In their final exhibition game against major league competition, the Yankees and Orioles played to a 6-6 draw, with five of the Orioles runs being unearned. The Yankees play their minor league future-stars on Saturday, then head to Boston for Sunday night’s opener.
Lineup:
R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)
R – Mike Rivera (C)
Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Justin Snyder (2B), Luis Nuñez (SS), Marcos Vechionacci (3B), Austin Romine (C), Jon Weber (RF), Brett Gardner (CF), Marcus Thames (LF), Randy Winn (DH)
Pitchers (IP): Andy Pettitte (4 1/3), Josh Schmidt (2/3), Mariano Rivera (1), Grant Duff (1), Boone Logan (1), Amaury Sanit (1)
Big Hits: A two-run homer by Nick Swisher (1-for-2). Mark Teixiera went 2-for-3. Randy Winn, who replaced Nick Johnson, went 2-for-5.
Who Pitched Well: Andy Pettitte scattered six singles, a double, and a walk but kept the O’s off the board for 4 1/3 innings. Pettitte said he tired a bit at the end of the outing due to his lack of proper game action this spring. That will be something to watch in his regular season debut in Wednesday’s series finale in Boston. Minor leaguer Josh Schmidt followed Pettitte into the game and stranded two inherited runners, striking out Adam Jones then retiring Miguel Tejada to end the inning. Boone Logan worked around a single for a scoreless eighth. Amaury Sanit worked around a double and a hit batsman for a scoreless ninth.
Who Didn’t: Mariano Rivera gave up three runs on two singles, a walk, and a hit batsman in the sixth. Grant Duff gave up three runs on four singles in the seventh, blowing the lead. Just one of their six runs was earned, however.
Oopsies: Robinson Cano and minor leaguer Justin Snyder both made errors on catches leading to all of those unearned runs.
Ouchies: Nick Johnson fouled a ball of his right nee and was pulled from the game with what was ultimately diagnosed as a bone bruise. He’s day-to-day and expects to be in the lineup on Opening Day, though Joe Girardi is less sure. Damaso Marte‘s shoulder is cranky again, though he says it’s a different discomfort from what kept him out of most of last season and he expects to be ready after a couple of days’ rest. He suspects he actually hurt himself by overdoing the exercises designed to keep his shoulder healthy. Alfredo Aceves (back) threw a scoreless eight-pitch inning in a minor league game and believes he’ll be ready for Opening Day as well, though how his back recovers in the morning will be the deciding factor there. Mike Rivera‘s return to action after his hamstring strain suggests that the Yankees will indeed have their third-stringer available if Francisco Cervelli can’t break camp with the team. Cervelli, meanwhile, caught in the bullpen and took batting practice and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Jorge Posada, who woke up with a stiff neck on Thursday, might get into Saturday’s game. Right now it seems possible that the Yankees will open the season without any players on the disabled list, but they’ll have a handful of guys they’ll hope they can leave on the bench on Sunday to give them two more days off before Tuesday’s second game of the season.
Cuts: Zack Segovia, who inexplicably hung around for most of camp, was farmed out on Thursday. He’ll might actually end up in the Double-A bullpen due to a lack of room at Triple-A and the fact that there’s absolutely nothing compelling about him. Lefty Royce Ring was reassigned to minor league camp on Friday. He’ll linger in the Triple-A pen as a potential second lefty having impressed in camp. That leaves Marcus Thames, Mike Rivera, and, unexpectedly, P.J. Pilittere as the only non-roster players still in camp. Thames has all but officially made the team. Rivera is here as Cervelli insurance, and Pilittere, I imagine, is Rivera insurance. It also leaves just eight relievers for the seven man bullpen. If Aceves or Marte hits the DL, Boone Logan will make the team, though I imagine that’s the only circumstance under which he will.
