CC Cruises As Yanks Easily Take Opener

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NYY	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	2		9	14	0
NYM	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	3	3

Winning pitcher - CC Sabathia (7-4)
Losing pitcher - Mike Pelfrey (5-3)
Besides the rain delay it was a great way to see Citi Field for the first time. The Yankees dominated the Mets, winning 9-1, and the ballpark itself is actually quite nice. Good views from the seats, nice atmosphere, great food selection, and cheaper beer than Yankee Stadium by a buck-fifty. The only problem was those annoying Mets fans, luckily they pretty much shut up by the third inning. If you'd like to see some photos from my first trip to Citi Field, check out this photo gallery over on SIH's Facebook page.

Regarding the game let's start with the pitching and CC Sabathia. I guess his bicep was fine because he was dealing last night and dominated the Mets. In seven innings he allowed one run on three hits, walked none and struck out eight. He threw 99 pitches, 67 of which were strikes. He could have gone on to pitch the eighth had the Yankees needed to but they extended the lead to six and Joe Girardi wisely decided to call it a night for CC. If you were wondering about his velocity, it was excellent. His fastball averaged 94.34 mph and topped out at 97.9. The lone Mets run came on a Gary Sheffield homer in the fifth. The Mets put two more runners on in the inning before CC slammed the door. CC would then retire the final seven batters he faced.

Offensively the Yankees were led by Brett Gardner who picked up a career-high five hits on the night including a solo homer and a triple. He also drove in two, scored three runs, and stole his 17th base of the year.

Most of the Yankees damage came in an error filled four-run top of the second. Melky Cabrera led off against Mets starter Mike Pelfrey with an infield single and advanced to third on a David Wright throwing error. Following a Francisco Cervelli strikeout Ramiro Pena doubled in the Yankees first run. Pena ended up having a very nice three-hit night replacing Derek Jeter who was out with the flu. After Pena doubled CC sabathia then lined a single up the middle scoring Pena to make it a 2-0 lead. Gardner then picked up his second hit of the night to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Johnny Damon then hit what should have been an inning ending double play, but Alex Cora threw the ball into right field and CC scored and Damon and Gardner were on second and third. The Mets third and final error of the inning came when Mark Teixeira grounded a ball right to Nick Evans, but he bobbled it, Gardner scored and Teixeira reached safely. It was a thoroughly embarrassing inning for the Mets and their fans.

Gardner added a run with his solo homer in the seventh, and Alex Rodriguez capped off the inning with a two-run homer deep into the Mets bullpen in right-center. It was A-Rod's 564th of his career which passed Reggie Jackson for 11th all-time. It was A-Rod's only hit of the night, but he did walk three times.

The Yanks would put two more on the board in the ninth. Gardner drove in Pena with an RBI triple, and Damon then drove Gardner in with an RBI double.

Brett Tomko pitched the final two innings in relief to close out the game.

With half of their lineup on the DL this is exactly what the Yankees should do to the Mets, and they should continue to do so for the next two days. They will get their chance tomorrow with A.J. Burnett on the mound. He will face right-hander Tim Redding.

The Yanks got some expected bad news today when they found out that Xavier Nady will need season-ending Tommy John surgery. Because it takes so much time to recover from the surgeyr he will also likely miss significant time next season as well. To make matters worse for Nady, he's a free agent after this year. A bad break for Nady and the Yankees.

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gardner, CF	6	3	5	2	0	0	1	.303
Damon, LF	6	0	1	1	0	2	2	.290
Teixeira, 1B	4	1	0	1	1	0	1	.276
1-Ransom, PR-3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Rodriguez, A, 3B	2	1	1	2	3	0	0	.227
a-Matsui, H, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.249
Swisher, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.238
Cano, 2B	6	0	2	0	0	0	7	.302
Cabrera, Me, RF	3	1	1	0	2	0	3	.287
Cervelli, C	5	0	0	0	0	2	6	.269
Pena, R, SS	5	2	3	1	0	0	3	.268
Sabathia, P	4	1	1	1	0	1	1	.250
Tomko, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000
Totals	43	9	14	8	6	6	27
a-Flied out for Rodriguez, A in the 9th. 1-Ran for Teixeira in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Pena, R 2 (4, Pelfrey, Pelfrey), Cano (17, Misch), Damon (17, Green, S). 3B: Gardner (4, Green, S). HR: Gardner (3, 8th inning off Dessens, 0 on, 1 out), Rodriguez, A (11, 8th inning off Dessens, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Gardner 10; Damon 2; Rodriguez, A 4; Cano 3; Cabrera, Me; Pena, R 5; Sabathia. RBI: Pena, R (7), Sabathia (1), Teixeira (58), Gardner 2 (13), Rodriguez, A 2 (36), Damon (46). 2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano 2; Cabrera, Me 2; Gardner; Damon; Pena, R 2; Cervelli. Team RISP: 3-for-17. Team LOB: 14. BASERUNNING SB: Gardner (17, 2nd base off Misch/Santos, O), Damon (8, 2nd base off Pelfrey/Santos, O).

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Sabathia (W, 7-4)	7.0	3	1	1	0	8	1	3.55
Tomko	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5.51

METS STATS

PLAYER OF THE GAME: CC Sabathia (W, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K and he went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.)

HONORABLE MENTION: Brett Gardner (5-for-6. HR, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R, SB) - You could easily switch Sabathia and Gardner, they bother were players of the game tonight.

Tomorrow's Game

Yankees @ Mets
Game Time: 7:10 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WPIX, MLBN, WCBS, WFAN
RHP A.J. Burnett (5-4, 4.24 ERA) vs RHP Tim Redding (1-2, 6.08 ERA)