Elliot Johnson Finally Pays Off Debt, Yankees Back in 1st

Let's go into the way back machine, back to Spring Training, March 8, 2008. Yankees playing the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa. Elliot Johnson of the Rays races to the plate and barrels over and through Yankees up and coming catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Cervelli's wrist was broken, Joe Girardi was livid, and Joe Maddon and the Rays made a statement that they weren't going to be stepped on any more. The play led to an eventual brawl when Shelley Duncan slid in spikes high on Akinori Iwamura four days later. Cervelli's season was pretty much done- he was limited to just 27 games in the minor leagues in 2008.

It took four years, but Elliot Johnson finally said he was sorry. Well, ok, not really, but his throwing error in the 7th inning gave the Yankees the lead back for good and helped them reclaim sole possession of first place.

Hiroki Kuroda was handed 3-1 and 4-3 leads, but couldn't hold either. But a slumping Andruw Jones singled off Rays' starter Matt Moore to start the top of the 7th. Steve Pearce followed with a single of his own before Jayson Nix sacrificed pinch-runner Ichiro Suzuki and Pearce into scoring position.

Former Yankee Kyle Farnsworth got a ground ball from Derek Jeter, but second baseman Johnson's throw sailed wide of catcher Jose Lobaton. Not only did Suzuki score, but Pearce raced home with a second run.

The Rays put two men aboard against Boone Logan and David Robertson in the 8th, but D-Rob got Matt Joyce to pop out to end the inning. The 9th was Rafael Soriano time and the closer untucked his jersey for the first time in days after he retired the Rays in order for his 36th save.

Notes

While the Rays fell back to 2.5 games out, the Orioles dropped back into second place, 1 game out after a 6-4 loss to Toronto. The Yankees and O's begin a four game series in Baltimore on Thursday.

Yankees Grab 1st Place

Yankees Have Got Sole

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: al aceves • andy pettitte • Bob Welch • Cliff Lee • Dennis Eckersley • Derek Jeter • Grady Sizemore • Jorge Posada • mariano rivera • nick swisher • Victor Martinez • Yankees 5/29 recap • Yankees vs. Indians

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

WP - Pettitte (5-1) SV - Rivera (10) LP - Lee (2-6)

It’s a statistic that is hard to imagine for a team that has had its’ share of success since the mid-90’s. With the Yankees‘ 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians last night, the Bombers moved into sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time since the final game of the 2006 season. They won for the 13th time in 16 games despite a shaky outing from Andy Pettitte, who walked five batters in 5+ innings and had to leave the game in the 6th with a sore back.

The offense wasted a bases-loaded opportunity in the 1st inning, but scored a pair of runs off reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee in the 2nd and never trailed. A one-out walk to Nick Swisher and a single by Brett Gardner put runners on the corners for the red hot Derek Jeter (11-24 over the last four games, and a 2-game hitting streak). The Captain came through with an RBI single to left field for a 1-0 lead. Johnny Damon’s single loaded the bases and set up Mark Teixeira’s RBI ground out.

The Yankees added their final run in the 3rd on singles by Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada, and a sac fly by Swisher. Then it was up to Pettitte and the bullpen to make the lead stand up. The Yankees’ left-hander escaped a 2-on no-out situation in the 2nd with three ground ball outs. In the 3rd, he walked Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta to load the bases with two outs, but retired Mark DeRosa on a ground out to Cano.

Pettitte doubled over in the 4th after delivering a pitch, prompting a visit from manager Joe Girardi and assistant trainer Steve Donahue. Pettitte insisted he was all right, but when he walked DeRosa and Ben Francisco to start the 6th, and fell behind Jamey Carroll, 2-0, Girardi decided enough was enough. Pettitte, who strained his back in Texas, didn’t want to come out, but later admitted it was the right decision.

Al Aceves, the Yankees’ new version of Ramiro Mendoza, came on and completed the walk to Carroll to loaded the bases with no one out, but escaped with just one run scoring on a Shin-Soo Choo sacrifice fly. Aceves followed with two scoreless innings before Mariano Rivera came in to pitch for the first time since last Sunday. Choo led off the 9th with a flare single, but the Yankees’ closer struck out Asdrubel Cabrera and Grady Sizemore, and retired the dangerous Martinez on a ground out to Teixeira for his 492nd career save.

Game Notes

Mariano Rivera’s 10th save of the season was his 58th career save of an Andy Pettitte win. That breaks the major league record shared by Dennis Eckersley and Bob Welch.

To activate Jorge Posada, the Yankees sent fellow catcher Kevin Cash down to Scranton. The Indians recalled reliever Rafael Perez before the game and designated former Yankee David Dellucci for assignment.

Xavier Nady (elbow) and Jose Molina (quad) both played in an extended spring training game on Friday. Nady, who DH’ed, is expected to resume throwing on Monday.