(REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| SEA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 2 | |
| NYY | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | X | 8 | 11 | 0 |
Winning pitcher - Brian Bruney (3-0)
Losing pitcher - Sean White (2-1)
SV - Mariano Rivera (19)
The Yanks made is six in a row tonight with a 8-5 win over the Seattle Mariners in the Bronx. The win improves the Yanks to 44-32, a season-high 12 games over .500.
Joba Chamberlain started for the Yanks and was matched up against another young starter with a lot of potential, Seattle's Brandon Morrow. Joba was pretty unimpressive. Once again he had trouble throwing finding the strike zone and fell into too many deep counts. He needed 96 pitches - only 55 strikes - to get through just 5.1 innings. It wasn't like he got hammered and he did keep the team in the game, but allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks to a Seattle team that really can't hit isn't anything to be proud of.
While he missed his spots with his fastball all night the velocity was OK. His fastball averaged 92.02 mph and topped out at 95.3. His slider was OK, but his curveball was nonexistent tonight. He threw just 8 of them and only 3 of those for strikes.
Like Joba, Morrow struggled a bit, and the Yanks made him pay with two early runs. Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada started the second with back-to-back singles. Hideki Matsui then hit a slow tapper towards third, Chris Woodward bare-handed the ball, bobbled it, regained control, and then fired the ball past first base Russell Branyan allowing Cano to score the Yanks first run. Woodward picked up two errors on the play, one for the bobble and another for the throw. The Yanks got their second run on a Melky Cabrera sac fly to deep left-center.
Seattle came back with one of their own in the top of the third when Joba left a fastball up to Ronny Cedeno who sent the ball into the left field seats for his third homer of the year. One of many examples tonight of Joba missing his spots. The pitch to Cedeno was supposed to be a fastball low and on the outside corner but he left it up in the zone and Cedeno smashed it.
A single and two walks loaded the bases for the Yanks in the fourth and then Melky extended the Yanks lead back to two when he drove in a run with a force out. Joba wasn't the only one with command issues as Morrow walked five on the night.
Seattle would then tie the game with two runs off Joba in the fifth. Ichiro reached on what was scored a single, but Joba should have easily made the play. He then stole second, and third, and scored on a single by Branyan. Later in the inning Franklin Gutierrez drove in the M's third run with a two-out RBI single to center.
The Yanks would go to the pen with one out in the sixth, bringing in Phil Coke. He once again did a very good job, retiring both hitters he faced. Phil Hughes then came on for the seventh and needed just nine pitched to breeze through the inning. His stuff continues to be very impressive out of the pen, tonight hitting 96 with his fastball and adding that filthy curveball to go along with it.
Alex Rodriguez then gave the Yanks a lead in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer off M's reliever Chris Jakubauskas. Johnny Damon, who led off the inning with a ground-rule double, was on second and even though you never put the lead run on base, with Robinson "double play" Cano on deck I probably would have walked A-Rod. I'm glad they didn't.
Joba Chamberlain started for the Yanks and was matched up against another young starter with a lot of potential, Seattle's Brandon Morrow. Joba was pretty unimpressive. Once again he had trouble throwing finding the strike zone and fell into too many deep counts. He needed 96 pitches - only 55 strikes - to get through just 5.1 innings. It wasn't like he got hammered and he did keep the team in the game, but allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks to a Seattle team that really can't hit isn't anything to be proud of.
While he missed his spots with his fastball all night the velocity was OK. His fastball averaged 92.02 mph and topped out at 95.3. His slider was OK, but his curveball was nonexistent tonight. He threw just 8 of them and only 3 of those for strikes.
Like Joba, Morrow struggled a bit, and the Yanks made him pay with two early runs. Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada started the second with back-to-back singles. Hideki Matsui then hit a slow tapper towards third, Chris Woodward bare-handed the ball, bobbled it, regained control, and then fired the ball past first base Russell Branyan allowing Cano to score the Yanks first run. Woodward picked up two errors on the play, one for the bobble and another for the throw. The Yanks got their second run on a Melky Cabrera sac fly to deep left-center.
Seattle came back with one of their own in the top of the third when Joba left a fastball up to Ronny Cedeno who sent the ball into the left field seats for his third homer of the year. One of many examples tonight of Joba missing his spots. The pitch to Cedeno was supposed to be a fastball low and on the outside corner but he left it up in the zone and Cedeno smashed it.
A single and two walks loaded the bases for the Yanks in the fourth and then Melky extended the Yanks lead back to two when he drove in a run with a force out. Joba wasn't the only one with command issues as Morrow walked five on the night.
Seattle would then tie the game with two runs off Joba in the fifth. Ichiro reached on what was scored a single, but Joba should have easily made the play. He then stole second, and third, and scored on a single by Branyan. Later in the inning Franklin Gutierrez drove in the M's third run with a two-out RBI single to center.
The Yanks would go to the pen with one out in the sixth, bringing in Phil Coke. He once again did a very good job, retiring both hitters he faced. Phil Hughes then came on for the seventh and needed just nine pitched to breeze through the inning. His stuff continues to be very impressive out of the pen, tonight hitting 96 with his fastball and adding that filthy curveball to go along with it.
Alex Rodriguez then gave the Yanks a lead in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer off M's reliever Chris Jakubauskas. Johnny Damon, who led off the inning with a ground-rule double, was on second and even though you never put the lead run on base, with Robinson "double play" Cano on deck I probably would have walked A-Rod. I'm glad they didn't.
Now is where the game got interesting, and I guess, a little controversial. After needing just nine pitches to get through the seventh a lot of people thought Joe Girardi should have kept him in the game. Instead he decided to go with the struggling Brian Bruney, and Bruney continued to struggle.
Gutierrez singled, Woodward singled, and Jojima singled. Just like that the M's had cut the lead to 5-4 and had two on and nobody out. Cedeno then moved the runners over and Bruney intentionally walked Ichiro to load the bases. Branyan tied the game with a sac fly and Bruney then got out of the inning by getting Jose Lopez to ground into a force.
I totally understand why people wanted Hughes in this spot, and I would have had no problem if that was the road Girardi decided to take. Hughes looked great in the seventh and has been lights-out since moving to the pen. But at the same time I also completely understand and agree with Girardi's decision to go with Bruney, after all he is the team's setup man and they need to get him going. I could understand if we were dealing with a really tough lineup, but this is the Mariners, only the Padres have scored less runs. It didn't work out tonight, but I really don't think this was a major mistake on Girardi's part.
In the end it didn't matter because the Yanks came back with three runs to regain the lead. Matsui led off with a double and Nick Swisher reached on a bunt single and the Yanks were set up. Melky then stepped up and drove in his third run of the contest with an RBI double into the right-centerfield gap. At this point I actaully expect Melky to come through in these situations. Derek Jeter then put the game away with a two-run single over the drawn in infield.
Mariano Rivera made it save 501 tonight with a very quick and easy ninth inning. He retired the M's in order and needed just 11 pitches to do so. Besides Bruney it was another very impressive night for the Yankees pen.
It was very cool of the Yankees to have Rivera throw out tonight's ceremonial first pitch in honor of hit 500th save. I can't remember seeing any other active player throw out a first pitch before a game he was set to play in.
By the way, did anyone see what happened in Baltimore tonight? Boston was leading the O's 10-1 in the bottom of the seventh, but then the Baltimore scored five in the seventh and another five in the eighth to take an 11-10 lead. The big hit was a two-run double by Nick Markakis off Jonathan Papelbon to give the O's the lead. George Sherrill then shut the door in the ninth to close out the great comeback. The Yanks are now just 2.5 behind Boston.
Gutierrez singled, Woodward singled, and Jojima singled. Just like that the M's had cut the lead to 5-4 and had two on and nobody out. Cedeno then moved the runners over and Bruney intentionally walked Ichiro to load the bases. Branyan tied the game with a sac fly and Bruney then got out of the inning by getting Jose Lopez to ground into a force.
I totally understand why people wanted Hughes in this spot, and I would have had no problem if that was the road Girardi decided to take. Hughes looked great in the seventh and has been lights-out since moving to the pen. But at the same time I also completely understand and agree with Girardi's decision to go with Bruney, after all he is the team's setup man and they need to get him going. I could understand if we were dealing with a really tough lineup, but this is the Mariners, only the Padres have scored less runs. It didn't work out tonight, but I really don't think this was a major mistake on Girardi's part.
In the end it didn't matter because the Yanks came back with three runs to regain the lead. Matsui led off with a double and Nick Swisher reached on a bunt single and the Yanks were set up. Melky then stepped up and drove in his third run of the contest with an RBI double into the right-centerfield gap. At this point I actaully expect Melky to come through in these situations. Derek Jeter then put the game away with a two-run single over the drawn in infield.
Mariano Rivera made it save 501 tonight with a very quick and easy ninth inning. He retired the M's in order and needed just 11 pitches to do so. Besides Bruney it was another very impressive night for the Yankees pen.
It was very cool of the Yankees to have Rivera throw out tonight's ceremonial first pitch in honor of hit 500th save. I can't remember seeing any other active player throw out a first pitch before a game he was set to play in.
By the way, did anyone see what happened in Baltimore tonight? Boston was leading the O's 10-1 in the bottom of the seventh, but then the Baltimore scored five in the seventh and another five in the eighth to take an 11-10 lead. The big hit was a two-run double by Nick Markakis off Jonathan Papelbon to give the O's the lead. George Sherrill then shut the door in the ninth to close out the great comeback. The Yanks are now just 2.5 behind Boston.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .307 |
| Damon, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .291 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .275 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .233 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .300 |
| Posada, C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .275 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .248 |
| 1-Gardner, PR-DH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .289 |
| Swisher, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .237 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .286 |
| Totals | 34 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 22 | |
1-Ran for Matsui, H in the 8th. | ||||||||
BATTING 2B: Damon 2 (19, Morrow, Jakubauskas), Matsui, H (13, White), Cabrera, Me (12, White). HR: Rodriguez, A (12, 7th inning off Jakubauskas, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Jeter; Damon 4; Teixeira; Rodriguez, A 4; Cano 2; Posada; Matsui, H 2; Swisher; Cabrera, Me 2. RBI: Cabrera, Me 3 (31), Rodriguez, A 2 (39), Jeter 2 (32). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, A 2; Jeter; Matsui, H 2. SF: Cabrera, Me. GIDP: Teixeira. Team RISP: 4-for-16. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING DP: (Rodriguez, A-Teixeira). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Chamberlain | 5.1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3.89 |
| Coke | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.24 |
| Hughes, P | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.34 |
| Bruney (BS, 1)(W, 3-0) | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.95 |
| Rivera, Ma (S, 19) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.84 |
MARINERS STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Melky Cabrera (1-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R)
HONORABLE MENTION: Alex Rodriguez (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB)
Tomorrow's Game
Yankees vs. Mariners
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.55) vs. LHP Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.79)
I thought Girardi made the right call bringing in Bruney. Bruney was facing the bottom part of the lineup with a 2 run lead it was a good situation to get him going. Also since Hughes did not go 2 innings he can pitch back to back now.
ReplyDeleteIf Bruney can get it going like he did before his injury the bullpen will be one of the best in baseball.
I thought Joba velocity was fine he just didn't have great command of the fastball. He didn't really mix in his other pitches either for most part it looked like it was predominately fastballs and sliders. He had trouble throwing his fastballs for strikes.Its part of the growing pains of a young pitcher you cant expect him to be an ace overnight.
ReplyDeleteIts the same thing with Morrow he is basically the westcoast version of Chamberlain.
Do we need a new pitching coach?
ReplyDeletewhat a great night of baseball ! Yeah !
ReplyDeleteImpressive, conisdering Morrow nearly no hit us last year. Of course, he does stink this year.
ReplyDeleteRaven, I think so.
ReplyDeleteTrue Mike, Morrow has struggled this season.
Here is a little laughable red sux triv1a.
ReplyDeleteAfter their embarrassing loss last night, the announcer said it was tied for the second biggest comeback against them in their history.
I was amazed that it was only their second biggest so I decided to look up the biggest. Fortunately boston.com did the work for me today.
The biggest comeback against them was on June 4, 1989 when they were leading Toronto 10-0 after 6 innings at home.
The ended up losing 13-11 in 12.
The 9 run comeback last night was tied with three other games for the second biggest comeback against them.
Two of those games were against the Yankees.
As I have stated before, I was lucky enough to see the Yanks comeback from 9-0 after 2 1/2 at the Stadium with Clemens on the mound for the sux. The date was June 26, 1987. Best part was that I sat with a sux fan and after he busted my balls at the beginning of the game, I got the last laugh.
But the other time the Yanks came back from down 9 to the red sux is even better. Unfortunately I wasn't there because I wasn't born yet.
Get this...
Opening Day
Fenway Park
April 18, 1950.
The red sux go up 9-0 against their nemesis, the NY Yankees. red sox fans must be delighted.
Then the sky fell down on them.
(the following is from soxsuck.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New York scored four in the sixth inning.
The Red Sox used five pitchers in the nine-run eighth (Mel Parnell, Walt Masterson, Earl Johnson, Al Papai, and Charley Schanz).
Billy Martin, playing in his first major league game, got two hits (a single and a double) in that inning. Tommy Henrich had two triples in the game, and the Yankees overcame the nine-run deficit to win 15-10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course the Yanks went on to sweep the World Series that year over the Phillies.
(The other game that the sux lost after leading by 9 was on 8/2/36. They were leading the White Sox 10-1 after 4 1/2 and lost 12-11 in 12.)
thats a beautiful thing ! GO Yanks !
ReplyDeleteNice info Crossfire... I may want to make that a full-fledged guest post later today, is that cool?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. thanks
ReplyDeleteBruney should NOT be the team's setup man, that's the problem.
ReplyDeleteHe's totally unreliable and injury prone. Why should he inherit the role based on a few good outings?
I went to last night's game. The stadium looks great! I got there at 3:00 and went to the Hard Rock cafe. (Very good). Then we went to monument park and I so Mo. He said hi. That was really exiting!! Then we took our seats in the upper deck. Once we sat down it started pooring. I couldn't see the buildings in the backround and I couldn't see the old yankee stadium. It was all grey everywhere. It was a good night. I didn't get home until 2 am.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome Liam, glad you had such a good time.
ReplyDeleteNYSJ, what are you talking about? Bruney was great last year.
Great win! They're starting to roll again!
ReplyDeleteYeah he was great in pressure-free outings with the Yankees out of contention.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he's done anything to claim the 8th inning as his own.
Fine, you're entitled to feel that way, but then who else has? Hughes certainly hasn't.
ReplyDelete