A two-run Alex Rodriguez homer in the first inning of last night’s gave the Yankees an early lead they would never relinquish as they rolled to a 7-2 victory behind a solid outing from Mike Mussina (7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 BB, 5 K), running their current winning streak to five games.
The one homer Mussina gave up came off the bat of Jhonny Peralta in the top of the second, but Jason Giambi got the run right back on Kevin Millwood’s second pitch of the bottom of the inning with a solo shot of his own. Actually, Giambi’s shot would have hit off the top of the wall in right, but Cleveland right fielder Casey Blake managed to catch it, only to have it pop out of his glove and over the wall for a home run.
Amazingly, both Giambi’s deflected home run in the second and Rodriguez’s opposite field shot in the first were touched by the same fan in the right field stands. A sturdy fellow in his late 30s/early 40s with black gelled hair and a blue-gray t-shirt bobbled Rodriguez’s shot eventually knocking it back onto the field, then had Giambi’s ball scoot right through his hands altogether. He didn’t wind up with either ball.
The Yankees fifth run also came on a bizarre play. Following a Cano infield single, a Sheffield fly out and a Rodriguez walk, Hideki Matusi singled to score Cano for the fourth run and put runners at the corners. Then, with a 1-0 count on Giambi, Millwood caught his front spike on the mound while attempting to pitch from the stretch. Rolling his ankle slightly, Millwood had to kick his foot toward first to avoid injury, eliminating the momentum of his delivery completely. However, with a runner on third, Millwood didn’t want to stop his motion and get called for a balk, so he sort of flipped the ball home with a flick of his wrist. Unfortunately for the Indians, the throw went wide of Victor Martinez behind the plate and both runners advanced anyway.
Giambi then singled home Matsui from second to make it 6-2 Yankees (the Indians scored their second run on a pair of singles and a groundout in the fifth). Derek Jeter added a solo homer leading off the seventh against Fernando Cabrera to cap the scoring.
