(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Winning pitcher - Joba Chamberlain (3-1)
Losing pitcher - Greg Aquino (1-1)
SV - Mariano Rivera (11)
Losing pitcher - Greg Aquino (1-1)
SV - Mariano Rivera (11)
The story of tonight's game was Joba Chamberlain. In eight innings the 23-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on four hits, walked two and struck out five. He made one major mistake on the day a pitch to Victor Martinez in the fourth that wound up in the right field seats. The second run he allowed came in the seventh when Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single, moved to second on a ground out, stole third, and then scored on another ground out. It was a great start for Joba, especially coming off of the rough outing in Texas.
What was most impressive about his performance to me was that he was economical with his pitches and was able to get deep into the ballgame. The eight innings was the longest outing of his career.
His stuff was as good as its ever been since Joba became a starter. His fastball had the kind of velocity we haven't seen since before coming down with shoulder tendinitis last August. According to MLB.com's gameday it averaged 93.9 mph, and hit 97 several times throughout the night, including in the 8th inning. Besides having a great fastball, his slider was devastating, and his also had a very good curve tonight. He threw 106 pitches on the night, 66 for strikes.
Not only did he pitch a great game, but he also made the defensive play of the game in the field. With the score tied at one in the fifth Cleveland had runners on first and second and nobody out. Kelly Shoppach tried to put down a sac bunt but popped it up, Joba came racing off the mound and dove - actually more of a belly-flop - towards the third base line to make a diving catch. He then got up and doubled up the runner off second for the double play. It was a major turning point in the game and a hell of play by Joba.
The Yanks got on the scoreboard with a run in the third; Brett Gardner walked and stole second, then Derek Jeter reached on a bunt single. Nick Swisher then grounded into a double play and the Gardner came into score.
That would be all they'd get off Indians starter Jeremy Sowers, but they did have a chance to blow the game open when Sowers lost the strike zone in the top of the sixth walked the bases loaded with nobody out. Sowers was then taken out of the game and replaced by Greg Aquino, who first struck out Alex Rodriguez looking, then got Jorge Posada to ground into a force for the second out of the inning, and then Robinson Cano to fly out to left to end the inning.
This could have been a momentum turning moment in the game for Cleveland, but Joba threw a nine-pitch 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the inning and quickly got the Yankees back in the batter's box. In the top of the seventh the Yankees once again had a chance with bases loaded after Aquino walked Hideki Matsui, Gardner and Jeter. This time they didn't waste the opportunity. Swisher got ahead on the count 2-1 and lined a fastball off the top of the left field wall for a two-run double. He missed a grand slam by a foot. Aquino then intentionally walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases for A-Rod. Rodriguez hit a hard grounder just off Asdrubal Cabrera's glove for another two runs and the Yanks led 5-1.
Mariano Rivera came in for the save and retired the Indians in order, capping it off with a nice play on Choo's chopper over the mound. Mo needed just 13 pitches (9 strikes) to pick up his 11th save of the season.
Boston was off tonight so the Yankees' win moves them to a full game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. And for the 18th straight game the Yankees did not commit an error in the field and that is a new major league record.
What was most impressive about his performance to me was that he was economical with his pitches and was able to get deep into the ballgame. The eight innings was the longest outing of his career.
His stuff was as good as its ever been since Joba became a starter. His fastball had the kind of velocity we haven't seen since before coming down with shoulder tendinitis last August. According to MLB.com's gameday it averaged 93.9 mph, and hit 97 several times throughout the night, including in the 8th inning. Besides having a great fastball, his slider was devastating, and his also had a very good curve tonight. He threw 106 pitches on the night, 66 for strikes.
Not only did he pitch a great game, but he also made the defensive play of the game in the field. With the score tied at one in the fifth Cleveland had runners on first and second and nobody out. Kelly Shoppach tried to put down a sac bunt but popped it up, Joba came racing off the mound and dove - actually more of a belly-flop - towards the third base line to make a diving catch. He then got up and doubled up the runner off second for the double play. It was a major turning point in the game and a hell of play by Joba.
(Mark Duncan of the AP and Ron Kuntz of REUTERS)
The Yanks got on the scoreboard with a run in the third; Brett Gardner walked and stole second, then Derek Jeter reached on a bunt single. Nick Swisher then grounded into a double play and the Gardner came into score.
That would be all they'd get off Indians starter Jeremy Sowers, but they did have a chance to blow the game open when Sowers lost the strike zone in the top of the sixth walked the bases loaded with nobody out. Sowers was then taken out of the game and replaced by Greg Aquino, who first struck out Alex Rodriguez looking, then got Jorge Posada to ground into a force for the second out of the inning, and then Robinson Cano to fly out to left to end the inning.
This could have been a momentum turning moment in the game for Cleveland, but Joba threw a nine-pitch 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the inning and quickly got the Yankees back in the batter's box. In the top of the seventh the Yankees once again had a chance with bases loaded after Aquino walked Hideki Matsui, Gardner and Jeter. This time they didn't waste the opportunity. Swisher got ahead on the count 2-1 and lined a fastball off the top of the left field wall for a two-run double. He missed a grand slam by a foot. Aquino then intentionally walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases for A-Rod. Rodriguez hit a hard grounder just off Asdrubal Cabrera's glove for another two runs and the Yanks led 5-1.
Mariano Rivera came in for the save and retired the Indians in order, capping it off with a nice play on Choo's chopper over the mound. Mo needed just 13 pitches (9 strikes) to pick up his 11th save of the season.
Boston was off tonight so the Yankees' win moves them to a full game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. And for the 18th straight game the Yankees did not commit an error in the field and that is a new major league record.
“It’s quite an accomplishment. It’s something that a lot of people deserve credit for,” Jeter said. “That’s a complete team effort. We’ve been pitching real well as of late. But when you pitch, you have to play defense behind them and we’ve been playing pretty consistent. We’ve had routine plays and spectacular ones. We’ve made all of them pretty much.”The Yankees now head home for a seven game homestand starting with three games against the Rangers. A.J. Burnett will start the opener tomorrow night in The Bronx, with Vincente Padilla going for the Rangers.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .311 |
| Swisher, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .236 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .282 |
| Rodriguez, A, DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | .259 |
| Posada, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | .297 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .308 |
| Cabrera, M, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .316 |
| Berroa, 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .143 |
| a-Matsui, PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
| 1-Pena, PR-3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .242 |
| Gardner, CF | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .265 |
| Totals | 30 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 25 | |
a-Walked for Berroa in the 7th. 1-Ran for Matsui in the 7th. | ||||||||
BATTING 2B: Swisher 2 (11, Aquino, Lewis, J). TB: Jeter 2; Swisher 4; Teixeira; Rodriguez, A. RBI: Swisher 2 (31), Rodriguez, A 2 (19). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada 2; Cano 3; Jeter. GIDP: Swisher; Cano. Team RISP: 3-for-16. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING SB: Gardner (10, 2nd base off Sowers/Shoppach). FIELDING DP: (Chamberlain-Jeter). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Chamberlain (W, 3-1) | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3.71 |
| Rivera (S, 11) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.49 |
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Joba Chamberlain (8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (3.71 ERA)
HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Swisher (2-for-4, 2 double, 2 RBI, R, BB)
Tomorrow's Game
Yankees vs. Rangers
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
RHP A.J. Burnett (3-2 4.78 ERA) vs. RHP Vincente Padilla (3-2, 4.71 ERA)
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
RHP A.J. Burnett (3-2 4.78 ERA) vs. RHP Vincente Padilla (3-2, 4.71 ERA)
15 Comments:
Great stuff. Let's go yankees!!
The diving catch by Joba was fantastic.
In April, the way things turned out, he would have injured his arm falling, and would now be on the 60-day DL.
But right now everything's clicking.
Go Bombers.
what the heck is up with all the seaguls??? they were everywhere in the 8th inning..
Cleveland is a shithole...Better yet Ohio in general may be one of the top states I wouldnt live in. If its not seagulls, its midges
From the Daily News...
Quote of the night:
"There were like, what, 8,000 seagulls out there? Come on, this ain’t even the beach - it’s Cleveland!" -- Nick Swisher
I agree with Anonymous's view of Cleveland. Yuk!
Mike
You know now that Joba finally pitched in the 8th inning again can we move him back to the bullpen. I mean why would you waste an arm that has high 90's fast ball, a biting slider, and a plus curve who might one day be an ace as a starter when you can move him to the bullpen, face at most 3 batters use only one pitch and be a second fiddle for your closer. This should be a no brainer everyone knows that set up men are more important then ace starters.
Is this where I come to take my medicine today?
Joba was fantastic last night, better than he's ever been.
Still, one start proves nothing about his durability as a starter long term.
And I'll point out that the radar gun last night was at least 4 MPH fast. They clocked one of his curveballs at 88, which is not realistic.
No question Nick Swisher's positive attitude is as strong as A-Rod's bat, making for a perfect addition to this team. Swisher is heating up at the plate -- physically and psychologically -- stated, "You've got to come in with a good mind-set, a good attitude. couldnt think of one thing in this world I'd rather do than be here with these guys." (MLB.com)
NY Sports Jerk said...
"Is this where I come to take my medicine today?
Joba was fantastic last night, better than he's ever been.
Still, one start proves nothing about his durability as a starter long term."
Excellent point. I'd like to see Joba remain a starter and last night was an excellent performance but he has to repeat it consistently over a period of time. But I sure liked what I saw.
The YES gun was fast, he never hit 98 like YES said he did. But the MLB.com gun is usually correct, plus ESPN and a number of baseball sites also had him topping out at around 97.5 and averaging 93.9.
Hey if he can figure that out and do it regularly, I'll gladly eat a steaming hot bowl of crow on this one.
Hey Jenn,
I agree that Swisher has been great for the clubhouse. I haven't seen a Yankees team have this much fun in a long time. Winning helps, but so does a relaxed clubhouse and you can give Swisher most of the credit for that.
And he has been hitting much better lately, in his last seven games he's hitting .304.419/.522 with a homer and seven RBI. Hopefully he can keep it up, but for some reason he's been really bad at home this year.
NYSJ,
That's the key, being able to do what he did last night consistently. And it's fair to doubt him at this point, because as of now he's yet to prove he can.
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