Miranda Gets Pie As Yanks Make It 15 Walk-Offs

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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

WP - Brian Bruney (5-0)
LP - Kyle Farnsworth (1-5)
Am I the only one who kinda feels bad for Kyle Farnsworth? I guess I am. Either way, the Yankees made it 50 comeback wins and 15 walk-off wins with their 4-3 victory over the Royals tonight in the Bronx. It really is amazing how this team is able to come back and win ballgames with relative ease. Tonight's win was the Yanks 102nd of the season and seventh in a row.

A.J. Burnett started the game for the Bombers and pitched very well. In 6.1 innings pitched the right-hander allowed just one earned on three hits, walked three, and struck out eight. He had good command of all of his pitches and threw 69 of his 108 pitches for strikes. It was his third solid start in a row and with one more before the postseason starts he's probably feeling very good about himself.

Burnett left the game with one out and one out in the seventh, giving way to Phil Coke. Coke didn't pitch bad, but he fielded his position terribly. With runners on 1st and 2nd and one out, threw what could have been an easy 1-6-3 double play ball into center allowing the Royals second run to score. Then with a runner on third, Mitch Maier grounded one back to Coke, but for some reason he threw to first instead of home allowed Alex Gordon to score the Royals second run. The only hit he allowed in the inning was a bunt single by Gordon.

Like Burnett, Royals starter Anthony Lerew also pitched very well, holding the Yankees to two runs on five hits in six+ innings pitched. Both runs came on solo homers, Mark Teixeira's 39th in the sixth, and Nick Swisher's 28th to lead off the seventh and cut the Royals lead to 3-2.

David Robertson made his first appearance since going on the DL, and looked as good as you'd expect. He got two outs, one on a strikeout, and walked a batter before leaving the game. He was a little rusty, throwing just 11 of his 19 pitches for strike, but after missing a few weeks you're going to be a little rusty.

It was another nice outing for Brian Bruney who threw 1.2 scoreless innings. He walked one and allowed a hit, but did not allow the Royals on the board and eventually picked up his 5th win of the season. Bruney was helped out a bit by a very smart play by Jerry Hairston. With a runner on first and nobody out in the 9th, Josh Anderson tried to put down a bunt, but popped it up and decided he didn't need to run. Hairston let the ball drop, then started a 5-6-4 double play. Bruney then struck out Maier for the final out of the inning.

That would set things up for the bottom of the ninth and another walk-off for the Yanks. Farnsworth came in to close the game out for the Royals. Where was Joakim Soria? After striking out Brett Gardner to start the frame, Francisco Cervelli and Eric Hinske hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with one out. After getting ahead 3-0, Robinson Cano was given the green light and hammered a ball deep to center for a game-tying sac fly. With Johnny Damon batting, Hinske stole second and moved to third on John Buck's terrible throw. The Royals then walked Damon to face Juan Miranda. The rookie then lined an 0-1 fastball off Farnsworth leg, the ball trickled into foul territory, everyone was safe, and the Hinske scored the winning run and it was pie time!

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Over in Boston the Sox lost again to the Blue Jays 8-7. Clay Buchholz allowed five homers on the night, but remember folks, this is all part of their master plan.

Meanwhile in Detroit the Tigers and Twins split their doubleheader so the Tigers lead remains at two.

The Yanks go for a sweep tomorrow night at the stadium, with Joba Chamberlain making the start. He will be facing Royals right-hander Robinson Tejeda. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be on YES.

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jeter, SS	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.333
Cano, 2B	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.322
Damon, LF	4	0	0	0	1	1	4	.281
Teixeira, 1B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.295
Miranda, 1B	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	.333
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	0	1	0	1	1	2	.286
2-Hairston, J, PR-3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.251
Matsui, H, DH	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.278
3-Cabrera, Me, PR-DH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.273
Swisher, RF	4	1	1	1	0	1	4	.250
Gardner, CF	4	0	0	0	0	3	0	.271
Molina, J, C	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	.215
1-Guzman, F, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Cervelli, C	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.297
Pena, R, 2B-SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	.282
a-Hinske, PH	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.246
Totals	33	4	9	4	5	7	15
a-Singled for Pena, R in the 9th. 1-Ran for Molina, J in the 7th. 2-Ran for Rodriguez, A in the 8th. 3-Ran for Matsui, H in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Teixeira (39, 6th inning off Lerew, 0 on, 2 out), Swisher (28, 7th inning off Lerew, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter; Teixeira 5; Miranda; Rodriguez, A; Swisher 4; Molina, J; Cervelli; Hinske. RBI: Teixeira (121), Swisher (80), Cano (85), Miranda (1). 2-out RBI: Teixeira; Miranda. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Swisher 2; Damon. SF: Cano. GIDP: Teixeira. Team RISP: 1-for-4. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING SB: Hinske (1, 2nd base off Farnsworth/Buck, J). FIELDING E: Coke (2, throw). DP: (Hairston, J-Pena, R-Cano).

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Burnett, A	6.1	3	2	1	3	8	0	4.10
Coke	0.2	1	1	0	0	0	0	4.63
Robertson, D	0.2	0	0	0	1	1	0	3.24
Bruney (W, 5-0)	1.1	1	0	0	1	2	0	4.03

Pitches-strikes: Burnett, A 108-69, Coke 17-13, Robertson, D 19-11, Bruney 15-11.

ROYALS STATS

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Juan Miranda (walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th)

HONORABLE METION: A.J. Burnett (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K)

Tomorrow's Game

Yankees vs. Royals
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (9-6, 4.72) vs. RHP Robinson Tejeda (4-2, 3.41)