Results tagged ‘ Michael Bourn ’

Yankees Leave Braves Stranded Without Victory

__________________________________________________________

“You got me stranded baby.. stranded
stranded, stranded.. I’m so stranded”

                                                                                                                   - Lyrics from “Stranded” by Mario

GAME 62

YANKEES 3, BRAVES 2

They pounded out 12 hits. They drew four walks. They had 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position. But, in the end they scored only two runs, left 13 runners on base and lost by a run.

But it wasn’t the Yankees! It was the Braves!

Curtis Granderson stroked a two-run home run in the sixth inning off Tim Hudson and Hiroki Kuroda and the Yankees’ bullpen dodged scoring threat after scoring threat all night as New York edged Atlanta on Wednesday to sweep the Braves in front of sellout crowd of 48,938 at Turner Field.

The Braves had just taken a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning when Brain McCann blasted a two-run home run into the right-field bleachers after Martin Prado had blooped a single to center off Kuroda.

However, the Yankees immediately answered back in the next half-inning when Derek Jeter led off the frame with soft lined single into right. Granderson followed by a hitting a 1-1 cutter off Hudson high and deep down the right-field line and over the outstretched glove Jason Heyward for his 19th home run of the season.

Kuroda and the bullpen were tasked with protecting that lead for the next four innings. They did just that but it was not easy.

The Braves put at least one runner on base in all nine innings and they left runners in scoring position in five of those innings against the Yankees.

Kuruda wriggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second inning by striking out Hudson and retiring Michael Bourn on a groundout. In the fourth, he escaped with runners on second and third and two out by striking out Bourn swinging.

Kuroda (6-6) gave up nine hits and two walks and struck eight batters in six innings of work to earn the victory.

The Yankees’ bullpen did the rest.

Boone Logan walked two batters in the seventh inning with only one out. However, he got out of the inning by getting a fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Heyward and a flyout from Eric Hinske.

Cody Eppley escaped a major jam in the eighth with runners on first and third and one out by inducing a double-play grounder off the bat of Prado.

Rafael Soriano pitched around a two-out single by Chipper Jones to retire Heyward on a broken-bat infield popup to preserve the win for Kuroda and earn his 11th save of the season in 12 opportunities.

The red-hot Yankees have now won six games in a row, 11 of their last 13 and 16 of their last 20. They also are an amazing 9-2 lifetime at Turner Field.

The Yankees took an early lead on Hudson and the Braves when Jeter led off the game with a double in the gap in right-center. Granderson advanced Jeter to third on a groundout and Alex Rodriguez followed with a hot-shot single through the middle.

Hudson (4-3) gave up three runs on six hits, walked none and he struck eight batters over six innings.

With the victory, the Yankees are 37-25, the best record in the American League. They also are a game up on the second-place Baltimore Orioles and two games up on the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. The Braves fell to 34-29.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Give Kuroda a lot of credit for toughing out a hard-earned victory. The Braves put pressure on him in every inning by getting on base and advancing runners into scoring position. But, other than the McCann home run, Kuroda was able to get outs by making tough pitches. In his last four starts, Kuroda is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA.
  • Because of the loss of David Robertson, the bullpen has had to pick up the late-inning slack and tonight Eppley did an exceptional job in the eighth. Eppley gave up a leadoff single to Andrelton Simmons and pinch-hitter Jack Wilson advanced him to second on a groundout. Bourn then rolled an infield single into the hole at short to put runners at first and third. But Eppley got Prado, who came into the game hitting .318, to hit into an inning-ending double play. Prado had hit into four double plays all season.
  • Granderson’s home run was his 19th of the season, which ties him for third place in the majors with Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays and Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals. That hit also extended his modest hit streak to five games. He is 7-for-20 (.350) in that stretch.
  • Jeter collected two hits and scored two the Yankees’ three runs. He also extended his hitting streak to five games and he is 8-for-21 (.381) in that span. Jeter has been a career .404 hitter at Turner Field and he was 5-for-14 (.357) in the three-game series.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

When a team is on a roll like this there is no real reason to dwell on negatives. The Yankees were playing with house money having won the first two games of the series. On Wednesday, they just toughed it out and won a squeaker with solid starting pitching, a gutty bullpen and some timely offense. No cares now!

BOMBER BANTER

Good news for the bullpen: Roberrtson joined the team on Wednesday and he is expected to be activated for Friday’s game in Washington against the Nationals. Robertson has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 15 with a left oblique strain. He pitched two scoreless innings of relief in a minor-league rehab stint at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and flew to Atlanta to join the team on Wednesday. Manager Joe Girardi said Robertson will assume his old eighth-inning role and set up for Soriano.  . . .  Andy Pettitte threw a bullpen session on Wednesday before the game and said their are no lingering effects from the bruised left hand he sustained against the Mets in his last start on Sunday. Pettitte is scheduled to start on Saturday against the Nationals.

ON DECK

After extending the season-best winning streak to six games the Yankees will have Thursday off before opening a three-game weekend road series against the Nationals.

Phil Hughes (6-5, 4.76 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. In his last two starts against the Tigers and Mets, Hughes has given up just three runs on 10 hits in 15 1/3 innings. Hughes has no record and no ERA in a limited relief outing against the Nationals.

The Nationals will start left-hander Gio Gonzalez (8-2, 2.35 ERA). Gonzalez is coming off a strong 6 1/3 inning outing in which he defeated the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Saturday. However, while he was with the Oakland Athletics he had very little luck against the Yankees. He was 1-4 with a 7.27 ERA.

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

 

‘Road Warrior’ Nova Hurls Yanks Into Tie For First

GAME 60

YANKEES 3, BRAVES 0

In the Mad Max film “The Road Warrior,” Mel Gibson (Max) protects a band of survivors in post-apocalyptic Australia. If they did a current version, they would need to cast Ivan Nova as Max because his pitching on the road has protected a Yankee roster ravaged by injuries.

Nova twirled seven shutout innings en route to 11th career road victory with no defeats in 14 starts as New York stormed into Turner Field and blanked Atlanta for their ninth victory in their last 11 games.

Nova (8-2) gave up just five hits – all of them singles – and one walk and struck out six to tie Matt Harrison of Texas, David Price of Tampa Bay and Chris Sale of Chicago for the American League lead in victories. Nova’s victory also lifted the surging Yankees into a tie with the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

The Yankees offense, meanwhile, was able to score single runs in the first three innings off Braves right-hander Randall Delgado (4-6).

With two out in the first inning, Alex Rodriguez smacked a line-drive double over the head of left-fielder Martin Prado and to the wall. Robinson Cano followed with a single up the middle to score Rodriguez.

They added a run in the second inning on a leadoff home run into the right-field bleachers off the bat of Raul Ibanez, his 10th of the season.

In the third inning, the Yankees loaded the bases on Delgado with one out on a walk to Rodriguez, a double by Cano and a four-pitch walk to Mark Teixeira. The Yankees have had trouble all season scoring runs with the bases loaded but this time they received some help from Delgado.

With two out and Nick Swisher at the plate, Delgado bounced a change-up into the dirt past Braves catcher Brain McCann and Rodriguez scored from third standing up.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they were unable to take advantage of the eight hits and seven walks they earned off Braves pitching. They were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 runners on base.

Instead, Nova leaned on the Yankees’ defense to keep the Braves off the board.

Swisher made a sensational leaping catch at the wall in right-field to rob McCann of a potential two-run home run in the fourth inning. Cano then ended the fourth with a deft stab of a scorched one-hopper off the bat of Freddie Freeman. The Yankees also turned in a pair of double plays, including one by Nova in which he snared a liner off the bat of Andrelton Simmons and doubled up Jason Heyward at first.

The Yankees’ bullpen – minus a resting Rafael Soriano – shut down the Braves the last two innings as manager Joe Girardi played mix-and-match with righties Cody Eppley and Cory Wade and lefties Clay Rapada and Boone Logan. They retired all six batters they faced and they did not allow a ball out of the infield.

With the interleague victory, the Yankees ran their major-league-best record to 162-109 for a .596 winning percentage. The Yankees are also 7-2 at Turner Field.

The Yankees season record improves to 35-25. The Braves drop to 34-27.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Nova’s seven shutout innings lowered his ERA to 4.64. In his last two starts, Nova is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA having given up one run on nine hits and two walks and fanning 11 over 15 innings of work. His career record is now 24-6. Despite the talk about his early-season ERA, the home runs he has given up and the run support he gets, there can be no denying this 25-year-old right-hander has a brilliant career ahead of him.
  • Cano extended his hitting streak to nine games and he is 11-for-33 (.333) in that span with three home runs and seven RBIs. His 2-for-4 night brought his season average back to .300.
  • Rodriguez’s base-running was crucial to the Yankees scoring a third run off Delgado. He was on first when Cano laced a ball into left-center. Rodriguez chose to challenge the arm of Braves center-fielder Michael Bourn and he slid into third just ahead of the tag of Chipper Jones. He then scored on Delgado’s wild pitch.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • I am going to keep harping on the poor performance of Yankee hitters with runners in scoring position because it will cost them dearly in close games against good teams and in the playoffs.
  • Russell Martin popped out with the bases loaded in the fourth and he hit into an inning-ending double play in the seventh with the bags full. He ended up leaving a total of eight base-runners in going 0-for-4. Martin was yesterday’s big hero, but on Monday he did not deliver when he had chances to break the game open. Of course, he was not alone.
  • Ibanez struck out with one out and runners at second and third in the third inning. Not making contact in that situation is an absolute no-no.

BOMBER BANTER

Reliever David Robertson will make one more rehab appearance on Tuesday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and he could rejoin the team this weekend in Washington when the Yankees face the Nationals. Robertson has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 15 with a left oblique strain.  . . .  Despite sporting a bruise on his left hand he sustained on Sunday by bare-handing a hard-hit ball, left-hander Andy Pettitte said he will be able to pitch in his next start on Saturday against the Nationals.  . . .  The Yankees will not know if Brett Gardner’s troublesome right elbow will need surgery until after he is examined by a specialist on Thursday for a second opinion. Dr. James Andrews examined Gardner’s right elbow on Monday but is it unclear if surgery would be necessary until Dr. Timothy Kremchek has a chance to examine Gardner on Thursday. Gardner has played in only nine games this season and on two occasions just before being activated Gardner has felt recurring pain in the elbow.

ON DECK

The Yankees will look to take the series and extend their winning streak to five games against the Braves on Tuesday.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (7-3, 3.69 ERA) gets the call for the Yankees. Sabathia is coming off a loss to the Rays in which he gave up five runs in seven innings. He is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA in two career starts against the Braves.

The Braves are throwing a lefty of their own in Mike Minor (3-4, 6.57 ERA). Minor held the Marlins to one run on four hits over five innings to earn his first victory since April 19. Minor has never pitched against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by MY9.

 

‘The Chief’ Looks Sharp As Yankees Blank Braves

GAME 7

YANKEES 3, BRAVES (SS)  0

TAMPA - Just when it looked like the Yankees were looking so bad pitching, hitting and fielding they would not win another Grapefruit League game the stars aligned and everything went right for a change.

The Yankees got two-out RBI hits from Nick Swisher and Melky Mesa, Freddy (The Chief) Garcia and five other Yankee pitchers blanked the Braves on just five hits and the defense played flawlessly as New York downed an Atlanta split squad on sun-plashed Friday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Garcia (1-0) looked sharp in his three innings of work, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two using his assortment of split-finger fastballs, change-ups and sliders. Garcia threw only 33 pitches and 20 of them were strikes as he took s huge step forward in his battle for a spot in the starting rotation.

Julio Teheran (0-1) took the loss, giving up one run on three hits and one walk and he struck out three batters. Tehetan gave up six home runs in just two innings in his last outing against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. So even though he lost he probably felt a lot better about this performance.

The Yankees scored a run in the first after first baseman Freddie Freeman could not a complete a double play on a grounder off the bat of Robinson Cano. It allowed Derek Jeter to reach second and Swisher made the Braves pay for the bobble when he laced a double off the base of the left-field wall, allowing Jeter to coast home.

The Yankees added a run off Braves right-hander Cristhian Martinez in the fifth when Jeter drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a single by Curtis Granderson. Cano then lofted a sacrifice fly to medium center-field to score Jeter.

The Yankees final run came in the seventh with two out. Doug Bernier hit a looping fly into right-center off Braves reliever Adam Russell and he hustled it into a double. Mesa followed with a broken-bat looper to right that dropped in score Bernier and cap the Yankees scoring.

The Yankees improved their spring ledger to 3-4. The Braves dropped to 1-6.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Garcia appeared as if he were toying with the young Brave hitters – taking a little off this and adding a bit to that, Garcia pretty much used his entire arsenal. He looked excellent in doing so, keeping the Braves off balance through all three innings. This is not good news for Phil Hughes, who must step up his game in order to stay in the running for a starting spot.
  • The Yankees’ No. 1 minor-league prospect, 20-year-old lefty Manny Banuelos, tossed a very impressive two innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out three. He struck out Jose Constanza looking with two out and Brandon Hicks at second base in the fifth and he fanned Freddie Freeman on foul-tipped check-swing with Michael Bourn on second and two out in the sixth. Banuelos has drawn nothing but raves since he arrived at camp.
  • Rafael Soriano needed just nine pitches to retire the Braves in order in the fourth inning. Soriano has looked sharp in both of his appearances this spring.
  • Catcher Russell Martin turned in a gem of a defensive play in the third inning. Leading off the inning, Bourn dropped a bunt down to the left in front of home plate. Martin uncoiled out of his crouch, pounced on the ball, stopped on a dime and threw out Bourn at first.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • I hate to complain on a day when the Yankees did play well but Chris Dickerson had a day to forget as the designated hitter. With one out in the second inning and Martin at third base , Dickerson struck out swinging. In the fourth inning, with two out and Martin at second he struck out looking.
  • In that same fourth inning, Eric Chavez committed a bad base-running blunder that cost the Yankees. He doubled to lead off the frame but he was thrown out trying to advance to third on a Martin grounder to shortstop Tyler Pastornicky. The baseball rule states that you do not advance if the ball is in front of you.
  • The Yankees were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. That is OK when the pitching is good but the Yankees need to get better in these situations so they can be competitive when their pitching is not so good.

BOMBER BANTER

After a shutout victory the Yankees got even better news concerning All-Star reliever David Robertson. Tests on Robertson’s right foot indicate he only has a bone bruise and his walking boot will be removed on Sunday. Robertson injured his foot on Wednesday at his home when he slipped on a step carrying some empty boxes. After an initial scan showed some cause for concern, Robertson made two trips to a Tampa hospital on Thursday for X-rays, a CT scan, an MRI and a weight-bearing X-ray on his injured foot. All the tests showed a simple bone bruise. Manager Joe Girardi called the diagnosis “as good as it gets for us.” Robertson will likely miss about a week before he can resume getting ready for th 2012 season.  . . .  Eduardo Nunez also got some good news on Friday. A CT scan on his bruised right hand was negative. Nunez reported some discomfort in his hand when he took batting practice on Thursday. Nunez was injured when he was struck on the hand on a pitch from the Phillies’ Austin Hyatt on Monday. He will not play on Saturday and is listed as day-to-day.  . . .  Meanwhile, catcher Austin Romine and first baseman and DH Russell Branyan remain sidelined with back inflammation. There is no timetable for them to play in spring exhibition games.

ON DECK

After playing host to the Braves, the Yankees will visit the Braves at Lake Buena Vista, FL., on Saturday.

The Yankees are scheduled to start 23-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda. He will be making his second spring start. Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Brett Gardner and Raul Ibanez will make the trip for the Yankees.

The Braves will start right-hander Jair Jurrjens.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EST and the game will not be telecast.

 

Chavez, Gardner Homer As Nova Orbits Around Astros

GAME 28
YANKEES 6, ASTROS 4

TAMPA – With Sergio Mitre being dealt, Kevin Millwood being signed and a competition for a rotation spot going down to the wire, Ivan Nova did what he was supposed to do Friday night.
Nova (2-0) pitched six strong innings and was backed by home runs from Eric Chavez and Brett Gardner as New York defeated Houston at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Chavez, who was 3-for-3 in his first game since he was sidelined with a right calf injury, hit a solo home run to lead off the second inning off losing pitcher Nelson Figueroa (2-1). Three batters later Gardner added a two-run homer, his first of the spring.
Russell Martin added a two-run triple in the sixth inning as the Yankees improved their spring record to 11-14-3. The Astros are now 11-20.
PINSTRIPE POSITIVES
  • Nova did not have his best stuff but showed an ability to compete anyway. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks and struck out two. Nova had one shaky one-third of an inning after two were out in the third inning. He walked Carlos Corporan after a 10-pitch battle. Michael Bourn singled and Nova tossed a wild pitch to allow the two runners to move up a base. Nova then hit Clint Barmes and Hunter Pence followed with a two-run single.
  • Chavez started at third base and raised his spring average to a sizzling .421 with his three hits. Chavez becomes a very important player to the Yankees and not only as a backup to Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira at the corners. He also could become the DH if Jorge Posada is injured.
  • Gardner’s two-run home run proves that Gardner’s surgically repaired wrist is doing just fine. Gardner’s ability to drive the baseball has been apparent this spring. 
  • Martin is showing signs of life at the plate after a slow start. He was 2-for-2 and and raised his spring average to .250. 
NAGGING NEGATIVES
  • In the first inning, Gardner reached on an infield single and Derek Jeter singled to center. Mark Teixeira then drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. However, Robinson Cano struck out swinging and Nick Swisher grounded into an inning-ending double play. This has been an issue most of the spring. The Yankees were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the game.
  • Rafael Soriano was touched for two doubles and two runs (one earned) in two-thirds of an inning. It was the first time this spring that Soriano had been touched for a run. 
  • Andruw Jones is really struggling. He was 0-for-2 in the game and is hitting a woeful .189 on the spring. He also has struck out nine times in 37 at-bats.
BOMBER BANTER
GM Brian Cashman said his trade of Mitre to the Brewers was a “surplus-for-surplus” trade. The Yankees felt Nova, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon could fill the two back-end rotation spots and the long relief role. The acquisition of outfielder Chris Dickerson gives the Yankees some insurance if Curtis Granderson is unable to start the season with his strained right oblique muscle.  . . .  Dickerson is expected to arrive in Tampa on Saturday and could see action.  . . .  Gustavo Molina, 29, has emerged as the potential backup to Russell Martin when the season starts. The Yankees like the fact that Molina has major-league experience and this would allow the Yankees to send top catching prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so they both can play more often. Molina would likely remain on the roster only until Francisco Cervelli recovers from a broken foot he suffered early in the spring.
ON DECK
For those fans hoping to see CC Sabathia make his last tuneup start of the spring on Saturday, you are out of luck. Sabathia will pitch in a minor-league game instead.
The Yankees will host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on Saturday and they will start 20-year-old Manny Banuelos. The Pirates will start right-hander Kevin Correia.
Game-time will be at 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.
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