Yankees gets "Ray'ned" on

Pena Continues Yankees Pain

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Tampa Bay	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	1		4	9	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0		3	9	1

For a while it seemed that the heavy rains that fell on the Bronx last night would wash away the bad play, the poor pitching, and the lack of timely hitting that have plagued the Yankees so far this season. In the bottom of the eighth, Mark Teixeira looked through the rain drops and delivered a game tying 3-run double. Then the umpires held up play for 28 minutes. When play resumed the Yankees reverted back to theirpre-rain form and lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 in 10 innings.

Carlos Pena greeted reliever Phil Coke with a solo home run to start the 10th inning to give the Rays the lead back. It was Pena’s Major League leading 12th home run of the season. The Yankees had a chance against Rays’ closer Troy Percivial in the bottom of the 10th, but came up empty once again. Johnny Damon hit a one hop ground rule double to center and moved to third base on a wild pitch. That gave the Yankees two cracks with Teixeira and Hideki Matsui due up. But Percival retired Teixeira on a shallow fly to right and Matsui on a weak fly to left to extend the Yankees losing streak to four games.

A.J. Burnett gave the Yankees another solid performance, allowing three runs over six innings. The Rays led 1-0 entering the sixth when Burnett ran into further trouble. Pat Burrell started the inning with a walk and Gabe Gross followed with a single to right. Jason Bartlett bunted the runners over, enabling Aki Iwamura (sac fly) and Dioner Navarro (single) to bring both runners home for a 3-0 lead.

Rays’ starter Andy Sonnanstine cruised through most of the game. He escaped a two on, two out jam in the fourth when he got the suddenly slumping Robinson Cano to fly out to end the inning. The Yankees finally came alive in the eighth when Melky Cabrera reached on a one out single and moved to third on Jose Molina’s double. Dan Wheeler struck out Derek Jeter, but Howell walked Damon to load the bases and set up the show down with Teixeira. The first baseman broke his bat, but still managed to line the ball into the left field corner. Damon raced home from first base unabated to tie the score. After the rain delay Brian Shouse struck out Matsui to strand Teixeira.

Mariano Rivera gave up a lead off single to Navarro in the ninth, but then struck out the side to give the Yankees a chance to win it in regulation. Cano singled to start the bottom of the ninth and moved to second on Brett Gardner’s sac bunt. Reliever Joe Nelson walked Melky Cabrera, but got Ramiro Pena to ground out on a bang-bang play at first base. Replays showed that Pena was actually safe. Grant Balfour then retired Molina to send the game to extra innings.

Game Notes

Joe Girardi opened himself up to a world of second guessing by not using Rivera for a second inning and going with Coke instead.

Nick Swisher was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after striking out to end the seventh inning.

Derek Jeter has gone ice cold. He’s just 6-31 (.194) over his last 7 games.

Robinson Cano’s 9th inning single snapped an 0-15 skid.

The series concludes tonight when Andy Pettitte faces Jeff Niemann.

Jackie Robinson Day finale at the Trop

The Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays conclude their three game series this afternoon (4:08 pm EDT start) and will commemorate Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier with all players wearing number 42. Mariano Rivera is the last major leaguer to have worn number 42 before it was retired throughout all of baseball.

Andy Pettitte, who pitched so magnificently last Friday in Kansas City, will start for the Yankees against Rays right-hander Andy Sonnanstine.

The Yankees received bad news earlier today when it was learned that Xavier Nady will be lost for the season with a tear in his elbow. The Rays will be without Evan Longoria, who is away to deal with a family matter for the next two days.

Today's lineups:

Yankees

SS Jeter
LF Damon
1B Teixeira
RF Swisher
DH Posada
2B Cano
CF Gardner
3B R. Pena
C Molina

Rays

CF Upton
LF Crawford
DH Burrell
1B C. Pena
3B Aybar
SS Bartlett
RF Kapler
C Hernandez
2B Iwamura


Peter Abraham of the Journal News reported that Chien-Ming Wang threw live batting practice to Cody Ransom and Melky Cabrera.

David Cone was standing behind the cage. “He looked good to me because everything was down, even when he missed,” Cone said. “That’s what you want to see from a sinkerball pitcher.”

Home Runs Put Title Within Reach

Chicks dig the long ball, so chicks have to dig the Phillies. Led by Ryan Howard's 48 regular season bombs, the Phillies hit a National League-leading 214 home runs. Only the Chicago White Sox (235) hit more home runs this season. Last night the Tampa Rays felt the full brunt of Howard and the Phillies power.

The Phillies blasted their way to a 10-2 victory to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the World Series. Howard hit a pair of blasts, and pitcher Joe Blanton and right fielder Jayson Werth each hit one as the Phillies knocked around Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine and the Tampa bullpen.

Blanton, meanwhile was marvelous. He limited the Rays to four hits over six innings, allowing a pair of runs. But the biggest ovation he received on the night was when he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of Edwin Jackson in the fifth inning that extended the Phillies lead to 6-2. At his teammates insistence, Blanton took a curtain call for the raucous crowd of over 45,000.

The Phillies put the game away in the eighth when Werth followed a double by Jimmy Rollins with a 2-run shot to left-center off of Dan Wheeler. Lefty specialist Trever Miller came on, but he walked Chase Utley and then Howard unloaded his second home run, a tremendous shot to right field.

Sonnanstine was shaky from the start, walking Pat Burrell with the bases loaded to put the Phillies on the board first. The Phillies again failed to break an inning open though, as both Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz couldn't get another run in.

Moments after Fox praised Aki Iwamura's transition from third to second base, the Japanese veteran booted Utley's grounder to start the third. Howard's single put runners on the corners with no one out, but it appeared the Phillies would fail in the clutch again when Burrell and Victorino both flied out to shallow left. Feliz came through with a big 2-out hit though, singling to left for a 2-0 lead. Carlos Ruiz also singled, but Blanton fouled out to end the threat.

The Rays got on the board in the fourth when Carl Crawford went deep for the second time in the series. But Iwamura's second error, in the bottom of the inning, set the wheels in motion for the game changing play. Utley drew a walk to put two aboard, but Sonnanstine struck out Werth for the first out. With the Rays hoping to turn an inning ending double play, Howard crushed a pitch into the left field seats for a 3-run home run and a 5-1 Phillies lead.

Eric Hinske, who replaced an injured Cliff Floyd on the roster earlier in the day, took Blanton deep in the fourth to cut the margin to 5-2. But Blanton and his teammates continued to impress the chicks and the Phillies fans with their long ball display.


News and Notes

Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are now a combined 0-29 in the series with 15 strikeouts.

Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years, since Ken Holtzman in 1974, to hit a home run in the series. He also became the first player to hit his first major league home run in the World Series.

The Phillies were actually 4-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position last night. For the series they are 6-47.

Ryan Howard joined Len Dykstra (1993) as the only Phillies with a multi-HR game in the series.

Home Runs Put Title Within Reach

Chicks dig the long ball, so chicks have to dig the Phillies. Led by Ryan Howard's 48 regular season bombs, the Phillies hit a National League-leading 214 home runs. Only the Chicago White Sox (235) hit more home runs this season. Last night the Tampa Rays felt the full brunt of Howard and the Phillies power.

The Phillies blasted their way to a 10-2 victory to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the World Series. Howard hit a pair of blasts, and pitcher Joe Blanton and right fielder Jayson Werth each hit one as the Phillies knocked around Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine and the Tampa bullpen.

Blanton, meanwhile was marvelous. He limited the Rays to four hits over six innings, allowing a pair of runs. But the biggest ovation he received on the night was when he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of Edwin Jackson in the fifth inning that extended the Phillies lead to 6-2. At his teammates insistence, Blanton took a curtain call for the raucous crowd of over 45,000.

The Phillies put the game away in the eighth when Werth followed a double by Jimmy Rollins with a 2-run shot to left-center off of Dan Wheeler. Lefty specialist Trever Miller came on, but he walked Chase Utley and then Howard unloaded his second home run, a tremendous shot to right field.

Sonnanstine was shaky from the start, walking Pat Burrell with the bases loaded to put the Phillies on the board first. The Phillies again failed to break an inning open though, as both Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz couldn't get another run in.

Moments after Fox praised Aki Iwamura's transition from third to second base, the Japanese veteran booted Utley's grounder to start the third. Howard's single put runners on the corners with no one out, but it appeared the Phillies would fail in the clutch again when Burrell and Victorino both flied out to shallow left. Feliz came through with a big 2-out hit though, singling to left for a 2-0 lead. Carlos Ruiz also singled, but Blanton fouled out to end the threat.

The Rays got on the board in the fourth when Carl Crawford went deep for the second time in the series. But Iwamura's second error, in the bottom of the inning, set the wheels in motion for the game changing play. Utley drew a walk to put two aboard, but Sonnanstine struck out Werth for the first out. With the Rays hoping to turn an inning ending double play, Howard crushed a pitch into the left field seats for a 3-run home run and a 5-1 Phillies lead.

Eric Hinske, who replaced an injured Cliff Floyd on the roster earlier in the day, took Blanton deep in the fourth to cut the margin to 5-2. But Blanton and his teammates continued to impress the chicks and the Phillies fans with their long ball display.


News and Notes

Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are now a combined 0-29 in the series with 15 strikeouts.

Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years, since Ken Holtzman in 1974, to hit a home run in the series. He also became the first player to hit his first major league home run in the World Series.

The Phillies were actually 4-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position last night. For the series they are 6-47.

Ryan Howard joined Len Dykstra (1993) as the only Phillies with a multi-HR game in the series.