Gaudin Makes His Post-Season Pitch

Gaudin Makes His Pitch

Written for Baseball Digest Online

The Yankees‘ post-clinch starting lineup last night looked like a spring training road game. A few regulars were mixed in with reserves, and players that won’t be on the post-season roster, as the Yankees took on the Kansas City Royals. After a nearly two hour rain delay, plan ‘B’ lineup or not, the Yankees rolled over the Royals 8-2 as Chad Gaudin made a pitch to help his post-season cause.

The right-hander limited KC to 2 runs and 4 hits through 6 2-3 innings. Over his last four appearances (23 innings), Gaudin has allowed 9 earned runs (3.13 ERA) and struck out 16. Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman will now weigh the option of starting either Gaudin or Joba Chamberlain should the Yankees advance beyond the division series. At the very least, Gaudin could play a significant part of the post-season bullpen.

Gaudin wasn’t the only one with a good night. Rookie Ramiro Pena hit his first major league home run and then was greeted by the silent treatment in the Yankees dugout. Jorge Posada broke the silence and Pena’s teammates mobbed him with high fives, head rubs, and well wishes.

Mr. “I don’t hit well with the bases loaded” (or for that matter with men on base), Robinson Cano, broke open a 4-2 game in the 7th with his second career grand slam. It was Cano’s 25th home run, joining Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, and Nick Swisher at that plateau. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cano also became just the third 2nd baseman in the last 70 years (Bret Boone and Alfonso Soriano were the others) to have a 200-hit, 25-HR season. He also became only the 4th Yankees in that same time period to record the feat. Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, and Soriano were the others.

Game Notes

A.J. Burnett will start tonight for the Yankees against Anthony Lerew. Burnett was originally scheduled to start Monday’s game, but was pushed back a day so that he could be home for his father’s triple bypass surgery.

Global Warming Doesn't Reach Yankees

No matter who they are playing, when they are playing, where they are playing, the Yankees have just not heated up this season. It continued yesterday when they failed to end the current home stand with a 3-game winning streak and instead lost to the Kansas City Royals 3-2.

Mike Mussina pitched remarkably well in near 100 degree heat, posting his first 8 inning outing in 2 years. But the Yankees couldn't muster any offense against Royals rookie Luke Hochever. The game was scoreless through six innings before both teams broke through.

Miguel Olivo blasted a 2-run home run to give the Royals the lead and they threatened for more. Consecutive hits by John Buck and Mike Aviles put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs, but Mussina retired Joey Gathright on a ground out to Alex Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Yankees answered right back when A-Rod followed a lead off double by Bobby Abreu with a 2-run blast of his own. It was his 10th of the season and knocked Hochevar from the game. But the Yankees would fare no better against Ramon Ramirez or Yashiku Yabuta.

With the game tied 2-2 in the 9th, Mariano Rivera got taken deep for the 2nd time in 3 days. This time it was Jose Guillen, who killed the Yankees all series. His 11th of the season gave them Royals a 3-2 lead and Joakim Soria came on in the 9th to nail his 14th save when a Yankees rally fell short.

Rodriguez lead the inning off with a single and one out later Jason Giambi drew a walk to put the tying run in scoring position. But Robinson Cano struck out swinging for the 2nd out, and Melky Cabrera, after Chad Moeller was hit by a pitch to load the bases, grounded out to end the game.

News and Notes

Jose Guillen was 9-16 in the series with 4 home runs and 10 RBI.

Mike Mussina lowered his ERA to 3.82, the lowest its been since April 7. He threw just 89 pitches.

June 9, 2008

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

Kansas City	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
DeJesus, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.298
Grudzielanek, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.287
Teahen, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.249
Guillen, RF	4	2	2	1	0	0	0	.269
Gordon, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.263
Olivo, DH	4	1	2	2	0	1	0	.289
Buck, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.252
Aviles, M, SS	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	.294
Pena, SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.155
Gathright, CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.240
Totals	33	3	8	3	0	5	7
BATTING 2B: Guillen (21, Mussina), Aviles, M (3, Mussina). HR: Olivo (8, 7th inning off Mussina, 1 on, 2 out), Guillen (11, 9th inning off Rivera, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Guillen 6; Gordon; Olivo 5; Buck; Aviles, M 3. RBI: Olivo 2 (25), Guillen (48). 2-out RBI: Olivo 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Grudzielanek; Gathright 2. S: Gathright. GIDP: Buck. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Guillen (2, fielding).

Kansas City	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hochevar	6.0	4	2	2	0	4	1	4.91
Ramirez	1.2	1	0	0	1	2	0	3.30
Yabuta (W, 1-0)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.91
Soria (S, 14)	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.61

Hochevar pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.326
Jeter, SS	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.276
Abreu, RF	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.289
Rodriguez, 3B	4	1	2	2	0	1	1	.317
Matsui, DH	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.323
Giambi, 1B	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	.254
2-Betemit, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.240
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.231
Molina, C	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.217
a-Posada, PH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.311
1-Moeller, PR-C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.270
Totals	32	2	6	2	2	7	13
a-Singled for Molina in the 8th. 1-Ran for Posada in the 8th. 2-Ran for Giambi in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Abreu (14, Hochevar). HR: Rodriguez (10, 7th inning off Hochevar, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Abreu 2; Rodriguez 5; Cano; Posada. RBI: Rodriguez 2 (31). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez; Molina; Abreu; Cabrera 2. S: Cabrera. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Damon (11, 2nd base off Hochevar/Buck). FIELDING DP: (Cano-Jeter-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina	8.0	7	2	2	0	3	1	3.82
Rivera (L, 2-2)	1.0	1	1	1	0	2	1	0.93

Hochevar pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

HBP: Moeller (by Soria).
Pitches-strikes: Hochevar 87-56, Ramirez 29-16, Yabuta 7-4,
Soria 18-10, Mussina 89-65, Rivera 13-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Hochevar 7-7, Ramirez 2-1, Yabuta 1-0,
Soria 1-1, Mussina 12-9, Rivera 1-0.
Batters faced: Hochevar 22, Ramirez 7, Yabuta 1, Soria 6,
Mussina 30, Rivera 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Yabuta 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Chris Tiller. 1B: Ed Montague. 2B: Jim Wolf.
3B: Phil Cuzzi.
Weather: 94 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 11 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:47.
Att: 53,633.

Global Warming Doesn't Reach Yankees

No matter who they are playing, when they are playing, where they are playing, the Yankees have just not heated up this season. It continued yesterday when they failed to end the current home stand with a 3-game winning streak and instead lost to the Kansas City Royals 3-2.

Mike Mussina pitched remarkably well in near 100 degree heat, posting his first 8 inning outing in 2 years. But the Yankees couldn't muster any offense against Royals rookie Luke Hochever. The game was scoreless through six innings before both teams broke through.

Miguel Olivo blasted a 2-run home run to give the Royals the lead and they threatened for more. Consecutive hits by John Buck and Mike Aviles put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs, but Mussina retired Joey Gathright on a ground out to Alex Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Yankees answered right back when A-Rod followed a lead off double by Bobby Abreu with a 2-run blast of his own. It was his 10th of the season and knocked Hochevar from the game. But the Yankees would fare no better against Ramon Ramirez or Yashiku Yabuta.

With the game tied 2-2 in the 9th, Mariano Rivera got taken deep for the 2nd time in 3 days. This time it was Jose Guillen, who killed the Yankees all series. His 11th of the season gave them Royals a 3-2 lead and Joakim Soria came on in the 9th to nail his 14th save when a Yankees rally fell short.

Rodriguez lead the inning off with a single and one out later Jason Giambi drew a walk to put the tying run in scoring position. But Robinson Cano struck out swinging for the 2nd out, and Melky Cabrera, after Chad Moeller was hit by a pitch to load the bases, grounded out to end the game.

News and Notes

Jose Guillen was 9-16 in the series with 4 home runs and 10 RBI.

Mike Mussina lowered his ERA to 3.82, the lowest its been since April 7. He threw just 89 pitches.

June 9, 2008

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

Kansas City	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
DeJesus, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.298
Grudzielanek, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.287
Teahen, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.249
Guillen, RF	4	2	2	1	0	0	0	.269
Gordon, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.263
Olivo, DH	4	1	2	2	0	1	0	.289
Buck, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.252
Aviles, M, SS	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	.294
Pena, SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.155
Gathright, CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.240
Totals	33	3	8	3	0	5	7
BATTING 2B: Guillen (21, Mussina), Aviles, M (3, Mussina). HR: Olivo (8, 7th inning off Mussina, 1 on, 2 out), Guillen (11, 9th inning off Rivera, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Guillen 6; Gordon; Olivo 5; Buck; Aviles, M 3. RBI: Olivo 2 (25), Guillen (48). 2-out RBI: Olivo 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Grudzielanek; Gathright 2. S: Gathright. GIDP: Buck. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Guillen (2, fielding).

Kansas City	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hochevar	6.0	4	2	2	0	4	1	4.91
Ramirez	1.2	1	0	0	1	2	0	3.30
Yabuta (W, 1-0)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.91
Soria (S, 14)	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.61

Hochevar pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.326
Jeter, SS	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.276
Abreu, RF	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.289
Rodriguez, 3B	4	1	2	2	0	1	1	.317
Matsui, DH	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.323
Giambi, 1B	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	.254
2-Betemit, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.240
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.231
Molina, C	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.217
a-Posada, PH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.311
1-Moeller, PR-C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.270
Totals	32	2	6	2	2	7	13
a-Singled for Molina in the 8th. 1-Ran for Posada in the 8th. 2-Ran for Giambi in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Abreu (14, Hochevar). HR: Rodriguez (10, 7th inning off Hochevar, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Abreu 2; Rodriguez 5; Cano; Posada. RBI: Rodriguez 2 (31). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez; Molina; Abreu; Cabrera 2. S: Cabrera. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Damon (11, 2nd base off Hochevar/Buck). FIELDING DP: (Cano-Jeter-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina	8.0	7	2	2	0	3	1	3.82
Rivera (L, 2-2)	1.0	1	1	1	0	2	1	0.93

Hochevar pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

HBP: Moeller (by Soria).
Pitches-strikes: Hochevar 87-56, Ramirez 29-16, Yabuta 7-4,
Soria 18-10, Mussina 89-65, Rivera 13-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Hochevar 7-7, Ramirez 2-1, Yabuta 1-0,
Soria 1-1, Mussina 12-9, Rivera 1-0.
Batters faced: Hochevar 22, Ramirez 7, Yabuta 1, Soria 6,
Mussina 30, Rivera 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Yabuta 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Chris Tiller. 1B: Ed Montague. 2B: Jim Wolf.
3B: Phil Cuzzi.
Weather: 94 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 11 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:47.
Att: 53,633.

Yankees vs. Royals - June 9

The Yankees wrap up the homestand this afternoon with a 1:05 pm start against the Kansas City Royals. Mike Mussina looks to become the American League's first 10 game winner as he opposes Luke Hochevar in the finale of the 4-game set.

Mussina is 17-7, 2.98 in 33 starts against the Royals.

Royals vs. Mussina

Buck 0-10
DeJesus 2-16
Gathright 2-6
German 3-6
Gload 6-10 1 HR 4 RBI
Grudzielanek 2-9
Guillen 6-19 1 HR 2 RBI
Olivo 3-11
Pena 0-4


Hochevar has made one 3 inning scoreless appearance against the Yankees in his brief major league career.

Yankees vs. Hochevar

Betemit 0-2
Cabrera 1-1
Cano 1-2
Damon 0-2
Matsui 0-1
Molina 0-1

Here are today's lineups from Yahoo Sports.

Royals

D. DeJesus lf
M. Grudzielanek
M. Teahen 1b
J. Guillen rf
A. Gordon 3b
M. Olivo dh
J. Buck c
M. Aviles ss
J. Gathright cf

Yankees

J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
J. Molina c
M. Cabrera cf

Yankees vs. Royals - June 9

The Yankees wrap up the homestand this afternoon with a 1:05 pm start against the Kansas City Royals. Mike Mussina looks to become the American League's first 10 game winner as he opposes Luke Hochevar in the finale of the 4-game set.

Mussina is 17-7, 2.98 in 33 starts against the Royals.

Royals vs. Mussina

Buck 0-10
DeJesus 2-16
Gathright 2-6
German 3-6
Gload 6-10 1 HR 4 RBI
Grudzielanek 2-9
Guillen 6-19 1 HR 2 RBI
Olivo 3-11
Pena 0-4


Hochevar has made one 3 inning scoreless appearance against the Yankees in his brief major league career.

Yankees vs. Hochevar

Betemit 0-2
Cabrera 1-1
Cano 1-2
Damon 0-2
Matsui 0-1
Molina 0-1

Here are today's lineups from Yahoo Sports.

Royals

D. DeJesus lf
M. Grudzielanek
M. Teahen 1b
J. Guillen rf
A. Gordon 3b
M. Olivo dh
J. Buck c
M. Aviles ss
J. Gathright cf

Yankees

J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
J. Molina c
M. Cabrera cf

Yankees vs. Royals - June 6

The Yankees just need to look back to April 19, 2007 to realize they better not let down this weekend. On that date, Alex Rodriguez capped a 3-run comeback with a walk-off 3-run home run off the Indians Joe Borowski for an improbable (we like that word) 8-6 win. Then the Yankees went to Boston and got swept in a 3-game series by the Red Sox. There's no comparison between the Red Sox and Royals, but you see what we are driving at. Build off the victory, don't get buried under it.

The Yankees already loss 2 of 3 to the Royals in April, scoring just 2 runs total in the 2 losses. The Royals have gone through some struggles since then. They were just swept by the White Sox in a 3-game series and have lost 15 of their last 17 games. The bullpen, once dominant, is now a mess with injuries and struggles.

The series opens tonight with Darrell Rasner (3-2, 2.67), coming off his only bad outing of the season, going against right-hander Kyle Davies (1-0, 1.80). Davies has made just one start this season, a 5 inning stint in which he helped stopped the Royals 12 game skid. He's only faced the Yankees once in his career and was tagged for 5 earned runs in 3 innings pitched.

Saturday's game pits Andy Pettitte (5-5, 4.21) against Brian Bannister (5-6, 4.60) in a battle of inconsistent starters. Bannister has faced the Yankees just twice, going 1-1, 8.10.

Joba Chamberlain (1-2, 2.42) will make his 2nd start on Sunday against Zach Grienke (5-3, 3.56), who was the winning pitcher in the Royals 4-0 victory on April. Grienke is 2-2, 6.10 in 8 career appearances, 5 of them starts, against the Yankees, who selected his brother Luke in today's amateur draft rounds.

The series wraps up on Monday with Mike Mussina (9-4, 4.01) going against youngster Luke Hochevar (3-5, 5.13), who is making his 11th big league start. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings in his one career relief appearance against the Yankees.

Yankees vs. Davies

Abreu 1-4 1 HR 2 RBI
Betemit 3-4 2 HR 5 RBI
Cabrera 0-2
Cano 1-2
Damon 2-4
Jeter 2-2
Matsui 1-1
Moeller 0-1
Posada 0-2
A-Rod 1-1 1 HR 3 RBI

Jose Guillen is the only KC Royal to face Rasner, going 0-4.

LaTroy Hawkins 3-game suspension was upheld by MLB.

Yankees vs. Royals - June 6

The Yankees just need to look back to April 19, 2007 to realize they better not let down this weekend. On that date, Alex Rodriguez capped a 3-run comeback with a walk-off 3-run home run off the Indians Joe Borowski for an improbable (we like that word) 8-6 win. Then the Yankees went to Boston and got swept in a 3-game series by the Red Sox. There's no comparison between the Red Sox and Royals, but you see what we are driving at. Build off the victory, don't get buried under it.

The Yankees already loss 2 of 3 to the Royals in April, scoring just 2 runs total in the 2 losses. The Royals have gone through some struggles since then. They were just swept by the White Sox in a 3-game series and have lost 15 of their last 17 games. The bullpen, once dominant, is now a mess with injuries and struggles.

The series opens tonight with Darrell Rasner (3-2, 2.67), coming off his only bad outing of the season, going against right-hander Kyle Davies (1-0, 1.80). Davies has made just one start this season, a 5 inning stint in which he helped stopped the Royals 12 game skid. He's only faced the Yankees once in his career and was tagged for 5 earned runs in 3 innings pitched.

Saturday's game pits Andy Pettitte (5-5, 4.21) against Brian Bannister (5-6, 4.60) in a battle of inconsistent starters. Bannister has faced the Yankees just twice, going 1-1, 8.10.

Joba Chamberlain (1-2, 2.42) will make his 2nd start on Sunday against Zach Grienke (5-3, 3.56), who was the winning pitcher in the Royals 4-0 victory on April. Grienke is 2-2, 6.10 in 8 career appearances, 5 of them starts, against the Yankees, who selected his brother Luke in today's amateur draft rounds.

The series wraps up on Monday with Mike Mussina (9-4, 4.01) going against youngster Luke Hochevar (3-5, 5.13), who is making his 11th big league start. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings in his one career relief appearance against the Yankees.

Yankees vs. Davies

Abreu 1-4 1 HR 2 RBI
Betemit 3-4 2 HR 5 RBI
Cabrera 0-2
Cano 1-2
Damon 2-4
Jeter 2-2
Matsui 1-1
Moeller 0-1
Posada 0-2
A-Rod 1-1 1 HR 3 RBI

Jose Guillen is the only KC Royal to face Rasner, going 0-4.

LaTroy Hawkins 3-game suspension was upheld by MLB.