It's a Winn Win

photo courtesy of Washington Times

"He's used to being an every day player. " "This is the first time he's been in a part-time role." "He's a great guy. The only active player that is on the board of directors of the Baseball Assistance Team (BAT)." Those were some of the plaudits Michael Kay handed out last night for Yankees outfielder Randy Winn. Moments after I retorted, to the television screen, "What are you, his lawyer?", Winn turned on a Jeremy Guthrie fastball and sent it into the night for what proved to be a game winning 3-run home run. I bow to Mr. Kay.

The home run was a huge lift for the Yankees, who lost Jorge Posada during the game to a calf strain and were without the services of Mariano Rivera, who had felt stiffness in his side since the weekend. Joba Chamberlain came on in the 9th and picked up his second career save to secure the Yankees 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

It also helped to have the big man on the mound on Monday night. CC Sabathia scattered six hits over eight innings to improve his record to 4-1 while lowering his ERA to 2.74. The four non-Javier Vazquez starting rotation has combined on a 2.27 ERA and have won 13 of 14 decisions.

Matt Wieters took Sabathia deep in the 2nd inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead, but the Yankees took control in the 4th. Nick Swisher, who has not hit well in a year-plus at Yankee Stadium, continued his new found love of home cooking, tying the game with an RBI single. After a Brett Gardner single, Winn hit his first home run in nearly 500 at-bats. It was also just his second hit of the season.

Notes

Swisher is 8-12 on the homestand with 2 HR, 5 RBI, and 4 Runs scored.

After starting out the month 6-9, Mark Teixeira was hitless in four at-bats.

In his post-game, Joe Girardi said of Rivera, "Mo felt it Saturday after throwing Friday. Has gotten better each day. No further tests scheduled on Mo". Rivera later said he could have pitched if it were a big game situation.