(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 0 | |
| TOR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
WP - Alfredo Aceves (7-1)
LP - Marc Rzepczynski (1-3)
For the second straight day I was uncomfortable with the pitching matchup - a struggling Sergio Mitre vs. a pitcher the Yanks had never seen - and early on it looked like the game would turn out as I expected. Luckily, the bullpen held the Jays down and the Yanks would eventually got to Jays' starter Marc Rzepczynski.
After striking out the first two batters of the game Mitre allowed four straight singles and just like that the Jays had a 2-0 lead.
The Yanks tied the game with two runs of their own in the top of the third. Jerry Hairston Jr. led off with a walk. Two batters later Derek Jeter singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Then Johnny Damon stepped up and lined an RBI single to right. Mark Teixeira drove in the Yanks second run when he beat out a potential double play ball. A lot of credit here goes to Damon who slid hard into Jays second baseman Aaron Hill.
Mitre settled down after his rocky first and held the Jays scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when he allowed a solo homer to Adam Lind to give the Jays a 3-2 lead. He then gave up a single to Lyle Overbay before exiting the game after just 4.1 innings. He didn't get destroyed, but once again he didn't give the Yankees a good start, unless, of course, you consider 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 4.1 innings, good.
Alfredo Aceves replaced Mitre and looked better than he has since his shoulder started bothering him. He got Vernon Wells to pop out and then struck out Alex Rios to end the inning. He then pitched a scoreless sixth before the Yanks would put up a four spot in the seventh and put Ace in line for his seventh win of the year.
Nick Swisher started the rally for the Yanks with a solo homer to lead off the inning and tie the game at three. Robinson Cano then doubled to knock Rzepczynski out of the game. He then would move to third on a productive ground out by Melky Cabrera, and score on a Hideki Matsui RBI single. After Jose Molina then walked to put runners on first and second, Derek Jeter struck out for out number two. What happened next was the turning point of the game. Back-to-back two-out RBI singles from Damon and Mark Teixeira gave the Yanks a 6-2 lead and basically put the game away.
The Jays got one back on a solo homer by Marco Scutaro off of Aceves in the bottom half of the inning. But then Phil Coke came into the game to get the final two outs of the inning.
The Yanks would add individual runs in the 8th and 9th for a little insurance. One of the runs came on a solo homer by Damon, his 19th of the season, and the other came on a nicely manufactured run in the 8th. Cano doubled, Melky moved him over with a sac fly, then Eric Hinske drove him in with a sac-fly of their own. It was the second time in the game that the Yanks moved runners along and manufactured a run, which is very, very good to see.
Phil Hughes and David Robertson pitched the final two innings, each striking out 2 in a scoreless frame and the Yanks got their sweep.
I'm very impressed with how the Yanks played these two games. While I still believe they're going to need another pitcher down the stretch, they do look ready for the big weekend series with Boston. Joba Chamberlain will square off against veteran right-hander John Smoltz tomorrow night in game 1 of the four-game set. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .318 |
| Damon, LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .283 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .284 |
| Rodriguez, A, DH-3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .261 |
| Swisher, RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .243 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .308 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .284 |
| Hairston, J, 3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .257 |
| a-Matsui, H, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .262 |
| Aceves, A, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Coke, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| b-Hinske, PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .262 |
| Hughes, P, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Robertson, D, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Molina, J, C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .246 |
| Totals | 36 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 13 | |
a-Singled for Hairston, J in the 7th. b-Hit a sacrifice fly for Coke in the 8th. | ||||||||
BATTING 2B: Cano 2 (28, Rzepczynski, Carlson). HR: Swisher (18, 7th inning off Rzepczynski, 0 on, 0 out), Damon (19, 9th inning off Tallet, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter; Damon 6; Teixeira; Swisher 5; Cano 4; Matsui, H. RBI: Damon 3 (63), Teixeira 2 (80), Swisher (55), Matsui, H (49), Hinske (20). 2-out RBI: Damon; Teixeira. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Swisher 2. SF: Hinske. Team RISP: 4-for-9. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING Pickoffs: Molina, J (Wells, V at 1st base). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Mitre | 4.1 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7.50 |
| Aceves, A (W, 7-1) | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3.58 |
| Coke (H, 13) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.91 |
| Hughes, P (H, 11) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.60 |
| Robertson, D | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.60 |
Pitches-strikes: Mitre 92-53, Aceves, A 25-19, Coke 7-6, Hughes, P 25-15, Robertson, D 19-14
BLUE JAYS STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Johnny Damon (3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, R)
HONORABLE MENTION: The Relievers (4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K)
Tomorrow's Game
Yankees vs. Red Sox
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: MY9, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (7-2, 3.58) vs. RHP John Smoltz (2-4, 7.12)
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: MY9, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (7-2, 3.58) vs. RHP John Smoltz (2-4, 7.12)
6 Comments:
Great win nice job by the bullpen. Damon is a very good clutch hitter. Yankees are going to have to consider bringing him back next year primarily as a DH who can play the outfield once in a while.
Robertson has 42 strikeouts in 30 ip.
He is a strikeout machine he has more strikeouts than Hughes. Hughes has 39 strikeouts in 30.1 ip.
Robertson fastball was hitting 94 today. First time I can remember him hitting 94. Once he gets better fastball control and hits his spots he will be very good. He has potential to be a very good setup man down the line.
The wells acves match up was key, wells smoked two balls foul and i couldn't help think that acves didn't have an out pitch for him. but he gets him to pop out weakly--whew!!! go yanks here's to hoping Joba puts a nice high hard one on Puke-alis
I had a bad feeling about the Toronto series and we won it 2-0. I have a good feeling about the Sox series...and that worries me! I feel Game One is the key. Everything is in the Yanks favor...Joba v Smoltz, Bay is injured, the Yanks are coming off a three-game winning streak while the Sox have lost their last two. I feel this one is a "must win" just to get us on the board against the Sox for the season. As Joel Sherman wrote in his column today, the pressure is really going to build if we go 0-9, 0-10 and so on. Go Joba! Go Yanks!
Yep, game one is the big one. If they lose to Smoltz all those bad feelings about the first eight games come rushing back and things can snowball. Win tonight, gain some momentum against these idiots, and go from there.
Well, I did not expect a sweep here, maybe a Toronto sweep, but never did I envision a Yankees sweep. Goes to show you what can happen in a short series.
Too bad JoeG has to have Mo up in the ninth with a 4 run lead. I think he's going to burn Mo and Hughes out in his quest for #27.
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