Yankees in a Royal Mess

Jeremy Guthrie making the Yankees look foolish

These are the days of the roller coaster Yankees. Win some, lose some, lather, rinse, repeat. The Yankees reeled off five straight victories after a six game slide. They were about to make it six wins a row on Sunday, until Mariano Rivera made for some very bad juju.

I'm not overly superstitious except when it comes to sports. If I played well in an ice hockey game, I'd have the same pre-game meal the next time out. Never stepped on the foul lines taking the field for a baseball or softball game. I've been known to have a lucky seat or two while watching a game at home.

That's why I shook my head when Mariano came on to close out Sunday's game against the Baltimore Orioles with his socks up high in tribute to David Robertson and his quest to be voted into the All-Star game. On top of that, Mo broke in a new pair of spikes. Bad juju all around...moments later the Yankees had lost 2-1 on an Adam Jones home run. A six game winning streak instead was a one game losing streak, which was about to become a two game losing streak.

Monday night Phil Hughes took the mound against Jeremy Guthrie in the start of a four game series with the KC Royals. Hughes gave up a quick home run to Billy Butler (What would a Hughes start be without a home run.) and RBI double to Danny Lough, both in the 2nd inning. Hughes settled down, but the rain clouds didn't and a 59 minute delay ensued.

Hughes didn't return, but Guthrie did and the Yankees couldn't do anything against him. Hell, he didn't even hit anyone, which he tends to do against the Yanks. Adam Warren pitched effectively in 3.2 innings of relief, but the Royals extended the lead to 3-0 before Lyle Overbay hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the 7th. The game got out of hand again in the 9th when Preston Claiborne gave up two more for a 5-1 deficit. The bloom has come off the rose for Claiborne, who has been scored upon in four of his last nine outings.

The Yankees brought the tying run to the plate with no one out in the 9th after they loaded the bases on a walk to Overbay and consecutive singles by Luis Cruz and Chris Stewart. But closer Greg Holland, who gave up the hit to Stewart, struck out Eduardo Nunez, Brett Gardner, and Zoilo Almonte to end the game.

Looks like that the roller coaster is in a descent again.

Notes

Michael Kay brought up a good point during the game- why rest guys like Nunez already? He's only 26 years old, had played two games and was 3-6 with three RBI and a run scored. For a team having trouble scoring why sit someone swinging a hot bat?

Travis Ishikawa was picked up on waivers from Baltimore on Sunday and was inserted in the starting lineup at first base to give Overbay a partial night off. Ishikawa struck out his first two times and was booed. Welcome to the Bronx. He also avoided a ball hit between him and Robinson Cano that he should have attempted to field.

David Adams was sent down to Scranton to make room on the 25-man roster for Ishikawa. Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis were both moved to the 60-day DL over the last few days to make room on the 40-man roster.

Burnett, Bats Come Up Short

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would think that the Yankees' hitters got together before each of A.J. Burnett's starts and agreed, "We will not produce offense tonight." (On the flip side of the coin they make up for it when CC Sabathia pitches.) Last night the offense again pulled up lame and Burnett was not good enough as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Yankees for the first time in seven tries this season, 4-2.

After scoring 21 runs in Burnett's first three starts this season, the Yankees have averaged just 3.2 runs per game in his 19 starts since then. Burnett has not helped matters by having an ERA that has gotten progressively higher as the weather has gotten warmer. (3.09 in April to 4.83 in July). Last night was a typical Burnett start, decent, but not great and not good enough to win. He threw a complete game, snapping a streak of three straight starts that he didn't make it out of the 6th inning, and limited the O's to five hits. He also struck out 10 batters for the first time this season.

But Burnett put the Yankees in a hole early, surrendering a 2-run home run to Mark Reynolds in the 2nd inning. Derek Lee added a solo home run, the 20th allowed by Burnett this season (he allowed 25 HR's in each of the last two seasons) and an RBI double. Conversely, Jeremy Guthrie was putting up zeroes on the scoreboard, despite being one of the Yankees favorite targets. With the victory, Guthrie is still just 4-9, 5.15 in 17 appearances (15 starts) against New York.

Guthrie had everything working last night though and the Yankees couldn't take advantage of what little opportunities they had. Guthrie retired the first seven Yankees hitters before Jorge Posada and Russell Martin reached on back to back singles in the 3rd, but Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter couldn't produce in the clutch. Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher drew two out walks in the 4th, but Eric Chavez to grounded out to end the inning.Mark Teixeira finally got the Yankees on the board in the 6th inning with his 29th home run of the season.

Guthrie limited the Yankees to four hits over seven innings and Koji Uehara tossed a scoreless 8th, before the bats finally woke up in the 9th.Consecutive doubles by Cano and Swisher off of Orioles' closer Kevin Gregg cut Baltimore's lead in half. Posada drew a one out walk to put the tying runs on base, but Martin bounced into a force out and Gardner struck out swinging on a full count to end the game. The prior pitch was outside, but was called a strike by home plate ump Mike DiMuro. After he swung and missed at Gregg's final offering, Gardner expressed all of the Yankees' frustrations by smashing his bat on the ground.

Notes

As expected, Rafael Soriano was activated before the game and Steve Garrison was sent back to Trenton. Sergio Mitre was placed on the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

The Yankees and Orioles play a day-night doubleheader today. Both Orioles starting pitchers are being recalled from the minor leagues. Chris Tillman faces Bartolo Colon in the opener, while Zach Britton goes against Ivan Nova, also being recalled from Triple-A, in the nightcap.

The Yankees held a moment of silence prior to the game for Hideki Irabu, who committed suicide on Wednesday. Jorge Posada called Irabu's death "devastating".

The Yankees' HOPE week concluded with a very emotional reunion of two friends who were orphans in Russia at one time. Read all about it here.

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.

Groovin' On a Thursday Night

photo courtesy of Washington Post

Yeah yeah, I know that's not the song. But the Yankees, specifically Robinson Cano and A.J. Burnett were groovin' last night in Baltimore.

Cano has been all month. Two more home runs last night, another shot that didn't miss by much that resulted in a double. He's leading the team in practically every offensive category.

Is it because of Melky's departure? Is it because he's matured? Is it that I don't care, I'm just glad that he's hitting? You bet your seated area that's it.

Lost in last night's well deserved Canofest was the job Burnett did. It may very well be the best game he's pitched as a Yankee. When he threw a 2-2 breaking pitch 5 ft outside the strike zone to the O's first batter (Adam Jones), I admit I quickly thought, "here we go".

But Burnett was magnificent. Effortless. Smooth. Very un-Burnett like. The game went by rather quickly - 2:51 - not bad by today's standards (don't choke on your burrito Joe West).

All told, Burnett (who, btw, is no 35-12 vs. AL East) went 8 innings, allowed just three hits, walked a single batter, and struck out four. We all love big strikeout totals, but is there any thing better than watch a pitcher get guys out by having defense make all the routine plays as well as some spectacular ones?

The latter brings me back to Cano. The guy has amazing foot work, arm strength, accuracy, and range (I don't need some UZR rating, or whatever the hell it is called, to tell me that.).

He snared Nolan Reimold's bouncer threw the box as it neared the 2nd base area and, in one motion, fired across his body to Mark Teixeira at first. It was a perfect throw. Cano was already well on to the shortstop side of the bag when he released the ball. You can see the replay here. Even if Derek Jeter was impressed.

Notes

Marcus Thames' at-bats are sporadic, but after a pair of bloops and a frozen rope for three hits last night, he's now a remarkable 10-19 (.588) on the season.

As expected, Jorge Posada sat out with a bruised knee, the result of a Jeremy Guthrie pitch on Wednesday night. Posada will miss Friday's series opener at home with the White Sox.

I was only 6 when this came out..that is all.

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.

Good Times Have Returned to the Bronx

Good Time Yankees Win 8th Straight

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Adam Jones • Alex Rodriguez • Jeremy Guthrie • Kangaroo Court • mariano rivera • Mark Teixeira • melky cabrera • nick swisher • Phil Hughes • Polly Tompkins • Robinson Cano • Susan G. Komen • Yankees 5/21 recap • Yankees vs. Orioles

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Baltimore	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1		4	10	1
NY Yankees	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	6	X		11	9	0

WP - Hughes (2-2) SV - Rivera (8) LP - Guthrie (3-4)

Winning and fun have returned to the Bronx. After April’s doom and gloom, weather included, good baseball, and a warmer climate have become the norm at Yankee Stadium. You can almost hear Joe Girardi singing, “Happy Days are Here Again“. Last night the good times kept rolling as the Yankees, for the second straight night, blew open a close game late and beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-3. The win was the Yankees eighth in a row and moved them to within 2.5 games of first place Toronto Blue Jays.

Prior to the game, the Yankees held their first kangaroo court in 14 years. Mariano Rivera served as judge, with Derek Jeter, A.J. Burnett, and Johnny Damon serving as the jury. CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte were among those hit hardest with fines by their teammates. Once on the field, the Yankees honored Polly Tompkins, a breast cancer victim/fighter, who threw out the first ball. She joked with Jeter, even asking for his phone number, and mingled in the stands with Nick Swisher and Alex Rodriguez.

Then it was game time and the Yankees were all business. Mark Teixeira had given the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI double, but it was the second inning fireworks that will be remembered. Swisher, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrera went back-to-back-to-back with solo home runs off Jeremy Guthrie for a 4-0 Yankees lead. It was the first time three Yankees had accomplished the feat in 25 years, when Oscar Gamble, Steve Kemp, and Toby Harrah (those last two names bring back memories, and they’re not good ones) turned the trick. Cano added to the lead with an RBI single an inning later to give starter Phil Hughes some room to work with.

Hughes’ performance was his best since beating the Detroit Tigers in his first start of the year. Though 3 earned runs in 5 innings (5.40 ERA) is nothing to write home about, Hughes was better than those numbers indicate. His fastball was lively and his breaking pitches danced as he rang up a career high 9 strikeouts.

Hughes’ best moment came in the 3rd inning, when the Orioles put runners on the corners with no one out. He struck out Adam Jones for the first out, then K’ed Nick Markakis. On the play, catcher Kevin Cash threw out Brian Roberts trying to steal second base to end the inning.

The O’s chipped away at the lead on a 2-run home run by Ty Wiggington in the 4th and a solo shot by Jones in the 5th, and Guthrie kept his team in the game by facing the minimum number of batters from the 4th through the 7th innings. But manager Dave Trembley had to go to the bullpen in the 8th and the Yankees offense put the game away.

Danys Baez has been one of the hottest relievers in baseball, but he walked A-Rod and Swisher, sandwiched around a single by Hideki Matsui, to load the bases with one out. Cano’s third RBI hit of the night sent Baez packing, but the Yankees jumped all over Jamie Walker. Cabrera, Cash, Jeter, and Damon combined for 5 RBI before Teixeira earned the dubious distinction of making the first and third outs in the inning.

When the game ended, Tompkins and a friend returned to the field and got hugs from Swisher and Girardi, who presented the lineup card to her. It was a great day and night in the Bronx.

Game Notes

Mariano Rivera got the final out in the 8th inning with the game still on the line. Since he was already warmed up and only threw a few pitches in the 8th, Girardi let him pitch the 9th as well. The save was the 490th of Mo’s career.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, by hitting four home runs in four games, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez became the first Yankees teammates to do so since Reggie Jackson and Bucky Dent in 1977. You certainly would have thought it would have been Graig Nettles or Chris Chambliss in that situation rather than Dent.

There’s already been much chatter about tonight’s series finale between the Yankees and O’s. It’s the first time Joba Chamberlain has faced Baltimore since Aubrey Huff mocked his fist pump after homering off the Yankees’ young right-hander on May 10. There’s been speculation that Chamberlain will throw at Huff tonight in retaliation. The fact that both A-Rod and Mark Teixeira were hit by pitches last night, added more fuel to the fire.

Adam Eaton, who beat the Yankees on May 9, goes tonight for Baltimore.

A-Rod's Smashing Return

A-Rod Sparks Yankees to Win

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Adam Jones • Alex Rodriguez • Brian Roberts • cc sabathia • francisco cervelli • Jeremy Guthrie • Selena Roberts • Yankees 5/8 recap • Yankees vs. Orioles

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		4	9	0
Baltimore	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	4	0

WP - Sabathia (2-3) LP - Guthrie (2-3)

It only took one pitch to remind everyone just how much the Yankees have missed Alex Rodriguez‘ bat. With two men aboard in the first inning, A-Rod turned on a 98-mph fastball from Jeremy Guthrie and sent it into the left field seats for a 3-0 lead. That would be all the Yankees would need, because CC Sabathia turned in his best game of the season, a 4-hit complete game shutout that snapped the Yankees five game losing streak. Johnny Damon added an RBI double in the seventh and the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-0.

The game was all about the return of A-Rod, just days after the release of the controversial Selena Roberts‘ tome, “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez“. He joked with reporters and teammate Derek Jeter before the game that he was nervous and tried to figure out who would get more boos, him or Mark Teixeira. He answered, “no”, when asked if he used steroids in high school or with the Yankees as Roberts had claimed. Afterwards, he talked to YES‘ Kim Jones about how good it felt to be back with “the guys” and how important it was to focus on baseball.

Guthrie retired Jeter on the first pitch of the game, but then walked Damon and Teixeira to set up a quick showdown with Rodriguez. Orioles fans booed, Yankees fans gave a standing ovation and held up signs like “Support 13″. It was all Yankees fans reacting moments later when career home run number 554 landed in the left field seats.

It looked like it might be a seesaw affair when Sabathia gave up back to back singles to Brian Roberts and Adam Jones to start the home half of hte first. But Sabathia worked out of it with the help of rookie catcher Francisco Cervelli, who threw out Jones on the back end of a double steal. The 23-yr old enjoyed a fine game, in which he collected his first major league hit and a drew a walk.

Sabathia soared through the rest of the game, not allowing another hit until the ninth inning, which stopped a streak of 16 straight batters retired. Mariano Rivera started to get loose after Caesar Izturis and Roberts opened the inning with singles, but Sabathia struck out Jones, Nick Markakis, and Melvin Mora swinging to finish off the Yankees first complete game shutout in nearly three years. Sabathia celebrated with a fist pump and some fired up epitaphs.

Game Notes

The last complete game shutout by a Yankees starting pitcher was July 28, 2006 when Chien-Ming Wang blanked the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Bernie Williams started in right field that day and homered.

Pitcher Ian Kennedy was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his right shoulder and will undergo surgery on Tuesday. It’s the same procedure David Cone went through in 2006 after he felt numbness in his fingers. Dr. George Todd, who performed Cone’s procedure, will take operate on Kennedy as well.

The series continues tonight with Phil Hughes facing Adam Eaton.

CC Flops in Yankees Debut

photo courtesy of Getty Images

This is my recap for Baseball Digest of today's fiasco in Baltimore.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	2	2	0	0		5	11	0
Baltimore	0	0	3	0	3	0	0	4	X		10	14	0

WP - Guthrie, Bal (1-0) LP - Sabathia, NYY (0-1)
HR - Posada (1), Matsui (1), NYY, Izturis (1), Bal

CC Sabathia had a disasterous debut in pinstripes and the Baltimore Orioles embarrassed the Yankees 10-5 in front of a packed house in Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Sabathia couldn't locate his fastball and missed the strike zone all afternoon. He was charged with 6 earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched. He didn't strike out a batter and he walked 5 Orioles. To possibly make matters worse, television cameras showed him putting a heat pack on his rib cage between innings.

When asked about it during his post-game press conference, manager Joe Girardi said that Sabathia felt fine physically and it was "just one of those days".

Sabathia told reporters he was "just trying to stay warm", and that he was deeply disappointed by his performance.

Sabathia managed to get out of a jam in the first inning and was handed a 1-0 lead in the second on Johnny Damon's sacrifice fly. But after retiring the side in order in the second inning, it was all downhill for the big left-hander. Adam Jones' 2-run triple put the Orioles ahead for good and he later scored on Nick Markakis' sacrifice fly for a 3-1 Orioles lead.

After the Yankees stranded runners at the corners in the top of the fifth, the Orioles extended their lead in the home half of the inning. Brian Roberts led off with a ground-rule double and Jones followed with an infield single to put runners on the corners with no one out. With Jones running, Markakis hit a soft bouncer to the left side that Derek Jeter fielded, but couldn't make a play on. Melvin Mora reached on an infield single that was misplayed by Cody Ransom to load the bases.

Aubrey Huff's soft grounder resulted in a force out and another run crossed home plate for a 5-1 lead. After an intentional walk to Ty Wiggington, Sabathia walked Luke Scott, after being ahead 0-2, to force in a sixth run. It was the 96th and last pitch for Sabathia, who the Yankees hope doesn't have a repeat of the awful April (1-4, 7.76) he had with Cleveland last year.

The Yankees rallied behind home runs from Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, and were down 6-5 in the eighth inning. Nick Swisher led off with a pinch-hit double and moved to third on Brett Gardner's sacrifice bunt. But with the infield playing in, reliever Jim Johnson got Jeter to bounce to shortstop Cesar Izturis for the second out, and after a walk to Damon, he retired Mark Teixeira on an inning ending ground out.

The Orioles then put the game away in the eighth, scoring fours runs off of Phil Coke and Brian Bruney. Izturis hit a controversial 2-run home run off Coke to match his home run total for all of last season. Damon leapt up and appeared to have a chance to catch the ball, but a fan knocked Damon's glove aside. No replay was called for.

Game Notes

Maryland native Teixeira was loudly booed by the Orioles faithful, who had hoped that the first baseman would have signed a free agent contract with Baltimore this past off-season.

After an off day on Tuesday, the series resumes Wednesday night (7:05 pm EDT) with Chien-Ming Wang facing rookie Koji Uehara.

Opening Day 2009 is Here

It's finally here, Opening Day 2009. It's been a long, cold winter. We suffered a poor playoff performance by the Giants, and a miserable regular season by the Rangers.

But baseball is here. It officially started last night when Derek Lowe and the Atlanta Braves beat the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 4-1.

But the season really doesn't start until today, when the New York Yankees take the field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.

We have a new stadium, new mega-stars, and an all new desire to bring home world championship number 27.

Now if only the weather will cooperate. The US Weather Service is calling for rain all morning in Baltimore, with the sun finally breaking through early in the afternoon. Hopefully the tarp will do it's job and the game will be able to kick off as scheduled (4:05 pm EDT).

The Yankees will be sending their newest prize, CC Sabathia, to the mound against right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. The lineup should be the one we've been seeing the last week of spring training.

SS Jeter
LF Damon
1B Teixeira
DH Matsui
C Posada
2B Cano
RF Nady
3B Ransom
CF Gardner

Orioles lineup

2B Roberts
CF Jones
RF Markakis
3B Mora
1B Huff
DH Wiggington
LF Scott
C Zaun
SS Izturis
By the way we were remiss in not congratulating Brett Gardner on winning the James P. Dawson Award for being the best rookie in camp. Then again, maybe we weren't remiss since most of the JPD winners never have illustrious careers (this was particularly true when we were growing up).

Vice-President Joe Biden will be in the house to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to today's game.

Pavano (W 1-0)

We had the craziest dream last night. Carl Pavano pitched and won a game for the 2008 Yankees. We woke up laughing. Then we picked up the sports page and remembered that it really did happen. After a bit of a shaky start, fragile Carl threw 5 yeoman-like innings to earn his first win since April 9, 2007.

The Orioles had three runs and a number of runners on base by the end of the second inning, but Pavano began to pitch better after that and the Yankees got enough runs off O's starter Jeremy Guthrie to get Pavano a 5-3 win.

With two away in the third inning, Guthrie tattooed Alex Rodriguez in the left arm with a 96 mph fastball. The next hitter, Jason Giambi, tattooed the baseball into the seats in right-center field for his 25th home run of the season and a 4-3 Yankees lead.

Hideki Matsui's 9th home run of the year, and the second since his return from the DL, gave the Yankees a big insurance run in the seventh inning. It wouldn't be needed as Brian Bruney, Jose Veras, and Mariano Rivera easily put the O's away over the final four innings. Rivera reached the 30 save mark for the 11th time in his career. (A 28-save 2002 season stopped it from being 12 years in a row).

But all eyes were on Pavano in this one, and it seemed to affect him in the early going. The Yankees handed him a 2-0 lead in the first with the help of the Orioles defense, but it appeared Pavano would give it right back. A fine defensive play by Robinson Cano, however, bailed him out.

Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis led off the bottom of the first with singles, but Melvin Mora hit a blooper up the middle that Cano grabbed and, in one motion, tagged out Roberts, who was returning to second base. Roberts put up a mild protest to umpire Ed Hickox, but manager Dave Trembley didn't argue the call. The play proved to be huge when Aubrey Huff followed with what would have been a run-scoring single to center field. Pavano then retired Ramon Hernandez on an inning-ending ground out.

The injury prone right-hander wasn't so lucky in the second inning. Luke Scott led off the inning with a double and Pavano, who struggled with his control early on, walked Kevin Millar. Jay Payton's single then loaded the bases with no one out. Juan Castro's deep fly to left-center brought home one run and both runners advanced when the weaker-armed Johnny Damon called off Xavier Nady, who was poised to throw to second base. Instead, Payton easily moved into scoring position. A Roberts ground out brought home the tying run and Markakis' single to center gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

The inning ended in controversy when Mora struck out on a pitch in the dirt. He started to walk away and then- realizing the ball had bounced in the dirt- ran towards first base. Both he and Markakis advanced another base as the Yankees continued off the field. The umpires were going to allow it at first, but Joe Girardi came out and vehemently argued with home plate ump Joe West, who then gathered the other umpires for a conference. It resulted in Mora being called out for the final out, which sent Trembley into a rage that would get him ejected from the ball game.

“The hitter walked toward the dugout to throw his bat and helmet away. He, in doing so, has abandoned his effort to reach the next base,” West said. “He’s called out, according to the rule.”

Given the lead back in the third, Pavano retired the O's in order, for the only time, in the bottom of the third. He got in trouble in the fourth, hitting Millar, possibly in retaliation for A-Rod being hit, and allowed a single to Payton. But then he struck out Castro, Roberts, and Markakis in order, getting the latter two looking at beautifully located pitches on the outside corner. Pavano hit Mora to start the fifth, but retired the final three batters he faced to give the Yankees a chance to gain ground on Boston in the wildcard race.


News and Notes

Jason Giambi's home run was the 389th of his career. Between Japan and the U.S., Hideki Matsui now has 444 home runs.

Alex Rodriguez is 3-8 in the series with all three hits being doubles. Derek Jeter picked up hit number 2,501 and is just 17 hits away from Babe Ruth and second place on the all-time Yankees hit list.

Phil Hughes was hammered in his start Friday night for Scranton. He allowed 8 runs in just 3.1 innings pitched.

August 23, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0		5	8	0
Baltimore	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	9	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.311
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.296
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.293
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	2	1	1	0	1	0	.309
Giambi, 1B	4	1	2	3	0	0	0	.253
Ransom, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.327
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.312
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.263
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.285
Totals	35	5	8	5	1	9	8
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez, A (29, Guthrie). HR: Giambi (25, 3rd inning off Guthrie, 1 on, 2 out), Matsui (9, 7th inning off Guthrie, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez, A 2; Giambi 5; Nady; Matsui 4; Cano. RBI: Rodriguez, A (78), Giambi 3 (76), Matsui (38). 2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A; Giambi 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui; Abreu. Team LOB: 5. FIELDING DP: (Cano).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pavano (W, 1-0)	5.0	7	3	3	1	5	0	5.40
Bruney (H, 5)	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2.11
Veras (H, 8)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2.72
Rivera (S, 30)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.57

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	5	0	1	1	0	1	4	.298
Markakis, RF	5	0	2	1	0	2	2	.302
Mora, 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.281
Huff, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.301
Hernandez, R, C	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.257
Scott, LF	4	1	1	0	0	1	2	.272
Millar, 1B	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	.248
Payton, CF	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.246
Castro, J, SS	2	0	0	1	0	2	3	.198
a-Cintron, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.278
Totals	34	3	9	3	1	9	20
a-Grounded out for Castro, J in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Scott (23, Pavano). TB: Roberts; Markakis 2; Huff; Hernandez, R; Scott 2; Payton 3. RBI: Castro, J (10), Roberts (46), Markakis (77). 2-out RBI: Markakis. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hernandez, R; Markakis; Roberts. SF: Castro, J. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Payton (6, 2nd base off Bruney/Rodriguez, I).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Guthrie (L, 10-10) 6.2 7 5 5 1 7 2 3.28 Castillo, A 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.79 Cormier 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.47

HBP: Millar (by Pavano), Mora (by Pavano), Rodriguez, A (by Guthrie). Pitches-strikes: Pavano 91-54, Bruney 29-19, Veras 21-13, Rivera 10-6, Guthrie 115-76, Castillo, A 4-3, Cormier 28-18. Ground outs-fly outs: Pavano 5-4, Bruney 2-3, Veras 1-0, Rivera 2-0, Guthrie 7-6, Castillo, A 0-0, Cormier 3-2. Batters faced: Pavano 24, Bruney 7, Veras 4, Rivera 3, Guthrie 29, Castillo, A 1, Cormier 7. Inherited runners-scored: Castillo, A 2-0. EjectionsBaltimore Orioles Manager Dave Trembley ejected by HP umpire Joe West. (2nd). Umpires: HP: Joe West. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Ed Hickox. 3B: CB Bucknor. Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, Out to LF. T: 3:08. Att: 48,817.

Pavano (W 1-0)

We had the craziest dream last night. Carl Pavano pitched and won a game for the 2008 Yankees. We woke up laughing. Then we picked up the sports page and remembered that it really did happen. After a bit of a shaky start, fragile Carl threw 5 yeoman-like innings to earn his first win since April 9, 2007.

The Orioles had three runs and a number of runners on base by the end of the second inning, but Pavano began to pitch better after that and the Yankees got enough runs off O's starter Jeremy Guthrie to get Pavano a 5-3 win.

With two away in the third inning, Guthrie tattooed Alex Rodriguez in the left arm with a 96 mph fastball. The next hitter, Jason Giambi, tattooed the baseball into the seats in right-center field for his 25th home run of the season and a 4-3 Yankees lead.

Hideki Matsui's 9th home run of the year, and the second since his return from the DL, gave the Yankees a big insurance run in the seventh inning. It wouldn't be needed as Brian Bruney, Jose Veras, and Mariano Rivera easily put the O's away over the final four innings. Rivera reached the 30 save mark for the 11th time in his career. (A 28-save 2002 season stopped it from being 12 years in a row).

But all eyes were on Pavano in this one, and it seemed to affect him in the early going. The Yankees handed him a 2-0 lead in the first with the help of the Orioles defense, but it appeared Pavano would give it right back. A fine defensive play by Robinson Cano, however, bailed him out.

Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis led off the bottom of the first with singles, but Melvin Mora hit a blooper up the middle that Cano grabbed and, in one motion, tagged out Roberts, who was returning to second base. Roberts put up a mild protest to umpire Ed Hickox, but manager Dave Trembley didn't argue the call. The play proved to be huge when Aubrey Huff followed with what would have been a run-scoring single to center field. Pavano then retired Ramon Hernandez on an inning-ending ground out.

The injury prone right-hander wasn't so lucky in the second inning. Luke Scott led off the inning with a double and Pavano, who struggled with his control early on, walked Kevin Millar. Jay Payton's single then loaded the bases with no one out. Juan Castro's deep fly to left-center brought home one run and both runners advanced when the weaker-armed Johnny Damon called off Xavier Nady, who was poised to throw to second base. Instead, Payton easily moved into scoring position. A Roberts ground out brought home the tying run and Markakis' single to center gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

The inning ended in controversy when Mora struck out on a pitch in the dirt. He started to walk away and then- realizing the ball had bounced in the dirt- ran towards first base. Both he and Markakis advanced another base as the Yankees continued off the field. The umpires were going to allow it at first, but Joe Girardi came out and vehemently argued with home plate ump Joe West, who then gathered the other umpires for a conference. It resulted in Mora being called out for the final out, which sent Trembley into a rage that would get him ejected from the ball game.

“The hitter walked toward the dugout to throw his bat and helmet away. He, in doing so, has abandoned his effort to reach the next base,” West said. “He’s called out, according to the rule.”

Given the lead back in the third, Pavano retired the O's in order, for the only time, in the bottom of the third. He got in trouble in the fourth, hitting Millar, possibly in retaliation for A-Rod being hit, and allowed a single to Payton. But then he struck out Castro, Roberts, and Markakis in order, getting the latter two looking at beautifully located pitches on the outside corner. Pavano hit Mora to start the fifth, but retired the final three batters he faced to give the Yankees a chance to gain ground on Boston in the wildcard race.


News and Notes

Jason Giambi's home run was the 389th of his career. Between Japan and the U.S., Hideki Matsui now has 444 home runs.

Alex Rodriguez is 3-8 in the series with all three hits being doubles. Derek Jeter picked up hit number 2,501 and is just 17 hits away from Babe Ruth and second place on the all-time Yankees hit list.

Phil Hughes was hammered in his start Friday night for Scranton. He allowed 8 runs in just 3.1 innings pitched.

August 23, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0		5	8	0
Baltimore	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	9	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.311
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.296
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.293
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	2	1	1	0	1	0	.309
Giambi, 1B	4	1	2	3	0	0	0	.253
Ransom, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.327
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.312
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.263
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.285
Totals	35	5	8	5	1	9	8
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez, A (29, Guthrie). HR: Giambi (25, 3rd inning off Guthrie, 1 on, 2 out), Matsui (9, 7th inning off Guthrie, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez, A 2; Giambi 5; Nady; Matsui 4; Cano. RBI: Rodriguez, A (78), Giambi 3 (76), Matsui (38). 2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A; Giambi 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui; Abreu. Team LOB: 5. FIELDING DP: (Cano).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pavano (W, 1-0)	5.0	7	3	3	1	5	0	5.40
Bruney (H, 5)	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2.11
Veras (H, 8)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2.72
Rivera (S, 30)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.57

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	5	0	1	1	0	1	4	.298
Markakis, RF	5	0	2	1	0	2	2	.302
Mora, 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.281
Huff, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.301
Hernandez, R, C	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.257
Scott, LF	4	1	1	0	0	1	2	.272
Millar, 1B	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	.248
Payton, CF	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.246
Castro, J, SS	2	0	0	1	0	2	3	.198
a-Cintron, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.278
Totals	34	3	9	3	1	9	20
a-Grounded out for Castro, J in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Scott (23, Pavano). TB: Roberts; Markakis 2; Huff; Hernandez, R; Scott 2; Payton 3. RBI: Castro, J (10), Roberts (46), Markakis (77). 2-out RBI: Markakis. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hernandez, R; Markakis; Roberts. SF: Castro, J. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Payton (6, 2nd base off Bruney/Rodriguez, I).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Guthrie (L, 10-10) 6.2 7 5 5 1 7 2 3.28 Castillo, A 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.79 Cormier 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.47

HBP: Millar (by Pavano), Mora (by Pavano), Rodriguez, A (by Guthrie). Pitches-strikes: Pavano 91-54, Bruney 29-19, Veras 21-13, Rivera 10-6, Guthrie 115-76, Castillo, A 4-3, Cormier 28-18. Ground outs-fly outs: Pavano 5-4, Bruney 2-3, Veras 1-0, Rivera 2-0, Guthrie 7-6, Castillo, A 0-0, Cormier 3-2. Batters faced: Pavano 24, Bruney 7, Veras 4, Rivera 3, Guthrie 29, Castillo, A 1, Cormier 7. Inherited runners-scored: Castillo, A 2-0. EjectionsBaltimore Orioles Manager Dave Trembley ejected by HP umpire Joe West. (2nd). Umpires: HP: Joe West. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Ed Hickox. 3B: CB Bucknor. Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, Out to LF. T: 3:08. Att: 48,817.