(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.Y. Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | x | 9 | 10 | 1 |
WP: D. Price (1-0); LP: J. Vazquez (0-1)
It was an ugly night for Javier Vazquez and the Yankees down in Florida, as they were hammered by the Rays 9-3. In his first start since returning to the Yanks, Vazquez allowed 8 earned runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 5.2 innings pitched. Not exactly the way he wanted to re-introduce himself to the Yankees and their fans.
For the first three innings Vazquez pitched very well, allowing just a hit and a walk. Both baserunners reached at the start of the second inning to put runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out, but Vazquez was able to get through the mini jam fairly easily. Alex Rodriguez than gave him a 2-0 lead in the fourth when he smashed an RBI triple to center and was then able to score on a throwing error by Rays catcher Dioner Navarro. That's when the night took a turn for the worse.
Vazquez seemingly lost his stuff as he began the bottom of the 4th, and would eventually get lit up for 5 runs on 5 hits and a walk. Carlos Pena tied the game at two with a two-run homer. Later in the inning the Rays would string together three straight two-out hits, including a single by Navarro to give the Rays the lead, and a two-run double by Jason Bartlett to give them some breathing room. The ball hit by Bartlett landed just out of the reach of a diving Marcus Thames, and I have to believe that if Brett Gardner was playing left that ball ends up being the final out of the inning. I'll have a little more on this later, but for now, back to Vazquez.
He would settle down to pitch a 1-2-3 5th inning, but thing got worse for Vazquez in the 6th. Willy Aybar got the inning going with a two-run homer to make it 7-2 Rays. Vazquez would leave the game a few batters later after walking Bartlett with two out. Sergio Mitre came in and by the end of the inning it was 9-2 Rays and the game was all but over.
The Yanks would add a third run in the eighth, but that would be all they would be able to push across against David Price, who was excellent tonight and at times looked unhittable. His fastball was sitting in the mid-to-high 90's, and he was locating his breaking stuff--a lethal combination. Price ended up allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 7 over 8.2 innings pitched to pick up his first win of the season.
Back to the whole Gardner-Thames situation. Why aren't the Yankees allowing Brett Gardner to prove himself against lefties? Isn't the hope within the organization that Gardner will eventually be an everyday player? If it is, than the least they could do is let him fail before creating a platoon situation. Yes, the Yankees have faced two lefties with dominating stuff, which is probably why Thames played today and in the second game in Boston with Jon Lester on the mound. But I still think Gardner should be getting these starts. He will never develop into an everyday player if he only faces right-handed pitching.
Plus, Thames isn't exactly knocking the cover off the ball.
Anyway, let's just turn the page on this stinker and move onto tomorrow's game. CC Sabathia looks to rebound off his rough start in Boston on Opening Night as he takes the mound for the Yankees. 24-year-old right-hander Wade Davis will get the ball for the Rays. First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m. and the game will be on FOX.
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Derek Jeter, SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| Nick Johnson, DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .143 |
| Mark Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Alex Rodriguez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .158 |
| Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .375 |
| Jorge Posada, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .357 |
| Nick Swisher, RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .357 |
| Marcus Thames, LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
| a- Randy Winn, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Curtis Granderson, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .250 |
| Totals | 35 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| a-struck out for Thames in the 9th BATTING 2B: Jeter (1, Price), Johnson, N (1, Price). 3B: Rodriguez, A (1, Price). TB: Jeter 3; Johnson, N 3; Rodriguez, A 3; Cano; Swisher; Thames. RBI: Rodriguez, A (2), Johnson, N (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Jeter; Granderson; Swisher 2. Team RISP: 2-for-8. Team LOB: 8. | ||||||||
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Javier Vazquez (L,0-1) | 5.2 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 12.71 |
| Sergio Mitre | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.86 |
| Pitches-Strikes - Javier Vazquez 98-62, Sergio Mitre 34-19 | ||||||||
| Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Javier Vazquez 6-6, Sergio Mitre 2-4 | ||||||||
| Batters Faced - Javier Vazquez 28, Sergio Mitre 9 | ||||||||
