Melky 11th Inning Liner a Wake Up Call

Rain Delayed Game Winning HR Caps Comeback

A mediocre start by newcomer Sidney Ponson and a Triple-A lineup couldn't stop the streaking Yankees. Melky Cabrera capped a comeback evening with an 11th inning home run lined over the short porch in right field for a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. A jubilant crowd about 1/10 the size of the original attendance stood on their feet until Alex Rodriguez pushed Cabrera up the stairs for a curtain call.

Cabrera's 4th home run kept the Yankees winning streak alive at 5, but it couldn't have been accomplished without an umpire aided comeback in the 9th. Andy Phillips, who earlier had hit his 7th home run, led off the inning with a double against Mariners closers J.J. Putz. Cabrera struck out, but Joe Torre sent Aaron Guiel up to pinch-hit for Nick Green, despite Green's 3-3 night. The move paid off when Guiel ripped a single to right to drive in Phillips and cut the score to 4-3. Bubba Crosby pinch-ran for Guiel and advanced to second on a wild pitch. At that point the rain, which had been coming on steadily, picked up greatly in intensity.

Jorge Posada hit a grounder in the hole between 1st and 2nd that Mariners second baseman Jose Lopez fielded, but then slipped down on the wet grass. Lopez recovered, had trouble getting the ball out of his glove and still managed to throw the ball in time to nip the slow footed Posada at first. The only problem for the Mariners was 1st Base umpire Mike Reilly called Posada safe. Mike Hargrove stormed out of the dugout as TV viewers watched a conclusive replay that Posada was out. Reilly tossed Hargrove from the game as the rains came on even harder.

Putz was clearly having trouble gripping the ball and fell behind 3-1 to Alex Rodriguez who had entered the game an inning earlier. Reilly, who is the umpiring crew chief, had seen enough and ordered the tarp on the field. The teams finally returned to the field after 1 hour, 58 minutes, at 12:05 a.m.. Juleo Mateo replaced Putz on the mound and struck out A-Rod to end the inning. Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor (3-2) pitched scoreless 10th and 11 innings setting the stage for Cabrera. Mateo (5-4) fell behind 2-0 before throwing a BP fastball for a call strike. Cabrera then turned on an inside pitch for the game winner.

Sidney Ponson's start was two parts, 1 one part very bad and 1 part pretty good. He quickly fell in a hole in the first inning by walking Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Lopez. Richie Sexson then blasted a 3-run home run well out of the reach of a leaping Cabrera in left. The Yankees got one back in the bottom of the 1st on an RBI ground out by Jason Giambi. The Mariners added an insurance run in the 5th on a ribbie single by Ichiro. Showing how desperate Yankee fans are for a 5th starter, they gave Ponson a standing ovation when he departed after 6 2-3 innings with 4 runs allowed.

Notes

The Yankee bullpen continued their improvement as Ron Villone, Kris Wilson, Kyle Farnsworth, and Scott Proctor combined for 4 1-3 scoreless innings.

Johnny Damon was forced to play 1st base in the 11th inning after Miguel Cairo, Kelly Stinnett, and Nick Green were all out of the game. Damon made a nice play on a high pick off attempt by Proctor and mugged for the crowd afterwards.

After hitting only .218 in June Melky Cabrera has been red hot in July, hitting .333-2-12 in 14 games. He also has 5 doubles and 5 walks helping to compile his .913 OPS.

After hitting .077 and being released by the Devil Rays, Nick Green is batting .417 (5-12) with 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 doubles, 3 walks, and a stolen base in 8 games as a Yankee.