Key moment’s from Sunday’s 7-2 Yankee loss to the Orioles:
- Torre’s lineup: Joe Torre impresses by giving Bubba Crosby the start in center field. Bubba goes 1 for 3 with seven putouts, catching everything hit near him and firing off an impressive throw to home on a failed attempt to nail Palmeiro scoring in the second. Joe Torre also confounds by not only starting Ruben Seirra over Tino Martinez, thus forcing Giambi into the field where his defense is exploited by the Orioles, but batting Sierra fifth with Jorge Posada hitting seventh. Posada goes 2 for 4 with an RBI single and a should-have-been double. Sierra goes 0 for 3 with a ninth inning walk and a run scored.
- Top 2nd: Following a one-out single, Rafael Palmeiro, who has 11 stolen bases in the last six years, steals second on Carl Pavano. He’s later driven in by a two-out single by Jay Gibbons.
- Top 3rd: Jason Giambi made a great play on a Brian Roberts liner in the top of the first, and now Roberts makes him pay by bunting to him for a base hit. Melvin Mora then hits a foul pop back by the tarp that Giambi loses in the sun. On the next pitch, Mora lines a shot off Pavano’s right temple for a base hit, putting runners at the corners and sending Pavano to the hospital with a mild concussion.
- Top 5th: With Paul Quantrill on in relief of Tanyon Sturtze, who had gone nine regular season appearances without giving up a run before allowing three on this day, the Orioles have the bases loaded and one out. Jay Gibbons lifts a fly out to Gary Sheffield in medium right field and Miguel Tejada decides to tag and come home. Sheffield fires a strike to home plate in plenty of time to catch Tejada but, as is his wont, Posada catches the ball on the first-base side of home instead of on top of it and misses Tejada, who comes in with a nice evasive head-first slide, when lunging back for the tag. Here’s hoping Joe Girardi had a few words with Posada about this play.
