Pettitte's Gem puts Yankees on the right streak

Here's my recap of yesterday's game for Baseball Digest.

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

WP - Pettitte (1-0) SV - Rivera (1) LP - Ponson (0-1)

Andy Pettitte doesn't make the money that the top of the Yankees rotation earns on a yearly basis and he isn't hyped like the #5 starter is, but more than any of them Andy Pettitte knows how to pitch. Pettitte was at his very best yesterday, limiting the Kansas City Royals to three hits over seven innings in the Yankees 4-1 win over Kansas City.

In spoiling the Royals home opener, and the first game in the newly renovated Ewing Kauffman Stadium ("The Big K"), Pettitte threw 99 pitches, 64 of them for strikes. He might have escaped with no runs allowed had right fielder Nick Swisher not had trouble with Mike Jacobs' run producing fly ball in the second inning. Pettitte threw a steady array of off speed pitches to the Royals' heavily left-handed laden lineup and uncharacteristically retired only six batters via the ground ball.

As for the Yankees offense, they gave Pettitte a quick lead to work with, jumping on former teammate Sidney Ponson in the first inning. Johnny Damon laced a one-out single to left and Mark Teixeira drew a four pitch walk. Ponson got in the way of a possible RBI single by Hideki Matsui when the ball ricocheted off of him and turned in an out at first. But with two runners in scoring position, Jorge Posada ripped a hard shot through Jacobs at first and into right field for a 2-run single.

Robinson Cano led off the fourth inning with a single, giving him four straight multi-hit games to open the season. Ponson then left a fastball up in the zone to Swisher, who lined it up the alley in left-center to score Cano from first base. After Cody Ransom reached on a fielder's choice, Brett Gardner advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. With the infield playing back, Derek Jeter grounded out to drive in Swisher with the Yankees fourth run.

Pettitte meanwhile was cruising. He retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced, stranding Billy Butler after a double to start the fifth inning. The Yankees bullpen, which was horrendous in the season opening loss to Baltimore, continued its hot streak since, getting a scoreless inning from both Brian Bruney and Mariano Rivera, who picked up his first save of the season.

Game Notes

It was the 56th time that Rivera has saved one of Pettitte's victories. Only Dennis Eckersley and Bob Welch have combined for more victories (57). It was also Pettitte's eighth straight win against the Royals. Only the Mets' Johan Santana has a longer streak with nine straight wins versus KC.

Cano is now 8-14 (.571) and has walked four times in four games. His OPS is a gaudy 1.524 and he has a 15-game hitting streak dating back to last season.

A wide strike zone and harsh lighting helped lead to a combined 21 strikeouts between the two teams. Former Yankee Kyle Farnsworth struck out Damon, Teixeira, and Matsui in the seventh inning.

The series resumes tonight at 7 pm EDT with CC Sabathia (0-1, 12.46) looking to bounce back from his awful start in Baltimore. Horacio Ramirez makes his season debut for the Royals.

Traveling Again

We'll be traveling again for the next two days, so there won't be much posting. The Yankees trail 3-2, what else is new, right now to Seattle. We know there's no playoff hope, but it would still be nice to win some games. Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi have hit solo home runs.

Traveling Again

We'll be traveling again for the next two days, so there won't be much posting. The Yankees trail 3-2, what else is new, right now to Seattle. We know there's no playoff hope, but it would still be nice to win some games. Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi have hit solo home runs.

Yankees Rally Can't Overcome Rasner

As we batten down the hatches here in the Carolinas for Tropical Storm Hanna, the Yankees continue to be wiped out by their poor starting pitching. It was orginally thought that Al Aceves might take Sidney Ponson's place in the rotation this weekend in Seattle, but now Aceves may be supplanting Rasner, who he relieved last night after Rasner failed to get out of the second inning.

The Yankees only managed one hit off of Rays starter Scott Kazmir and couldn't manage anything against the Rays pen until their final at-bat. The Yankees rallied with two away in the ninth, but came up short. Ivan Rodriguez opened the inning with a double off of Jason Hammel and out later, Cody Ransom got the Yankees on the board with an RBI single to center. Hideki Matsui pinch-hit for Brett Gardner, who had struck out three times looking, but did no better, going down swinging for the second out of the inning.

A Johnny Damon walk put two men aboard and Derek Jeter followed with a 3-run home run to cut the lead to 7-4. Alex Rodriguez, hitting in the number three spot in the order with Bobby Abreu out of the lineup, followed with a solo shot. It was A-Rod's 32nd of the season and number 550 all-time. Joe Maddon brought on Dan Wheeler, who was able to record a save by retiring Xavier Nady on a fly ball to center field.

Rasner had no problem in the first inning, but the second inning ended things for him. Eric Hinske and Dionnar Navarro opened the second inning with singles and a Rasner wild pitch put runners on the corners with no one out. Gabe Gross brought home the first run with a double to right and Jason Bartlett followed with a sac fly. Aki Iwamura then singled home Gross for a 3-0 Rays' lead.

B.J. Upton's single and a Carlos Pena walk loaded the bases and sent Rasner to an early shower. Aceves struck out Cliff Floyd, but Willy Aybar singled through the middle to plate two more for a 5-0 advantage. Eric Hinske finally popped out to end the inning.

The Rays added insurance runs in the fourth, on an Aybar home run, and the eighth for a 7-0 lead.


News and Notes

Derek Jeter is now for four hits within Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time Yankees list.

Bobby Abreu couldn't swing a bat after hurting his wrist stealing second base on Wednesday night. Melky Cabrera will be recalled for tonight's game with Seattle.

Yankees Rally Can't Overcome Rasner

As we batten down the hatches here in the Carolinas for Tropical Storm Hanna, the Yankees continue to be wiped out by their poor starting pitching. It was orginally thought that Al Aceves might take Sidney Ponson's place in the rotation this weekend in Seattle, but now Aceves may be supplanting Rasner, who he relieved last night after Rasner failed to get out of the second inning.

The Yankees only managed one hit off of Rays starter Scott Kazmir and couldn't manage anything against the Rays pen until their final at-bat. The Yankees rallied with two away in the ninth, but came up short. Ivan Rodriguez opened the inning with a double off of Jason Hammel and out later, Cody Ransom got the Yankees on the board with an RBI single to center. Hideki Matsui pinch-hit for Brett Gardner, who had struck out three times looking, but did no better, going down swinging for the second out of the inning.

A Johnny Damon walk put two men aboard and Derek Jeter followed with a 3-run home run to cut the lead to 7-4. Alex Rodriguez, hitting in the number three spot in the order with Bobby Abreu out of the lineup, followed with a solo shot. It was A-Rod's 32nd of the season and number 550 all-time. Joe Maddon brought on Dan Wheeler, who was able to record a save by retiring Xavier Nady on a fly ball to center field.

Rasner had no problem in the first inning, but the second inning ended things for him. Eric Hinske and Dionnar Navarro opened the second inning with singles and a Rasner wild pitch put runners on the corners with no one out. Gabe Gross brought home the first run with a double to right and Jason Bartlett followed with a sac fly. Aki Iwamura then singled home Gross for a 3-0 Rays' lead.

B.J. Upton's single and a Carlos Pena walk loaded the bases and sent Rasner to an early shower. Aceves struck out Cliff Floyd, but Willy Aybar singled through the middle to plate two more for a 5-0 advantage. Eric Hinske finally popped out to end the inning.

The Rays added insurance runs in the fourth, on an Aybar home run, and the eighth for a 7-0 lead.


News and Notes

Derek Jeter is now for four hits within Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time Yankees list.

Bobby Abreu couldn't swing a bat after hurting his wrist stealing second base on Wednesday night. Melky Cabrera will be recalled for tonight's game with Seattle.

Yankees Get Very Offensive

Lets just say the Yankees pitching was a good offense on Monday. Just like the Yankees season in general, the Yankees hung on by their teeth yesterday for a 13-9 win over the Tigers. The Bombers offensive lived up to its reputation, blasting Justin Verlander en route to an 8-1 lead after an inning and a half.

Sidney Ponson had the good fortune of being on the mound with a big lead early, but wasn't around long enough to figure in the decision. He was charged with seven runs, six of them earned, in three innings before giving way to Edwar Ramirez, who fared no better. K-Ram walked three, gave up a pair of hits, and two runs in just 1.1 innings pitched, before the rest of the pen finally shut the Tigers down.

Verlander has had an up and down season, with more of an emphasis on the latter. He walked Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter to start the game, and gave up a single to Bobby Abreu to load the bases with no one out. Alex Rodriguez singled to center to give the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead. A Jason Giambi sac fly and an RBI single by Hideki Matsui would build the lead to 4-0.

The Tigers picked up a run in their half of the first, but Damon homered with one out in the second to get the run back. Back to back singles by Jeter and Abreu, a Curtis Granderson error, and Abreu's stolen base, put two men in scoring position. A-Rod picked up his third RBI when first baseman Jeff Larish misplayed his grounder for an error. Verlander retired Giambi, but Xavier Nady's RBI single increased the lead to 7-1 and drove the right-hander from the game. Matsui delivered another RBI single against lefty Bobby Seay for the final run of the inning.

A Gary Sheffield second inning home run was countered by RBI singles by Abreu and A-Rod, and a sac fly by Nady built the lead to 11-2. But Ponson met his Waterloo in the fourth. A Brandon Inge 2-run home run got things started. A hit and a walk put two more men aboard, and then, for the second time in three games, Robinson Cano made a crucial error that helped make for a big inning.

Joe Girardi saw enough and sent for Ramirez, who gave up a sac fly to Magglio Ordonez, and a 2-run blast to Miguel Cabrera. A laugher had become a nail biter and Girardi was on the edge of seat when Ramirez then walked the tying runs on base. But the slight right-hander retired Larish on a pop up and struck out Inge to end the inning.

Ordonez's RBI single cut the margin to two, but Derek Jeter gave the Yankees some breathing room with a 2-run single in the sixth. The pen then finally shut the Tigers offense down. It included lefty Phil Coke's major league debut. The rookie, who was rumored to be part of the original Marte-Nady deal, struck out two in his major league debut.


News and Notes

Ivan Rodriguez got a long standing ovation, from his former home crowd, when he stepped to the plate in the second inning.

Gary Sheffield's home run was the 494th of his career, putting ahead of Fred McGriff and Lou Gehrig for 25th on the all-time list.

Yankees Get Very Offensive

Lets just say the Yankees pitching was a good offense on Monday. Just like the Yankees season in general, the Yankees hung on by their teeth yesterday for a 13-9 win over the Tigers. The Bombers offensive lived up to its reputation, blasting Justin Verlander en route to an 8-1 lead after an inning and a half.

Sidney Ponson had the good fortune of being on the mound with a big lead early, but wasn't around long enough to figure in the decision. He was charged with seven runs, six of them earned, in three innings before giving way to Edwar Ramirez, who fared no better. K-Ram walked three, gave up a pair of hits, and two runs in just 1.1 innings pitched, before the rest of the pen finally shut the Tigers down.

Verlander has had an up and down season, with more of an emphasis on the latter. He walked Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter to start the game, and gave up a single to Bobby Abreu to load the bases with no one out. Alex Rodriguez singled to center to give the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead. A Jason Giambi sac fly and an RBI single by Hideki Matsui would build the lead to 4-0.

The Tigers picked up a run in their half of the first, but Damon homered with one out in the second to get the run back. Back to back singles by Jeter and Abreu, a Curtis Granderson error, and Abreu's stolen base, put two men in scoring position. A-Rod picked up his third RBI when first baseman Jeff Larish misplayed his grounder for an error. Verlander retired Giambi, but Xavier Nady's RBI single increased the lead to 7-1 and drove the right-hander from the game. Matsui delivered another RBI single against lefty Bobby Seay for the final run of the inning.

A Gary Sheffield second inning home run was countered by RBI singles by Abreu and A-Rod, and a sac fly by Nady built the lead to 11-2. But Ponson met his Waterloo in the fourth. A Brandon Inge 2-run home run got things started. A hit and a walk put two more men aboard, and then, for the second time in three games, Robinson Cano made a crucial error that helped make for a big inning.

Joe Girardi saw enough and sent for Ramirez, who gave up a sac fly to Magglio Ordonez, and a 2-run blast to Miguel Cabrera. A laugher had become a nail biter and Girardi was on the edge of seat when Ramirez then walked the tying runs on base. But the slight right-hander retired Larish on a pop up and struck out Inge to end the inning.

Ordonez's RBI single cut the margin to two, but Derek Jeter gave the Yankees some breathing room with a 2-run single in the sixth. The pen then finally shut the Tigers offense down. It included lefty Phil Coke's major league debut. The rookie, who was rumored to be part of the original Marte-Nady deal, struck out two in his major league debut.


News and Notes

Ivan Rodriguez got a long standing ovation, from his former home crowd, when he stepped to the plate in the second inning.

Gary Sheffield's home run was the 494th of his career, putting ahead of Fred McGriff and Lou Gehrig for 25th on the all-time list.

Travels and Travails

We were on the road for much of the last two days, so we saw/heard part or none of the latter two games against the Blue Jays. It's just as well. It was 6-2 Yankees last we heard on Saturday and we know how that turned out, and yesterday Roy Halladay became the first pitcher since Chuck Finley in 1996 to beat the Yankees four times in a single season.

The only Yankees runs on Sunday were solo home runs (aren't they always) by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. It was A-Rod's 547th, putting him one behind Mike Schmidt on the all-time list.

Andy Pettitte stunk yesterday, giving up six runs in 6.1 innings pitched, putting his teammates in a 4-0 hole after two innings. While it was once a given that Pettitte would be a Yankee next season, if he wanted to return, it is now clearly up in the air. Mike Mussina has been the better pitcher by far this season, and it's not likely that the Yankees would bring both of them back next season.

The Blue Jays' David Eckstein was 2-4 with an RBI in the game and was traded afterwards to the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later.

Since being one game back of Boston in the wildcard race on July 26, the Yankees have gone 14-19 with a 5.64 team ERA.

The Yankees make a one game trip to Detroit this afternoon with Sidney Ponson facing Justin Verlander.

Travels and Travails

We were on the road for much of the last two days, so we saw/heard part or none of the latter two games against the Blue Jays. It's just as well. It was 6-2 Yankees last we heard on Saturday and we know how that turned out, and yesterday Roy Halladay became the first pitcher since Chuck Finley in 1996 to beat the Yankees four times in a single season.

The only Yankees runs on Sunday were solo home runs (aren't they always) by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. It was A-Rod's 547th, putting him one behind Mike Schmidt on the all-time list.

Andy Pettitte stunk yesterday, giving up six runs in 6.1 innings pitched, putting his teammates in a 4-0 hole after two innings. While it was once a given that Pettitte would be a Yankee next season, if he wanted to return, it is now clearly up in the air. Mike Mussina has been the better pitcher by far this season, and it's not likely that the Yankees would bring both of them back next season.

The Blue Jays' David Eckstein was 2-4 with an RBI in the game and was traded afterwards to the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later.

Since being one game back of Boston in the wildcard race on July 26, the Yankees have gone 14-19 with a 5.64 team ERA.

The Yankees make a one game trip to Detroit this afternoon with Sidney Ponson facing Justin Verlander.

We Sucked

Those were Hank Steinbrenner's words last night as he left the Stadium. It says it all.

August 27, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	0		11	13	0
NY Yankees	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1		3	8	0

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, RF	5	2	2	0	0	2	0	.264
Pedroia, 2B	5	3	3	4	0	1	0	.317
Ortiz, DH	3	1	2	0	2	0	0	.267
Youkilis, 1B	4	1	1	1	1	1	4	.318
Bay, LF	4	1	2	4	0	0	1	.295
Lowrie, 3B	3	1	1	0	2	1	2	.296
Varitek, C	4	1	1	0	1	1	1	.224
Cora, SS	4	0	0	1	0	0	1	.267
Crisp, CF	4	1	1	1	0	1	0	.263
Totals	36	11	13	11	6	7	9
BATTING 2B: Ortiz (20, Ponson), Bay (27, Ponson), Lowrie (16, Ponson). 3B: Bay (4, Veras). HR: Pedroia (15, 8th inning off Robertson, 3 on, 1 out). TB: Ellsbury 2; Pedroia 6; Ortiz 3; Youkilis; Bay 5; Lowrie 2; Varitek; Crisp. RBI: Bay 4 (88), Youkilis (91), Cora (8), Crisp (33), Pedroia 4 (68). 2-out RBI: Bay 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cora; Lowrie. SF: Bay; Cora. GIDP: Youkilis. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING DP: (Pedroia-Cora-Youkilis).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Byrd (W, 9-11)	6.0	5	2	2	2	5	0	4.55
Delcarmen (H, 17)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.18
Timlin	2.0	3	1	1	0	0	1	5.09

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.313
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.294
Abreu, RF	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	.296
Rodriguez, A, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.310
Giambi, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.247
Nady, LF	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.327
Matsui, DH	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.311
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	1	0	2	2	.268
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.280
Totals	34	3	8	3	2	7	13
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez, A 2 (31, Byrd, Byrd). HR: Giambi (26, 9th inning off Timlin, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi 4; Nady; Matsui; Cano. RBI: Rodriguez, A (79), Cano (59), Giambi (78). 2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A; Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Rodriguez, I. GIDP: Rodriguez, I. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING Outfield assists: Abreu (Bay at home). DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ponson (L, 7-5) 4.2 7 4 4 4 3 0 4.80 Ramirez 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.49 Marte 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.26 Veras 0.1 3 5 5 2 0 0 3.64 Robertson 0.2 3 2 2 0 0 1 6.31 Britton 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.02

Pitches-strikes: Byrd 106-66, Delcarmen 17-9, Timlin 21-15, Ponson 89-51, Ramirez 8-4, Marte 19-13, Veras 23-9, Robertson 18-10, Britton 10-9. Groundouts-flyouts: Byrd 4-9, Delcarmen 0-1, Timlin 5-1, Ponson 6-4, Ramirez 3-1, Marte 1-0, Veras 0-1, Robertson 1-1, Britton 1-0. Batters faced: Byrd 25, Delcarmen 3, Timlin 8, Ponson 23, Ramirez 4, Marte 3, Veras 6, Robertson 5, Britton 3. Inherited runners-scored: Ramirez 2-0, Robertson 2-2. Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Gary Cederstrom. 2B: Fieldin Culbreth. 3B: Jim Reynolds. Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, R to L. T: 3:16. Att: 55,027.

We Sucked

Those were Hank Steinbrenner's words last night as he left the Stadium. It says it all.

August 27, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	0		11	13	0
NY Yankees	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1		3	8	0

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, RF	5	2	2	0	0	2	0	.264
Pedroia, 2B	5	3	3	4	0	1	0	.317
Ortiz, DH	3	1	2	0	2	0	0	.267
Youkilis, 1B	4	1	1	1	1	1	4	.318
Bay, LF	4	1	2	4	0	0	1	.295
Lowrie, 3B	3	1	1	0	2	1	2	.296
Varitek, C	4	1	1	0	1	1	1	.224
Cora, SS	4	0	0	1	0	0	1	.267
Crisp, CF	4	1	1	1	0	1	0	.263
Totals	36	11	13	11	6	7	9
BATTING 2B: Ortiz (20, Ponson), Bay (27, Ponson), Lowrie (16, Ponson). 3B: Bay (4, Veras). HR: Pedroia (15, 8th inning off Robertson, 3 on, 1 out). TB: Ellsbury 2; Pedroia 6; Ortiz 3; Youkilis; Bay 5; Lowrie 2; Varitek; Crisp. RBI: Bay 4 (88), Youkilis (91), Cora (8), Crisp (33), Pedroia 4 (68). 2-out RBI: Bay 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cora; Lowrie. SF: Bay; Cora. GIDP: Youkilis. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING DP: (Pedroia-Cora-Youkilis).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Byrd (W, 9-11)	6.0	5	2	2	2	5	0	4.55
Delcarmen (H, 17)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.18
Timlin	2.0	3	1	1	0	0	1	5.09

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.313
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.294
Abreu, RF	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	.296
Rodriguez, A, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.310
Giambi, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.247
Nady, LF	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.327
Matsui, DH	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.311
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	1	0	2	2	.268
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.280
Totals	34	3	8	3	2	7	13
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez, A 2 (31, Byrd, Byrd). HR: Giambi (26, 9th inning off Timlin, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi 4; Nady; Matsui; Cano. RBI: Rodriguez, A (79), Cano (59), Giambi (78). 2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A; Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Rodriguez, I. GIDP: Rodriguez, I. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING Outfield assists: Abreu (Bay at home). DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ponson (L, 7-5) 4.2 7 4 4 4 3 0 4.80 Ramirez 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.49 Marte 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.26 Veras 0.1 3 5 5 2 0 0 3.64 Robertson 0.2 3 2 2 0 0 1 6.31 Britton 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.02

Pitches-strikes: Byrd 106-66, Delcarmen 17-9, Timlin 21-15, Ponson 89-51, Ramirez 8-4, Marte 19-13, Veras 23-9, Robertson 18-10, Britton 10-9. Groundouts-flyouts: Byrd 4-9, Delcarmen 0-1, Timlin 5-1, Ponson 6-4, Ramirez 3-1, Marte 1-0, Veras 0-1, Robertson 1-1, Britton 1-0. Batters faced: Byrd 25, Delcarmen 3, Timlin 8, Ponson 23, Ramirez 4, Marte 3, Veras 6, Robertson 5, Britton 3. Inherited runners-scored: Ramirez 2-0, Robertson 2-2. Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Gary Cederstrom. 2B: Fieldin Culbreth. 3B: Jim Reynolds. Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, R to L. T: 3:16. Att: 55,027.

A Drubbing

There's no other way to describe last night's game with Toronto. Sidney Ponson got his ass kicked from the start, and the weak-hitting Yankees weren't staging a comeback against one of the best pitchers in the game, Roy Halladay. The result was a 14-3 drubbing that dropped the Yankees a half-game further back in the wildcard race and moved the Blue Jays back to within one game of the Yankees for third place in the AL East.

The lone bright spot for the Yanks was Hideki Matsui's first home run since June 12. It accounted for all three Yankees runs. Every Yankees pitcher, with the exception of Edwar Ramirez, was touched up for at least one run. After Ponson, who allowed seven runs in two innings, Billy Traber was the next biggest victim, allowing four runs in just 2.1 IP. The Blue Jays had 21 hits in all, led by light-hitting Marco Scutaro, who had a 4-hit, 4-RBI night.


News and Notes

Derek Jeter was 1-4 to give him 2,499 hits.

August 21, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0		3	7	1
Toronto	1	1	5	3	3	0	0	1	X		14	21	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF-LF	3	0	1	0	1	2	1	.313
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.297
Ransom, SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.288
Molina, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.227
Rodriguez, A, 3B	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	.308
Betemit, 3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.259
Giambi, 1B	3	0	2	0	0	1	0	.250
Gardner, CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.189
Nady, LF-RF	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.327
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	3	0	0	2	.317
Cano, 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.261
Rodriguez, I, C	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	.288
Totals	32	3	7	3	2	10	13
BATTING HR: Matsui (8, 7th inning off Halladay, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Giambi 2; Nady; Matsui 4; Rodriguez, I. RBI: Matsui 3 (37). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, A; Jeter. GIDP: Abreu. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Damon 2 (23, 2nd base off Halladay/Barajas, 2nd base off Halladay/Barajas). FIELDING E: Giambi (7, fielding).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ponson (L, 7-4)	2.0	8	7	7	1	0	0	4.67
Robertson	1.1	3	2	2	1	1	0	5.96
Traber	2.1	7	4	4	1	2	1	7.02
Ramirez	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.57
Britton	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	0	4.61

Toronto	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Inglett, 2B	5	3	4	0	1	0	2	.308
Scutaro, 3B	6	3	4	4	0	1	4	.268
Rios, RF	6	2	3	3	0	1	2	.289
Wells, V, CF	4	1	0	0	1	0	2	.284
Lind, LF	5	3	3	1	0	1	0	.303
Overbay, 1B	4	0	1	0	1	2	4	.267
Stairs, DH	5	0	2	3	0	1	5	.248
Barajas, C	4	1	2	1	0	0	4	.255
McDonald, SS	5	1	2	2	0	0	4	.222
Totals	44	14	21	14	3	6	27
BATTING 2B: Inglett (10, Ponson), Rios (37, Ponson), Stairs (11, Traber), Barajas (18, Britton), Scutaro (14, Britton). HR: Scutaro (5, 5th inning off Traber, 2 on, 0 out). TB: Inglett 5; Scutaro 8; Rios 4; Lind 3; Overbay; Stairs 3; Barajas 3; McDonald 2. RBI: Rios 3 (58), Barajas (41), Lind (36), McDonald 2 (16), Stairs 3 (44), Scutaro 4 (47). 2-out RBI: McDonald 2; Stairs 3; Scutaro. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Inglett; Barajas; Scutaro 2; Overbay; Rios 2. SF: Barajas. Team LOB: 10. BASERUNNING CS: Rios (8, 2nd base by Ponson/Rodriguez, I). FIELDING DP: 2 (Inglett-McDonald-Overbay, Inglett-Overbay).

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Halladay (W, 15-9) 7.0 5 3 3 2 9 1 2.68 Downs 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.38 League 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.08

Ponson pitched to 5 batters in the 3rd. Pitches-strikes: Ponson 51-31, Robertson 31-19, Traber 48-34, Ramirez 6-4, Britton 38-27, Halladay 94-66, Downs 13-10, League 8-6. Ground outs-fly outs: Ponson 2-3, Robertson 0-3, Traber 1-4, Ramirez 0-0, Britton 0-4, Halladay 7-4, Downs 2-0, League 3-0. Batters faced: Ponson 14, Robertson 8, Traber 15, Ramirez 1, Britton 10, Halladay 27, Downs 3, League 4. Inherited runners-scored: Robertson 2-2, Traber 2-2, Ramirez 3-0. Umpires: HP: Lance Barksdale. 1B: Doug Eddings. 2B: Ted Barrett. 3B: Dana DeMuth. Weather: 73 degrees, clear. Wind: 5 mph, Out to LF. T: 2:57. Att: 37,037.