Matt Moore pitched like Sandy Koufax to start the game tonight, struck out six of the first nine batters he faced. But in the fourth, Alex Rodriguez hit a hard RBI double and Russell Martin followed with a two run double of his own. Funny moment when Rodriguez was batting. A pitch landed in the dirt and Rodriguez waved his arm for Jeter to run to third. It was a gut move and the wrong one. The ball didn’t roll far enough away. Immediately, Rodriguez caught himself and held up his hand. Jeter cracked up, so did Rodriguez and then he cracked the double.
But Hiroki Kuroda couldn’t hold the lead as the Rays tied it 3-3, and then 4-4 after Martin’s solo homer put the Yanks ahead.
The Yanks took the lead for good in the seventh on a throwing error by the second baseman Elliot Johnson. A sacrifice bunt by Jayson Nix put runners at second and third with one out. Infield in, Jeter, who had three hits so far, hit a tapper to second and Johnson threw it away. Both runners scored.
Boone Logan got two outs in the bottom of the inning while Jeter made a nice over-the-shoulder catch to end the inning (came up limping some, too). Then David Robertson and Rafael Soriano shut the damn door.
Final Score: Yanks 6, Rays 4.
Yeah, and the Orioles lost.
It wasn’t easy but it was a win. And for one night we can exhale.
[Photo Credit: Estera Lazowska]
A-Rod & Captain being BFF again, back in first place, I'm off work tomorrow to hit the Tokyo Jazz Festival, and my local liquor store just added San Francisco Anchor brand "Porter" beer to their shelf.
Life is Good!
2) Chin chin!
[1] Enjoy. Trying to get into shape now, but let's hook up in October if I jump off the wagon.
i've decided to enjoy this for what it is. a pennant race. that's baseball, right?
i'm not going to let the always sky high expectations take the fun out of that for me.
that's my story. i'm sticking to it.
Jeter was limping the night before when he was running to first. He would be the last one to ask out of the lineup. I hope it is something that doesn't get aggravated.
I made the decision to Tivo the Yanks and the DNC last night. I can olnly Tivo 2 things at once, and I missed what would have been my first Yankee win in a while.
It is tough being 3,000 miles from family and Yankee baseball. True to my form lately, I watched the Giants lose last night instead of the Yanks. But Bill Clinton might have won Obama another 4 years, so that is a push.
(5) Sorry I meant I Tivo'd the Giants and the DNC.
4) You are my inspiration.
haha. it was that or spend the rest of the season swearing at my tv.