“I think that might be the best pitching staff in the league,” [Johnny] Damon said. “Detroit hasn’t been healthy all year I know and you have to look at Anaheim and Boston.

“But these guys [the Blue Jays], all of them throw the ball well. I really tip my hat to those guys. They’re a scary team, they’re really close.”
(Globe and Mail)

The Yankees lost a well-pitched game 2-1 against the Blue Jays last night. Ian Kennedy was terrific, giving up just a run off one hit over seven innings, and A.J. Burnett was McNasty allowing a single run over eight innings. But Battleship Chris Britton gave up two consecutive hits in the bottom of the ninth and that was that.

Kennedy made one mistake in the first inning. With a runner on, he grooved an 0-2 fastball right over the heart of the plate to Frank Thomas. The Jays’ DH pounded a long line drive to deep center field. Melky Cabrera looked as if he was going to catch it, but missed the ball at the wall, allowing the first run of the game to score. It wasn’t a can of corn but it was a ball Cabrera should have caught. Kennedy then retired the next 15 batters, as he mixed his fastball, breaking ball and change-up wonderfully.

Burnett, in a complete contrast of styles, was simply overpowering. His breaking ball was hard and sharp and it often skipped in the dirt. But that didn’t matter much as Yankee hitters waved at it anyway. Wilson Betemit whiffed three times on breaking pitches. Johnny Damon caught a change-up from Burnett and planted it into the seats for a solo home run in the sixth. By the time Alex Rodriguez came to hit three batters later, there were two runners on. Rodriguez couldn’t hold up on the first pitch, a hard slider, but he laid-off the next two pitches, also breaking balls. Then, Burnett spotted a fastball right down the pipe, and to cap it off, he threw the same pitch again. Rodriguez, guessing breaking ball, took both pitches (he’d strike out again in the ninth, after just missing a slider).

The Yankees left two runners stranded in the sixth and in the ninth and when Britton entered the game, well, it didn’t look good. Britton was pitching because Kyle Farnsworth was unavailable due to a sore neck. And so the Yanks lost a squeaker, ending their seven-game winning streak. It wouldn’t seem like such a tough loss if the Bombers hadn’t put themselves in such a pickle early in the season.

Ah, no use crying. Tonight gives Boston. Here comes the pain.