Couple of lefties today at the Stadium as the Yanks go for the sweep.
Derek Jeter DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones LF
Russell Martin C
Jayson Nix SS
Never mind the glare: Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Picture Credit: Elevated Encouragement]
Alex Rodriguez hit a solid ground ball up the middle in the first inning, good for an RBI. Three batters later, Raul Ibanez came to the plate with the bases loaded. With just one out it felt like the Yanks could bust the game open against Dillon Gee and the Mets. Gee fell behind 2-0 with pitches outside and then threw two changes on the inside part of the plate. Ibanez swung through both of them, way out in front. Gee went back outside with the next pitch and got what he was looking for, namely, a ground ball. The Mets turned a double play and Gee cruised along until the sixth inning when Mark Teixeira lined a two-run home run to right field.
Teixeira hit a hanging breaking ball immediately after swinging through a fine breaking ball. The shot put the Yankees ahead, 3-2.
In the Yankee dugout, Rodriguez was pumped; Jeter was amused.
Terse and bland with reporters, but as we’ve said here before, Jeter never gets cheated in the fun department while he’s playing.
Anyway, the Mets scored their two runs on solo homers by Omar Quintanilla and David Wright.
Otherwise, Phil Hughes pitched well. Had a nice change-up mixed in with his curve and fastball. Allowed six hits and a couple of walks and struck out six. Gee’s line wasn’t flashy (five hits, three walks, three stikeouts) but he worked in-and-out–both pitchers took advantage of a wide strike zone–and pitched without incident until Teixeira’s blast.
Hughes gave up a base hit with one out in the seventh. Boone Logan relieved him and recorded an out thanks to a fine running catch by Curtis Grandreson. Corey Wade gave up a bloop base hit to Scott Hairston which put runners on the corners. Wade got ahead of Andres Torres 1-2 then missed with a fastball low and outside as Hairston stole second. The next pitch, a little higher, still outside, was lofted to Ibanez in left for the third out.
Gee stayed in the game and set the Yanks down in order in the seventh as I fretted about the eighth inning.
“Hon, we’re going to see Clay Rapada,” I told the wife, knowing that Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy were scheduled to bat after Wright led off.
“Sure do miss Mo right about now,” I said, “Never mind Robertson.”
“Yeah, instead of feeling good, now we’ve got heart attack, gasp and stroke.”
Wade got Wright to ground out and then Rapada came in and retired Duda on a weak ground ball to Cano, and Murphy on a sharp grounder to Jeter.
And I was worried…(but wait, there’s still Soriano to go in the ninth. Doesn’t matter if he’s been perfect in save opportunities since taking over the closer role this year; I miss our security blanket. I miss Mo.)
Grandy soothed my delicate nerves when he homered off Bobby Parnell to lead off the eighth.
In the ninth, Soriano walked Ike Davis to start things off and my nerves were back to bullshit. Couple of pitches were outside, including the 3-1 pitch which would be okay if they hadn’t been called strikes all night long.
Jason Bay swung through a 93 mph fastball and then got under the next pitch, another fastball, and flew out to to Granderson for the first out. Josh Tole took ball one and then a called strike (worse than ball four to Davis). He hit a slow ground ball to Jeter on the next pitch, too slow for a double play. Jeter got the lead runner and the Mets were down to their last out.
Quintanilla took strike one on the outside corner, looked at strike two in the same spot, and then at another fastball, this one too far outside. Soriano shook off Russell Martin, went back outside with another heater, which Quintanilla fouled off. A slider, low, evened the count at 2-2, and then Quintanilla ripped a groundball (fastball, cock-high, right over the plate) up the middle. It hit off Soriano and scooted past Cano into the outfield. Thole took third and yeah, this one was getting too close for comfort.
Scott Hairston was next but Jordany Valdespin came to the plate as a pinch-hitterand took ball one, high and away. Breaking ball, first one by Soriano, outside but good for a called strike. The next pitch, a fastball right over the plate was hacked at and missed. Valdespin almost came out of his shoes trying to put the Mets ahead. He popped the next pitch innocently to left field and that was that: Game, Series, Yanks.
Final Score: Yanks 4, Mets 2.
[Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images]
Bad news for Brett Gardner who felt pain in his elbow this morning. Tweets from the Yankee beat writers suggest we might not see Gardner until after the All-Star Break.
It’s Phil “Two in a row?”Hughes vs. Dillon Gee.
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Never mind the upstarts: Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: I Love Graffiti]
Robinson Cano hit the first pitch he saw into the seats tonight. A misplaced fastball was good for a two-run home run, and with it went any dream of consecutive no-hitters from Johan Santana. The next inning, Cano hit the second pitch he saw, a hanging slider, into the right field seats and the Yanks were out to a 4-0 lead. Nick Swisher followed and he ripped a home run to left, and not wanting to be left out of the festivities, Andruw Jones followed that with a bomb of his own.
It was enough to get the Yankee dugout fired up–especially Mr. Swisher (jeez, settle down, Francis)–not to mention the Yankee fans in the seats. It sure was more than enough for Hiroki Kuroda, who was terrific, throwing seven shutout innings. He allowed just a single base hit and that didn’t come until two out in the sixth.
Kuroda’s night ended on a strange play. Daniel Murphy hit a line drive that caught Kuroda’s foot and shot up in the air to Alex Rodriguez who made the catch to end the seventh. Kuroda had the foot wrapped and was sporting crutches after the game. Perhaps he could miss a start. He had x-rays and they were negative.
Just about everything else for the home team was positive.
Yanks take it, 9-1.
[Photo Credit: Aimeri]
Once again, MLB’s most highly-attended annual gimmick, the Subway Serious.
I’m out and away from a machine all day so I won’t post the line-ups, but you know the routine.
Tonight gives some extra assignment as Johan Santana makes his first start since his no-hitter.
Never mind those scrappy, lovable, Mets: Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: Martha Cooper]
The Yankees again took advantage of the St. Louis Browns, this time sweeping both games of the doubleheader by scores of 9-3 and 8-3. DiMaggio hammered the Brown hurlers in one of his more impressive performances of the season. He homered twice in the opener, then went deep again in the nightcap in addition to a double. He drove in a total of seven runs in the two games. What little kid wouldn’t want to be Joe DiMaggio when he grew up? Elsewhere, Ted Williams fell by the wayside in his efforts to keep pace with DiMaggio’s streak. In a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, Williams was hitless in both games, stopping his streak at twenty-three straight games.
Rodriguez singled on the first pitch he saw from Price in the first inning, a fastball, and then Price got him out the next time on off-speed pitches. Now, he went after Rodriguez with more soft stuff. Rodriguez fouled pitches off, good pitches, nasty pitches. Until he saw 11, almost all soft (3 hard fastballs mixed in there for good measure). It was a riveting at bat and if Yankee fans felt that Rodriguez was bound to whiff at least he wasn’t making it easy on Price.
Then he struck out on a change-up, or was it a slider? Doesn’t matter. Rodriguez was booed–unfairly, it says here–on his walk back to the dugout. Robinson Cano was next and the 1-1 pitch was a 97-mph fastball, right down the middle. Cano put a good swing on it but fouled it off. He too ruined a couple of good pitches by Price before grounding out weakly to second base to end the threat. Cano was not booed but he had the best chance of the inning–the one true mistake that Price made (I’m not including the two walks).
That ended Price’s night but it was also as close as the Yanks would come (Eric Chavez, pinch-hitting in the eighth inning, represented the tying run and missed a fat pitch, fouling it off, that could well keep him up tonight if he’s the sensitive kind). Just a nervy performance by Price in the fifth.
C.C. Sabathia had an effective slider but made a few too many mistakes (an error by Rodriguez did him no favors, either) as the Rays escaped New York with a win.
Final Score: Rays 7, Yanks 3.
The Yanks couldn’t take advantage of an Orioles loss to move into first place so they remain in second as our attention turns to the dreaded Subway Serious. You can guess the narrative: the Mets are scrappy, full of gamers–they’ve got spunk! they’ve got heart! they’ve got guts!–they are fun, they are what baseball is supposed to be about. The Yankees, meanwhile, are boring and bloated, overpaid, a regular snoozefest. Wonder who the reporters are pulling for?
[Photo Credit: Bags; Seth Wenig/AP; Jim McIsaac/Getty Images]
Grade A duel in the Bronx this evening pits David Price against C.C. Sabathia.
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Jones DH
Nix LF
Stewart C
Never mind the pending Subway Serious (or the rain), there’s business to take care of tonight:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Via: We Are the Color]
The St. Louis Browns, having recently replaced manager Fred Haney with Luke Sewell, continued their losing ways by giving up five runs in the ninth to lose to the Yankees, 11-7. DiMaggio had three singles on the day, easily keeping his string intact at twenty-two straight. In Chicago, meanwhile, Williams stayed a game ahead of DiMaggio by singling once in four at bats and stretching his streak to twenty-three games. DiMaggio’s streak, of course, was still a week from its midpoint; Teddy Ballgame’s would die the next day.
After struggling in his last start against the Angels, Ivan Nova repeatedly talked about needing to get better. It didn’t take him long to fulfill that promise. Following in the footsteps of Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte, Nova turned in one of the best games of his career and completed only the Yankees’ second turn through the rotation with consecutive quality starts.
When Desmond Jennings singled to lead off the first inning, there were probably more than a few groans throughout the crowd, but that turned out to be the last hit Nova would allow until Sean Rodriguez’ double in the eighth. In between, Nova allowed only two other base runners, as the right hander kept the Rays off balance with a mix of fastballs, sliders, and curves, all of which he was able to throw for strikes.
The Yankees needed Nova to be strong because Rays’ right hander Alex Cobb was nearly as good. Over his first seven innings, the 24-year old starter limited the Yankees to two hits, but each one left the ballpark. In the second inning, the Yankees jumped ahead 1-0 when Mark Teixeira circumvented the shift by sending a curveball deep into the second deck of the right field stands. Two innings later, Robinson Cano doubled the Yankees lead by hitting a wall scrapper that didn’t go nearly as far but counted just the same. The blast came right after Alex Rodriguez was picked off first by Jose Molina, but the forfeited run proved inconsequential.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees tacked on two more runs when Raul Ibanez, Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez recorded consecutive hits, knocking Cobb from the game in the process. Even before the Yankees extended their lead, Joe Girardi seemed committed to giving Nova a chance for a complete game shutdown, but the extra runs made the decision even easier. The cushion also saved Girardi from being second guessed when the Rays greeted Nova with back-to-back triples to start the ninth. However, all questions were rendered moot by Rafael Soriano, who quickly restored order by striking out the next two batters before retiring old friend Hideki Matsui on a deep fly ball to right.
With the victory, the Yankees leap-frogged the Rays into second place, a position they haven’t occupied since April 24. The win also pushed the Yankees’ record to seven games over .500 for the first time all season and set the stage for a series sweep. Perhaps even more important than the season milestones, however, the outcome was also a shot in the arm for Nova, who proved he could be better…at least for one night.
As in another win against the tough Tampa Bay Rays. It’s Nova tonight.
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Ibanez LF
Swisher RF
Chavez 3B
Martin C
Never mind the preamble: Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Via: Quirino Paulino]
This is the kind of game we pined for during the first couple of months this season when the Yanks seemed like they were behind 2-0 before the game started. A laugher, free and easy.
That’s what we got tonight as the Yanks took advantage of some poor fielding by the Rays, who made three errors, and an off-night from James Shields. It was nice to see Nick Swisher smack a couple of base hits but even better to watch Russell Martin line a grand slam over the fence in right field (he had three hits in all).
Andy Pettitte pitched a wonderful game. Over seven-and-a-third, he allowed a couple of hits and a couple of walks and struck out ten, though after almost every inning he walked off the mound talking to himself. Not muttering it was more like lecturing. Just another old craftsman, working out some kind of private contest for himself, perfection required.
Final score: Yanks 7, Rays 0.
Ahhhhhhh.
[Photo Credit: Pus-Say; Sleepless Dreams; Mike Stobe/Getty Images]
Yanks and Rays at the Stadium.
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez DH
Russell Martin C
Never mind the shift: Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: Joe Martz]
Perhaps caught in a malaise in the aftermath of Lou Gehrig’s death and funeral, the Yankees dropped their third straight game, falling to Hal Newhouser and the Tigers, 5-4. DiMaggio tripled into the left field corner in the sixth, but that was it for him. His one for five day at the plate saw his average dip to .326, but during the streak he was hitting a bit better, .354 (29 for 82). Ted Williams, meanwhile, was keeping pace. He had now hit in twenty-two straight, and was hitting an even .500 (40 for 80!) during his streak, pushing his season number to a laughable .434.
Head on over to River Ave. Blues for all the latest on tonight’s draft.
[Photo Via: Smiles and Pretenses]
Just a quick reminder that I’ll be talking Yankees tonight in Tarrytown with Rob Fleder.
[Photo Via: Dead Serious]
Derek Jeter led off the game with a home run to right field, a few innings later Alex Rodriguez turned around a 95 mph fastball from Justin Verlander and hit a grown-up homer to left (eat your heart out Miguel Cabrera).
But I buried the lede–Phil Hughes was terrific. His fastball was in the mid-90s, the curve ball was crisp, and he out-pitched the Tigers’ ace as the Yanks sailed to a 5-1 win. Hughes went the distance (four hits, three walks, eight strikeouts), a remarkable comeback after his lousy outing in California. A solo homer to Prince Fielder was the one blemish on one of the finest performances of his career–he even struck the great Cabrera out twice.
I didn’t see this one coming. But after last night’s tense game, this one was a cool breeze.
Yanks have the day-off tomorrow and then will host the Rays followed by the Mets. Should be a fun week.
The Yankees’ inability to come through with a rally last night cost them the game, particularly in the ninth when Jose Valverde was wild–effectively wild, I suppose. Derek Jeter says the Yanks probably won’t score again this year.
Still, the loss was a drag because Justin Verlander pitches this afternoon. Verlander wasn’t great earlier this year against the Yankees in the Bronx and he was roughed-up earlier this week by the Red Sox. Smart money has him throwing a gem today.
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
I was so pissed last night I told the wife I’d pay her $100 if the Yanks win today and she has to pay me $10 if the Tigers win. She said she’ll buy me five dogs if the Yanks win, I get her five dogs if the Tigers win.
Never mind the odds: Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[Photo Credit: Oyl Miller via It’s a Long Season]
When they got off the train in Detroit the night before their series against the Tigers, the Yankees were greeted with the stunning news that Lou Gehrig had died earlier in the day. Several of the older players, including DiMaggio, who had played with Gehrig were concerned for his wife and considered skipping the game. DiMaggio decided to play, and his fourth-inning homerun was a small bright spot in a bleak day as the Yankees lost, 4-2, while mourning their former captain.
