Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Yankees Capture 3rd Straight

The Yankees got another round of good pitching performances this afternoon as they toppled the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-1 at G.M.S Field in Tampa. Chien-Ming Wang recovered from last week's debacle to go 3.2 innings as the Yankees won their 3rd straight game and improved to 6-4 overall. Five Yankees pitchers limited the Blue Jays to just 6 hits

Pitching coach Dave Eiland discovered a mistake in Wang's motion that was causing him to keep his pitches up in the zone. Today, the Wanger came out with his great sinker and reach the mid-nineties on his fastball.

The Yankees lineup gave Wang a boost immediately to start the game. Melky Cabrera led off with a single and Derek Jeter followed with a walk. Bobby Abreu, celebrating his 34th birthday, doubled to drive in both runners for a quick 2-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez followed with a blast to deep center, for his second home run of the spring and a 4-0 lead.

Wang left to a loud ovation after 3.2 innings, having allowed 2 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 1 batter and induced 1 double play grounder.

After Edwar Ramirez finished the 4th, Joe Girardi turned things over to Kyle Farnsworth. The hard throwing right-hander allowed a hit and a walk, but escaped without giving up a run. Joe Girardi continued to back his boy in a mid-game interview with Michael Kay.

Darrell Rasner, battling for the long man job in the pen, allowed a run on 2 hits and a walk in 2 innings. Brian Bruney finished up the final 1.2 innings to complete a win.

Cabrera added an RBI double in the 4th and Jason Lane belted a long solo home run in the 6th. It was Lane's 2nd blast of the spring.

Johnny Damon went for X-Rays and MRI on his right foot today after fouling a ball of it last night. Both turned up negative. He'll sit out tomorrow's contest with the Rays in St. Petersburg and is listed as day-to-day.

March 11, 2008

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
1 6 1
NY Yankees
4 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 X
6 11 0


NY YankeesABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Cabrera, CF3121001.389
Gardner, B, CF1000100.267
Jeter, SS1100202.222
Ransom, SS1010100.214
Abreu, RF3122012.526
Porter, RF2000014.364
Rodriguez, A, 3B2112010.500
a-Green, PH-3B2000012.091
Giambi, DH2010000.353
b-Posada, PH-DH2000000.067
Cano, 2B3000001.409
Betemit, 2B1000000.211
Duncan, 1B3000011.421
Ensberg, 1B0000000.400
Lane, LF3221000.333
Woodward, LF1000001.474
Molina, C2020000.235
Moeller, C2000001.071
Totals3461164515

a-Struck out for Rodriguez, A in the 4th. b-Lined out for Giambi in the 5th.

BATTING
2B: Abreu (1, Chacin), Cabrera (3, Davis), Ransom (1, Purcey, D).
HR: Rodriguez, A (2, 1st inning off Chacin, 1 on, 0 out), Lane (2, 6th inning off Purcey, D, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Cabrera 3; Ransom 2; Abreu 3; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi; Lane 5; Molina 2.
RBI: Abreu 2 (4), Rodriguez, A 2 (4), Cabrera (4), Lane (4).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Green 2; Porter 3.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Duncan).


NY YankeesIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Wang (W, 2-1)3.22002108.53
Ramirez 0.100000010.13
Farnsworth 1.01001002.25
Rasner 2.121112010.13
Bruney 1.21000206.00

HBP: Ensberg (by Machi, J).
Ground outs-fly outs: Wang 8-1, Ramirez 0-1, Farnsworth 0-3, Rasner 2-3, Bruney 0-3.
Batters faced: Wang 13, Ramirez 1, Farnsworth 5, Rasner 10, Bruney 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Bruney 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Paul Emmel. 1B: Mark Carlson. 2B: Andy Fletcher. 3B: Dan Iassogna.
Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 12 mph, Varies.
T: 2:59.
Att: 10,510.

2 comments:

  1. The bullpen remains an enigma for me. I'm still leery of Farnsworth and am not buying into his blaming Torre for all his woes last year. Today it seemed he was lucky to get out of the inning without giving up a run. Not exactly inspiring confidence.

    The long reliever spot looks dicey as well. Rasner and Karstens shine some times and get shakey other times. The same thing goes for the rest of the pen. Bruney looked strong today. Phillips and Traber look good for the lefty spot, but guys like Hawkins, Ohlendorf and Albaladejo all are having their good and bad days.

    I hope things are starting to become clear for Girardi, but I'm baffled at this stage.

    The key is the set up guy. No one is showing that rock-solid consistency you'd like to see. I miss the Rivera-Wettland days.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There's a big difference in the pen with and without Joba. That being said, I'd still like to see him be a starter.

    ReplyDelete