(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| N.Y. Yankees | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
WP: A. Burnett (1-0); LP: R. Choate (0-1)
Things started out rough for A.J. Burnett today in Tampa when he allowed two runs in a very shaky first inning, but he was able to rebound and lead the Yanks to their fourth win of a very successful opening road trip. Yankees fans couldn't have ask for much more than taking four out of six from the Red Sox and Rays to open the year.
Burnett didn't allow another run after the first and would eventually pitch seven strong. The Yankees offense did the rest. Only two of their runs would come off Rays starter James Shields, but they wore him down and eventually did most of their damage against the Rays pen. Shields needed 103 pitches to get through just 5.1 innings and had to leave the game with a runner on and Jorge Posada at the plate. Former Yankee Randy Chote came in and served up a long two-run homer to Posada, which gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead. It was Jorge's 2nd homer of the season and 3rd and 4th RBIs. The Yanks would add another run later in the inning when Curtis Granderson scored on a wild pitch.
Alex Rodriguez finished it off with a good day, going 2-for-4 with a double. His two-run double in the seventh gave the Yankees a 6-2 lead.
An inning later, Nick Swisher made it 7-2 with a solo blast into the right field seats. He's had a great start to the season, hitting .353/.476/.471 to start the year, but it was just his first home run. Maybe he should use a 34-ounce bat more often.
One thing that bothered me was Joba Chamberlain's performance. He came on for the 8th and was clearly not the same pitcher he was in Fenway on Tuesday. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the inning, and threw 27 pitches in the process. His command was off -- just 15 of those 27 pitches were strikes--and he didn't have the same velocity on his fastball. Maybe it's just a bump in the road, maybe he wasn't as pumped up in a 7-2 game as he was in a one-run game at Fenway, but if Joba is going to be this team's setup man he's going to have to be consistent.
Either way, the Yankees had enough of a lead that Joba's rough outing didn't matter. Mariano Rivera came in for a little work in the ninth and nailed the game down.
A couple other things from today's ballgame that caught my attention: First, Curtis Granderson has been excellent in center. Today, he made a diving catch and then doubled up Pat Burrell--who was running on the play--at first. Later in the game he made another great diving catch, but the umpire thought he trapped it and ruled the play a base hit. He also seems to be tracking down everything that's hit into the gaps. I know it's just one week, but I really like what I'm seeing defensively, not only from Granderson, but the entire team.
By the way, what the hell was Burrell doing trying to take out Tex's legs when he slid into first on that double play? There was no reason to do that unless he was trying to hurt him. If I was managing this team Burrell would be getting one between the numbers the next time these two teams play.
Anyway, enough of that rant.... The Yankees now head back to the Bronx for an off day before taking on Hideki Matsui and the Angels on Tuesday in the home opener. Andy Pettitte will get the ball for the Yanks, with Ervin Santana going for the Halos. The game will be on YES, with the first pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Derek Jeter, SS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| Nick Johnson, DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .136 |
| Mark Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | .125 |
| Alex Rodriguez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .259 |
| Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .360 |
| Jorge Posada, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .353 |
| Curtis Granderson, CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .348 |
| Nick Swisher, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .333 |
| Randy Winn, RF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Brett Gardner, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .294 |
| Totals | 36 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 6 | ||
| Batting | ||||||||
| 2B: Granderson (1, Shields, J), Rodriguez, A 2 (4, Shields, J, Cormier), Cano (2, Shields, J). HR: Posada (2, 6th inning off Choate, 1 on, 1 out), Swisher (1, 8th inning off Sonnanstine, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Jeter; Johnson, N; Rodriguez, A 4; Cano 2; Posada 4; Granderson 3; Swisher 4. RBI: Granderson (4), Posada 2 (4), Rodriguez, A 2 (4), Swisher (3). 2-out RBI: Granderson. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Swisher 2; Posada. Team RISP: 3-for-11. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Jeter (2, 2nd base off Cormier/Navarro), Granderson (3, 2nd base off Cormier/Navarro). | ||||||||
| Fielding | ||||||||
| Outfield assists: Granderson (Burrell at 1st base). DP: 3 (Granderson-Teixeira, Rodriguez, A-Cano-Teixeira, Jeter-Cano-Teixeira). Pickoffs: Burnett, A (Upton, B at 1st base). | ||||||||
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| A.J. Burnett (W,1-0) | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3.75 |
| Joba Chamberlain | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Mariano Rivera | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Pitches-Strikes - A.J. Burnett 92-49, Joba Chamberlain 27-15, Mariano Rivera 17-12 Batters Faced - A.J. Burnett 27, Joba Chamberlain 6, Mariano Rivera 4 Ground Balls-Fly Balls - A.J. Burnett 6-11, Mariano Rivera 1-0 | ||||||||
