Yankees Hammer Guthrie

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

CC Gives the Pen a Rest

It's hard to believe that some of the fans of the defending champions were panicking on April 28, but after losing 4 of 5 and the 1st of a 3 games set with the Baltimore Orioles, that's just what occurred.

Sanity and the Yankees prevailed last night as the Nick Swisher led a 15-hit attack with a trio of hits and 2 RBI. CC Sabathia let the pen rest until the 8th inning as he improved to 3-1.

The Yankees jumped on Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie right from the get-go. Derek Jeter led off the game with a double inside the first base line and Nick Johnson sliced a single to left. Luis Montanez was undecided on the play and got caught on an in-between hop. Jeter scored easily as Johnson barely beat the throw to 2nd base. Mark Teixeira moved the runner up with a ground out to the right side and Alex Rodriguez brought Johnson home with a deep fly to left-center.

Guthrie got no reprieve in the 2nd, when he hit Jorge Posada on the side of the right knee to start the inning. Though he remained in the game while the Yankees were at-bat, Posada left the game and is listed as day-to-day. Curtis Granderson singled to center and both runners came home on Swisher's triple off the the wall in center. Jeter's sac fly made it a 5-0 lead after two.

Sabathia allowed single runs in the 3rd, 6th, and 7th, but the Orioles were never really in the ball game. The big man was trying to become the first pitcher since David Wells in 1998 to throw three straight complete games for New York, but tired out in the 8th.

The beleaguered O's pen was actually the highlight of their night, allowing just one run in 4.1 innings.

Notes

Robinson Cano remained hot, picking up a pair of hits to raise his average to .390. He drove in the final run off of Guthrie with his 6th home run of the year.

Francisco Cervelli is off to a nice start. After replacing Posada, he was 2-4 with an RBI and is hitting .444.

O's outfielder Nick Markakis ended his homerless drought by smacking his first of the year.

A.J. Burnett goes tonight in the rubber game of the series. He'll be opposed by rookie Brian Matusz, the O's top pitching prospect.

If the Yankees need a catcher for tonight's game, a reliever is likely (Boone Logan?), to be sent down. It's either that or a position player would be in jeopardy. Randy Winn being the most likely candidate.