Yankees Lefties Ponder Mariners 12-6

Mike Mussina looked like a 38-yr old pitcher who was having trouble throwing strikes. Joba Chamberlain looked like a rookie struggling to increase his pitch count. But the Yankees hitters looked like a lineup ready to destroy anything in its path. The Yankees may not have gotten the pitching they wanted, but for the second straight night the team scored in double figures in a 12-6 win over the Seattle Mariners. The victory was the Yankees 4th in a row, and sealed their second straight series win.

Mussina, pitching on 3 days rest due to Chien-Ming Wang's calf strain, blew a 4-0 lead in the 3rd, but escaped other trouble to earn his 7th win of the season and the 257th of this career. He gave a 3-run home run to Jose Vidro and a solo shot to Adrian Beltre in the 3rd, but wouldn't allow any other runs.

The Yankees had taken an early lead against M's starter Carlos Silva in the 2nd inning on Jason Giambi's 3-run blast to left-center field and an RBI single by Melky Cabrera. After the Mariners tied the game on, the Yankees hitters went back to work. Cabrera's second RBI single in the 3rd put the Yankees back on top and Bobby Abreu drilled a 2-run shot to left in the 6th for a 7-4 lead.

Chamberlain replaced Mussina to start the 6th and breezed through his first inning with a pair of strikes. But he struggled with his command in the 7th as his pitch count (which Michael Kay irritatingly annoyed us with on every single Joba delivery) rose. He ended the day with 40 pitches, 10 shy of what the Yankees were hoping to get out of him in his second "transition" appearance.

Arthur Rhodes replaced Silva to start the 7th and the Yankees greeted him in their usual manner. Hideki Matsui walked, Giambi singled (to left field) and Robinson Cano slashed an RBI double to left for an 8-4 lead. M's manager John McLaren gave Rhodes a quick yank and went to Brendan Morrow who didn't have much more success.

Jose Molina greeted Morrow with an RBI single, and two batters later Adrian Beltre's error would help the Yankees extend the inning. Abreu added a ground-rule 2-run double and reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith came on with the bases loaded and promptly walked Matsui for the second time in the inning to force in the 12th Yankees run.

News and Notes

Kyle Farnsworth had a Kyle Farnsworth 8th inning. 4 hits, a balk and a 2-run home run by Richie Sexson.

Robinson Cano was 4-4 with 3 doubles and is hitting .357 in May. Jason Giambi is 10 for his last 19 (.526) with a home run, 2 doubles, and 7, count 'em, 7 singles. Hideki Matsui is 7-12 (.583) with 2 walks, 3 RBI, and 8 runs scored in his last 3 games.

The Mariners picked by My Pinstripes to win the AL West are now 18-32 and manager John McLaren could be toast.

May 24, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Seattle	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	2	0		6	12	2
NY Yankees	0	4	1	0	0	2	5	0	X		12	16	0

Seattle	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Suzuki, CF	5	0	1	0	0	1	2	.286
Lopez, 2B	5	1	3	0	0	0	3	.301
Vidro, DH	4	1	2	3	1	0	1	.233
Ibanez, LF	5	0	0	0	0	1	5	.279
Beltre, 3B	5	1	1	1	0	0	3	.257
Reed, RF	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	.300
Sexson, 1B	4	1	1	2	0	3	1	.201
Johjima, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.211
Betancourt, SS	4	1	3	0	0	0	0	.273
Totals	39	6	12	6	2	6	15
BATTING 2B: Betancourt (13, Mussina), Lopez (12, Mussina). HR: Vidro (3, 3rd inning off Mussina, 2 on, 1 out), Beltre (10, 3rd inning off Mussina, 0 on, 2 out), Sexson (9, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Suzuki; Lopez 4; Vidro 5; Beltre 4; Reed; Sexson 4; Betancourt 4. RBI: Vidro 3 (22), Beltre (24), Sexson 2 (21). 2-out RBI: Beltre. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Beltre 2; Ibanez; Lopez. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING E: Lopez (6, fielding), Beltre (8, fielding). DP: (Beltre-Lopez-Sexson).

Seattle	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Silva (L, 3-4)	6.0	11	7	5	1	2	2	5.14
Rhodes	0.0	2	3	2	1	0	0	4.66
Morrow	0.2	2	2	0	1	0	0	1.64
Rowland-Smith	1.1	1	0	0	1	1	0	2.63

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	5	1	1	0	0	0	3	.266
Jeter, SS	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	.287
Duncan, S, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.188
Abreu, RF	5	1	2	4	0	0	2	.295
Rodriguez, 3B	4	1	1	0	1	2	0	.291
1-Gonzalez, PR-SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.214
Matsui, DH	3	3	2	1	2	0	0	.317
Giambi, 1B	4	2	3	3	0	0	0	.234
a-Ensberg, PH-3B	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.203
Cano, 2B	4	1	4	1	1	0	0	.232
Molina, C	5	1	1	1	0	0	6	.204
Cabrera, CF	5	1	2	2	0	0	2	.253
Totals	41	12	16	12	4	3	21
a-Struck out for Giambi in the 7th. 1-Ran for Rodriguez in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Matsui (8, Silva), Cano 3 (10, Silva, Silva, Rhodes), Giambi (8, Silva), Abreu (10, Morrow). HR: Giambi (9, 2nd inning off Silva, 2 on, 0 out), Abreu (6, 6th inning off Silva, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Damon; Abreu 6; Rodriguez; Matsui 3; Giambi 7; Cano 7; Molina; Cabrera 2. RBI: Giambi 3 (24), Cabrera 2 (21), Abreu 4 (31), Cano (18), Molina (4), Matsui (23). 2-out RBI: Cabrera; Abreu 4; Matsui. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Abreu; Damon 2; Molina; Ensberg 2. GIDP: Molina. Team LOB: 9.

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (W, 7-4)	5.0	7	4	4	1	4	2	4.39
Chamberlain (H, 11)	2.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	2.42
Farnsworth	1.0	4	2	2	0	0	1	4.50
Veras	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.12

Rhodes pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

Balk: Farnsworth.
IBB: Cano (by Silva).
Pitches-strikes: Silva 106-68, Rhodes 11-6, Morrow 30-20,
Rowland-Smith 18-11, Mussina 74-54, Chamberlain 40-22,
Farnsworth 25-20, Veras 15-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Silva 9-7, Rhodes 0-0, Morrow 1-1,
Rowland-Smith 2-1, Mussina 6-5, Chamberlain 3-1, Farnsworth 1-2, Veras 2-1.
Batters faced: Silva 31, Rhodes 3, Morrow 6, Rowland-Smith 5,
Mussina 23, Chamberlain 8, Farnsworth 7, Veras 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Morrow 2-2, Rowland-Smith 3-1.
Umpires: HP: Larry Vanover. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Tim McClelland.
3B: Mike DiMuro.
Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 16 mph, L to R.
T: 3:10.
Att: 53,512.