 innings.

With the come-from-behind victory the Yankees are now 8-2 in one-run games this season.

The Yankees have also won seven of their past eight games and they improved their season record to 25-14. They also extended their lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles to two games in the American League East. The Mariners are now 18-21.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Though Overbay committed his second error of the season and misplayed another ground ball by Ibanez that was ruled a single, his contributions at the plate have been huge all season. He was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and he is hitting .256 with six home runs and 24 RBIs. In fact, his RBI total is only one behind the team leader, Cano, who has 25.
  • Cano came through in the clutch against a left-hander on a night the Yankees ended up 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Cano was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. The two hits pushed his season average back over the .300 mark at .306. He came in hitting .299.
  • Rivera remains perfect in saves this season and he needed only 11 pitches to close out the Mariners in the ninth. The Yankees bullpen trio of Kelley, David Robertson and Rivera held the M’s s off the board over the final 2 2/3 innings to extend the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 23 2/3 innings, which extends back to May 5.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Sabathia did not pitch well in this game. The Mariners had at least one base-runner on in every inning against him except the first inning. In the fourth they loaded the bases with two out, but Sabathia escaped the jam by fanning Saunders swinging.  Sabathia left in the seventh having thrown 112 pitches.
  • Granderson had a rough return to lineup having to face Hernandez. It showed. Granderson grounded into a double play in the first, struck out swinging in the fourth and hit into a fielder’s choice in the sixth. But he did draw a key walk in the seventh against Furbush that set up Overbay’s game-winning sac fly.
  • Romine also had a rough night. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and he is now hitting .071. Romine also misplayed a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Brendan Ryan in the eighth inning. Robertson earlier had walked pinch-hitter Dustin Ackley on four pitches to open the inning. Romine fielded the bunt and tried to throw out Ackley at second instead of taking the sure out at first. But Ackley beat the throw. Robertson escaped the jam by striking out Saunders and retiring pinch-hitter Justin Smoak on an unassisted double-play liner to shortstop Jayson Nix.

BOMBER BANTER

Granderson returned to the lineup since breaking his right forearm on his first at-bat of spring training on Feb. 24 and he batted fourth and played left-field. In order to get Granderson on the 25-man roster the Yankees optioned rookie left-hander Vidal Nuno to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a day after he won his first major-league game in first major-league start by pitching five shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians.  . . .  It would not be the Yankees if on the same day they get one player back (Granderson) they possibly lost another for a period of time. Designated hitter Travis Hafner, 35, did not play in Tuesday’s game because of tendinitis in his chronic problem right shoulder. An MRI taken on the shoulder was negative but Hafner did receive a cortisone injection for the inflammation. He is listed as day-to-day.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game home set against the Mariners on Wednesday.

Right-hander Phil Hughes (2-2, 4.43 ERA) will get the call for the Yankees. Hughes is coming off his second straight victory, but he gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks while he struck out three against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Hughes is 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA against the M’s in his career.

Hughes will be opposed by right-hander Hasashi Iwakuma (4-1, 1.74 ERA). Iwakuma, 32, gave up two runs on four hits and punched out nine in seven innings in a victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday. In his two starts against the Bronx Bombers last season he was 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA.

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

 

CC Fans 10 To Put Mariners In Davy Jones’ Locker

GAME 105

YANKEES 6, MARINERS 3

There are some days when an ace pitcher carries to the mound what looks to be no-hit stuff and on Friday it looked for all the paid crowd of 45,872 in attendance at Yankee Stadium that they were going to see just that from CC Sabathia.

Instead, the Yankees and their fans had to settle for a complete-game three-hit victory with 10 strikeouts as Sabathia shut down the Mariners and New York ended Seattle’s seven-game winning streak.

Sabathia (12-3) retired the first 10 batters he faced until Casper Wells connected on a first-pitch fastball and deposited into the Mariners’ bullpen in left-center. He then retired the next 12 batters before giving up a one-out double down the left-field line to Miguel Olivo.

The Mariners then opened the ninth by drawing a leadoff walk from Brendan Ryan and Dustin Ackley smacked a 1-0 fastball into the the bleachers in right-field, which brought manager Joe Girardi out to the mound apparently to replace his left-hander as a chorus of boos rained down upon him. But Girardi allowed Sabathia to get the last threw outs and the Yankees coasted to victory.

Meanwhile, the Yankees offense built an early lead for Sabathia in the third inning off veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood (4-9).

Ichiro Suzuki opened the frame with an infield chopper to the left of the mound for a single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Russell Martin followed with a double into left-center that advanced Suzuki to third. Curtis Granderson then scored both Suzuki and Martin with a lined single to center.

Three innings later, the Yankees padded their 2-1 lead with two out and Raul Ibanez on first when Eric Chavez hit a high fly ball that eluded the glove of right-fielder Eric Thames at the right-field wall and bounced into the seats for Chavez’s 10th home run of the season. Chavez beccame the ninth member of the team to reach double figures in home runs, which is the most in the major leagues.

Millwood left the game after six innings having given up four runs on nine hits and a walk while he struck out three.

The Yankees added a pair of runs in seventh off Mariners relievers Carter Capps and Oliver Perez on RBI singles by Robinson Cano and Ibanez. Though both hits came off Perez the runs were charged to Capps, who was making his major-league debut.

The victory gives the Yankees a season record of 62-43, which is tied for the best record in the American League with the Texas Rangers. The victory also maintained the Yankees’ 6 1/2 game lead in the American League East but the Tampa Bay Rays grabbed second place in the division by shutting out the Baltimore Orioles 2-0. The Mariners dropped to 50-58.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Sabathia came into the game as the pitcher with the best major-league winning percentage in August and he promptly won his first start of the month. He also entered the game with an 11-4 career record and a 2.42 ERA against the Mariners. Sabathia is also tied with three others pitchers for the third-most victories in the American League and he still has a shot to win 20 games for a second time in his career. He has not won less than 19 games in his three previous seasons with the Yankees.
  • Chavez’s home run definitely had the benefit of the short porch in right and a little help from a fan. Replays showed a fan with glove impeded Thames’ glove from reaching the ball, but the fan did not appear to lean out into the field. The ball hit the top of the concrete wall and bounced into the stands. Thames and Mariners manager Eric Wedge did not dispute the call of home run by first-base umpire Larry Vanover.
  • Suzuki’s hitting streak has been of the vitamin variety, “One-A-Day.” He has 10 hits in his 40 at-bats in his 10 games as a Yankee. If he collects a single hit in his next game, Suzuki would set a team record of a 11-game hitting streak with 11 hits.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Nothing to criticize in this game. Sabathia was dominant despite giving up the two home runs and the offense and defense was exceptional. Even with the game locked up at 2-1 into the bottom of the sixth inning, it appeared Sabathia was in command and the Yankees would win. They did and it was a good victory.

BOMBER BANTER

Mark Teixeira returned to the lineup after missing two games with an inflamed left wrist. Teixeira responded well to a shot of cortisone and he was 1-for-4 in the game.  . . .  Chavez was removed from the game in the ninth inning with a sore right ankle. Chavez twisted the ankle awkwardly on a swing in the bottom of the eighth inning and he was replaced at third base by Jayson Nix. Girardi said the injury does not appear to be serious.  . . .  Martin caught Sabathia for the first time since April 11 and it did not seem to bother Sabathia at all. Chris Stewart had caught Sabathia’s 16 previous starts.  . . .  With Alex Rodriguez out of the lineup, Girardi elected to bat Granderson in the leadoff spot and Jeter in the second spot in order to keep from stacking too many left-handed hitters in a row. It was only the second time this season Granderson has batted leadoff.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game weekend home series with the Mariners on Saturday.

The Yankees will call upon veteran right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (10-7, 3.28 ERA) to start the game. Kuroda held the Mariners to one run on three hits over seven innings and fanned nine on July 23. He gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk in seven innings against the Red Sox on Sunday but did not get a decision. Kuroda is 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA in his career against the M’s.

The Mariners will counter with ace right-hander Felix Hernandez (9-5, 2.79 ERA). Hernandez is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in his last nine starts. He is 7-5 with a 3.38 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

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

 

Yanks ‘Nix’ Mariners With Bases-Clearing Double

GAME 98

YANKEES 5, MARINERS 2

With the Yankees having lost third baseman Alex Rodriguez for at least four weeks with a fractured left hand, speculation is running rampant that the Yankees will trade for a replacement. However, Jayson Nix might have convinced the front office to delay those plans.

Nix was called upon to pinch-hit in the top of eighth inning with the bases loaded and one out with the Yankees trailing the Mariners 2-1. Nix promptly laced a 2-2 fastball from Shawn Kelley to clear the bases as New York rallied late to defeat Seattle on Wednesday at Safeco Field.

Nix was hitting .235 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 85 at-bats when manager Joe Girardi sent him to the plate in place of designated hitter Raul Ibanez to face left-handed reliever Lucas Luetge (1-1). But Mariners manager Eric Wedge elected to replace Luetge with the right-handed Kelley.

Nix battled Kelley to a 2-2 count before slapping his three-run double in the gap in left-center to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.

After Kelley walked Eric Chavez intentionally and Andruw Jones struck out, Russell Martin padded the Yankees’ lead to 5-2 with a lined single to left to score Nix.

David Phelps (2-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings of spotless relief, fanning two batters, to pick up the victory in relief. David Robertson pitched a perfect eighth inning and Rafael Soriano tossed a scoreless ninth to pick his 26th save in 28 opportunities this season.

The victory allowed the Yankees to clinch the three-game series with the Mariners and salvage what has been a costly 2-5 West Coast road trip.

The Yankees took an early 1-0 lead on the Mariners when Derek Jeter blasted a one-out solo home run in the first inning off Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma.

But Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova walked John Jaso on four pitches to load the bases with one out in the first inning and then he missed low with a 3-2 pitch – the 10th of the at-bat – to Kyle Seager to allow the Mariners to tie it up.

Mike Carp then slapped a grounder to Mark Teixeira but Teixeira was unable to turn it into a double play because of an errant throw to Jeter at the second base bag and the Mariners were able to take a 2-1 lead.

The score stayed that way because the Yankees were unable to produce a hit with runners in scoring position off a less-than-overpowering Iwakuma.

Iwakuma gave up only one run but surrendered six hits and three walks while striking out three in five innings. The Yankees did not even manage to get one hit or one walk off relievers Oliver Perez and Josh Kinney over the next two innings.

But Kinney opened the eighth inning by plunking Jeter in the left thigh with the first pitch.

Luetge was summoned and Robinson Cano and Teixeira greeted him with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Curtis Granderson then fouled out for the first out and set in motion the managerial moves that brought Nix to the plate with the game on the line.

Nova only gave up two runs on two hits in his five-plus innings of work. However, he walked six batters while striking out five. He left the game in the sixth inning after opening the inning by walking Jaso on four pitches for the third time and then issuing a second walk to Seager.

But Clay Rapada bailed Nova out by inducing Carp to hit into a double play and Phelps stranded Jaso on third by fanning Casper Wells.

The Yankees managed to keep the Mariners hitless for 7 1/3 innings after Michael Saunders and Jesus Montero singled off Nova with one out in the first inning. They did not get a hit again until Wells singled on a 0-2 pitch with two out in then ninth off Soriano.

But Soriano fanned Carlos Peguero to end the game.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season ledger to 59-39 and they increased their lead in the American League East on the second-place Baltimore Orioles to eight games. The Mariners fell to 47-53.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Nix’s clutch pinch-hit three-run double was his biggest hit since he was called up from Triple-A in early May. The Yankees were stranding runners in scoring position all day long and Nix was the unlikeliest hero. Give Girardi credit for choosing to remove Ibanez in favor of the weaker hitting Nix, which forced Wedge to bring in Kelley. Nix could see a lot of playing time now, barring a trade, as part of platoon at third base with Chavez to replace Rodriguez.
  • Phelps, 25, has looked very impressive in his last four appearances with the Yankees (covering two separate stints). He is 1-0 with an 0.93 ER. Phelps has given up only one run on two hits and three walks and struck out an amazing 17 batters in 9 2/3 innings. The Yankees very much needed another power arm in the bullpen and Phelps is providing it.
  • Jeter, batting in the second spot behind Ichiro Suzuki, was 3-for-4 and with an RBI and two runs scored. In his last nine games, Jeter is 12-for-32 (.375) with a home run, two RBIs and six runs scored. He has raised his season average to .311.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Nova, despite the fact Jaso entered the game just 1-for-5 against him, decided to not throw a single strike to him in any of his three at-bats. The walk with two out in the third inning did not hurt. But walking Jaso in the first was followed by a walk to Seager to force in a run. Nova walked Jaso and Seagar to open the sixth and that ended his outing. The six walks in five-plus innings cost him a potential victory and it ended his day early because of his high pitch count.
  • Jones, pressed into service against a right-hander because of Nick Swisher’s injury, was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and he left five runners on base. Since his three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 17, Jones is two for his last 18 at-bats (.111) with 10 strikeouts. His season average has dipped to .224.
  • Ibanez was not much better than Jones. He was 0-for-3 with a strikeout and stranded two runners. In his last five games, Ibanez is 3-for- 19 (.158) with one RBI and five strikeouts. His season batting average has slipped to .235.

BOMBER BANTER

Rodriguez’s broken left hand was fitted for a splint on Wednesday and he is scheduled to undergo an exam on Thursday with team doctor Christopher Ahmad. There is no timetable established for his return. Rodriguez suffered the injury in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game when he was struck by a pitch from right-hander Felix Hernandez. Rodriguez was the third batter Hernandez had hit with a pitch in the game. The Yankees placed Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list and recalled utility infielder Ramiro Pena from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  . . .  Swisher said he hopes to be able to start in Friday”s game after missing the last five games with a strained left hip flexor. Swisher said he had no problems running in the outfield at Safeco Field before the game and he also was able to take some swings in the batting cage.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a day off on Thursday to lick their wounds, physical and otherwise, before opening a weekend home series against a slumping Boston Red Sox team on Friday.

Phil Hughes (9-8, 4.09 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Hughes gave up just two runs on three hits and one walk and struck six batters over 7 2/3 innings in a game which the Yankees scored him just one run in a tough-luck loss to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. Hughes is 2-6 with a 6.49 ERA lifetime against the Red Sox.

The Red Sox will counter with slop-tossing right-hander Aaron Cook (2-3, 3.50 ERA). Cook gave up five runs (three earned) on five hits over 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. He is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in his only meeting with 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.

 

Mo Joins 600-Save Club To Preserve A.J.’s Win

GAME 147

YANKEES 3, MARINERS 2

To the best closer to ever toe the rubber, Tuesday likely seemed just like any night over the past 17 seasons he has sported the number 42 on his back. But when the final out was recorded in the ninth inning, Mariano Rivera earned another taste of history by recording his 600th save.

Rivera joins a short list of relievers that includes just Trevor Hoffman and himself as the only closers to reach that plateau. The Panama native now needs only two saves to pass Hoffman on the all-time saves list.

The fact that Rivera did this to preserve a victory for the luckless veteran A.J. Burnett, helped extend the Yankees’ modest winning streak to three games and maintained the club’s four-game lead in the American League over the second-place Boston Red Sox made the milestone even sweeter.

The Yankees broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning on a Robinson Cano fielder’s choice grounder that scored Nick Swisher and the bullpen — led by Rivera’s 41st save of the season — held the Mariners at bay the rest of the game as New York edged Seattle at Safeco Field in front of a crowd of 18,306.

Burnett (10-11) won his first game since Aug. 15 at Kansas City against the Royals, a stretch of five starts. The six innings he pitched were a microcosm of what Burnett has been to the Yankees during the season.

In his first three innings, Burnett threw 64 pitches, he gave up two runs on four hits, walked one batters, hit two batters and threw two wild pitches. To Yankee fans familiar with the Burnett repertoire this is the what they would call “Bad A.J.”

However, over the next three innings, Burnett threw 39 pitches, gave up no runs, no hits and walked just one batter. This is what Yankee fans affectionately call “Good A.J.”

The end result was a victory for him and the Yankees and a pitching line that reads: six innings, four hits, two walks, and a season-high 11 strikeouts. He struck out at least one batter in every inning and he struck out two batters in the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. He struck out the Mariners No. 7 and No. 8 hitters, Adam Kennedy and Casper Wells, in all six plate appearances he faced them.

He was only touched by a two-out RBI single by Brendan Ryan in the second inning and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Miguel Olivo in the third before he settled in and started getting strikeout after strikeout with his breaking pitches.

The performance earned him his 10th win, the seventh straight season he has won 10 or games.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were able to take an early 2-0 lead on rookie lefty Charlie Furbush (3-9) in the second inning.

Cano led off the frame with his 26th home run of the season that landed deep into the right-centerfield bleachers. Rookie designated hitter Jesus Montero followed with a line-drive single to left and Andruw Jones advanced him to third with double down the leftfield line.

Furbush was then working on Russell Martin, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with a bruised right thumb, when Furbush uncorked a wild pitch that eluded Olivo and rolled to the backstop. Montero broke from third and scored without a play at the plate.

The Yankees winning rally began in the sixth on a Nick Swisher leeadoff double off the wall in left-center. Mark Teixiera followed with a looping single to right that Swisher had to make sure fell in front of Ichiro Suzuki before advancing to third.

Cano then hit a grounder to Dustin Ackley at second in which the Mariners were unable to turn into a double play and Swisher scored easily with what proved to be the winning run.

The bullpen then took over in the seventh. The Yankees’ killer trio of Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Rivera were able to shut out the Mariners the rest of the way, although Robertson did make it interesting the eighth by giving up a single and two walks sandwiched around three strikeouts. The reliever the Yankees call “Houdini” for his unbelievable escapes from jams struck out pinch-hitter Trayvon Robinson swinging with two out to end the bases-loaded threat.

Rivera then began the ninth with a strikeout of pinch-hitter Wily Mo Pena. After a Suzuki single, Rivera struck out rookie Kyle Seager swinging. Then with Ackley batting, Suzuki was thrown out attempting to steal by Martin to end the game and deliver an epic save to the Yankees’ 41-year-old living legend reliever.

The Yankee players and coaches spilled out of the dugout and bullpen to congratulate Rivera on his very rare achievement. Rivera cast it aside after the game saying there was a more important goal at stake for him.

“It’s a good number to achieve, but at the same time, it’s not all about that, you know what I mean?” Rivera said.

With the victory the Yankees have already clinched a victory in the three-game series with the Mariners. They also improved their season record to 90-57. The Mariners, losers of their last four games, are now 61-87.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Look out A.L. pitchers, Cano is hot again! In the last three games, Cano is 7-for-14 (.500) with two home runs and six RBIs. His two RBIs on Tuesday give him 111 on the season, which ties him for the team lead with Curtis Granderson. It also tops his career high of 109 RBIs he set last season and he still has 15 games left to play.
  • Montero had three very good at-bats on Tuesday. In the second he singled solidly to left and later scored on a wild pitch. In the fourth he doubled off the wall in left-center but was caught napping on a hot grounder hit to Ryan at shortstop. Ryan threw to second to nab Montero, who had strayed too far off the base. But in the sixth, Montero hit a shot to deep center that barely missed going out. To show how large Montero’s legend has grown, Mariners manager Eric Wedge called in a right-hander to face him in the sixth rather then let Furbush face him a third time.
  • You have to credit to Burnett for toughing out a rocky three innings and shutting down the Mariners in the next three. His off-speed stuff was electric and had the Mariners flailing at air most of the evening. Granted the Mariners were playing a lot of youngsters who have limited major-league experience. But the performance was impressive nonetheless.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The Yankees continue to pull rockhead plays at a time when they should be eliminating them before the playoffs. Montero was caught off second by Ryan in the fourth inning. Two innings later, Cano forgot how many outs there were and was already touching third as Montero’s blast to center was caught by Wells. Montero’s out was only the second out and Cano was doubled off easily for the third out. The Yankees also bounced into three double plays, which prevented them from extending their 3-2 lead.
  • Eduardo Nunez continues to struggle at the plate. He was 0-for-3 with a strikeout and did not get a ball out of the infield. He is now 3-for-37 (.081) since Aug. 28. The league has apparently caught up with him and pitchers are feeding him a steady diet of breaking balls out of the strike zone and letting Nunez get himself out.
  • In fact, the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters in Tuesday’s lineup — Martin, Nunez and Brett Gardner — combined to go 0-for-9 with five strikeouts, one double play and none of them got a ball out of the infield. When the offense is clicking, it is usually because the bottom of the order is producing and getting on base.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees got Martin back behind the plate and Swisher, who played first on Monday, returned to leftfield for the first time since he injured his left elbow last Thursday in Baltimore. The Yankees have played the last three games without three starters and have been resting other starters due to an extended road trip without any days off. Alex Rodriguez, who is out with a sore left thumb, likely will not play again until the team gets to Toronto on Friday. Meanwhile, backup catcher Francisco Cervelli was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Sept. 9 with concussion syndrome symptoms. It is unlikely that Cervelli will play for the Yankees for the rest of the season. Rookies Jesus Montero and Austin Romine could both make the postseason roster, although Romine likely would take Cervelli’s role as the backup to Martin. Montero would be a DH.

ON DECK

The Yankees can post a sweep of the Mariners on Wednesday.

They will start Rookie of the Year candidate Ivan Nova (15-4, 3.94 ERA). Nova had his streak of eight consecutive wins in eight starts broken his last time out with a no-decision against the Orioles on Sept. 8. He gave up three runs on five hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. He is 0-0 with a 9.82 ERA against the Mariners this season.

The Mariners will counter with lefty slop-tosser Jason Vargas (8-13, 4.49 ERA). Vargas won his start last Thursday against the Royals, giving up one run on four hits over six innings. He is just 2-8 in his last 12 starts. He is 0-3 with a 7.86 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 10:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN and locally by the YES Network.

 

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