Matsui 3-run Homer Topples Rangers
Hideki Matsui hit a long 3-run home run to highlight another 5-run inning against Texas as the Yankees held on for an 8-5 win. The Yankees scored 5 runs an inning in each of the three games in the series. This time it was Matsui, bouncing back from an oh-fer on Saturday, to hit a Robinson Tejeda (1-1) to one of the deepest parts of right field. The Yankees weren't finished either. Robinson Cano and Bernie Williams followed with singles and Bubba Crosby was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kelly Stinnett, starting to give Jorge Posada a day off, delivered his first two RBI of the season with a single to left.
Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang (2-1) was much better than his last start in which he walked four batters. This time he didn't issue any free passes and allowed 3 runs in 6 innings for a quality start. Wang scattered 7 hits while striking out two. Wang nearly left the game with only one run allowed, but allowed a two-out two-run single to Hank Blalock in the 6th to cut the lead to 7-3.
Bernie Williams gave the Yankees a little extra breathing room with an RBI single in the 7th. Texas scored unearned runs off Tanyon Sturtze and Mariano Rivera as Sturtze and Andy Phillips made critical errors.
Notes
The Yankees went 5-1 on the road trip, winning the last 5 straight against Tampa Bay and Texas. The Yankees will open a three game series with Boston at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. The Yankees have an eight percentage point lead over the Sox for first place in the AL East.
Monday, May 8, 2006
Saturday, May 6, 2006
Yankees Slug Rangers, 6-1
Giambi, A-Rod go deep in the heart of Texas
On Friday night the Yankees jumped out to a big lead and hung on tight as their bullpen nearly tossed the game away. The Yankees would have a big inning again Saturday night, but this time the pen slammed the door shut on any thought of a Rangers comeback.
Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez both homered as the Yankees took a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Shawn Chacon (4-1) won his fourth straight decision despite walking the tightrope in the early going. Rangers starter Kameron Loe (1-3) struck out Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter to start the game and fired up the crowd in the process. He then got a head of Giambi 1-2, before Giambi, who walked twice in the game, worked the count full. Loe's next pitch caught too much of the plate and Giambi's bat caught all of the ball, sending it over the 400 foot sign in straight-away center field for a 1-0 lead.
Texas quickly tied it off Chacon in the bottom of the first when Hank Blalock's 2-out single drove in Michael Young. With two men aboard Kevin Mench than drove one to deep center. Damon got a good jump on the ball and caught it with his glove outstretched before crashing into the wall.
Texas threatened again in the fourth, loading the bases on a double by Phil Nevin and two-out walks by Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas. Chacon hung tough though, getting Mark DeRosa to hit into a force-out to end the threat.
The Yankees snapped the tie and broke the game open in the sixth. After leading off with a single, Damon attempted to steal second. The Rangers called for a pitch out , but neither shortstop Michael Young or second baseman Mark DeRosa covered second base. Catcher Rod Barajas's throw sailed into center field, Damon taking third on the play. Derek Jeter followed with a single to give the Bombers a 2-1 lead. After a walk to Giambi, Alex Rodriguez sent Loe to the showers with a 3-run home run to deep left field. The Yankees added one final run off of reliever Ron Mahay on singles by Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, and Bubba Crosby. Crosby was filling in for Gary Sheffield who sat out with continued pain and inflexibility in his left wrist.
Chacon left after 6 1-3 innings, with a pitching line Yankees fans have become accustomed too. 5 hits and 4 walks allowed, but just one run given up. He also struck out 6. Tanyon Sturtze and Scott Proctor finished up in uneventful fashion, much to the delight of Joe Torre, who won his 999th game as Yankees manager.
Notes
Joe Torre checked with Gary Sheffield before the game about his availability. When Torre discovered that Sheffield was not 100%, he put Bubba Crosby in right field and put Alex Rodriguez back in the clean up spot. Sheffield will most likely sit out on Sunday too.
On Friday night the Yankees jumped out to a big lead and hung on tight as their bullpen nearly tossed the game away. The Yankees would have a big inning again Saturday night, but this time the pen slammed the door shut on any thought of a Rangers comeback.
Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez both homered as the Yankees took a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Shawn Chacon (4-1) won his fourth straight decision despite walking the tightrope in the early going. Rangers starter Kameron Loe (1-3) struck out Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter to start the game and fired up the crowd in the process. He then got a head of Giambi 1-2, before Giambi, who walked twice in the game, worked the count full. Loe's next pitch caught too much of the plate and Giambi's bat caught all of the ball, sending it over the 400 foot sign in straight-away center field for a 1-0 lead.
Texas quickly tied it off Chacon in the bottom of the first when Hank Blalock's 2-out single drove in Michael Young. With two men aboard Kevin Mench than drove one to deep center. Damon got a good jump on the ball and caught it with his glove outstretched before crashing into the wall.
Texas threatened again in the fourth, loading the bases on a double by Phil Nevin and two-out walks by Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas. Chacon hung tough though, getting Mark DeRosa to hit into a force-out to end the threat.
The Yankees snapped the tie and broke the game open in the sixth. After leading off with a single, Damon attempted to steal second. The Rangers called for a pitch out , but neither shortstop Michael Young or second baseman Mark DeRosa covered second base. Catcher Rod Barajas's throw sailed into center field, Damon taking third on the play. Derek Jeter followed with a single to give the Bombers a 2-1 lead. After a walk to Giambi, Alex Rodriguez sent Loe to the showers with a 3-run home run to deep left field. The Yankees added one final run off of reliever Ron Mahay on singles by Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, and Bubba Crosby. Crosby was filling in for Gary Sheffield who sat out with continued pain and inflexibility in his left wrist.
Chacon left after 6 1-3 innings, with a pitching line Yankees fans have become accustomed too. 5 hits and 4 walks allowed, but just one run given up. He also struck out 6. Tanyon Sturtze and Scott Proctor finished up in uneventful fashion, much to the delight of Joe Torre, who won his 999th game as Yankees manager.
Notes
Joe Torre checked with Gary Sheffield before the game about his availability. When Torre discovered that Sheffield was not 100%, he put Bubba Crosby in right field and put Alex Rodriguez back in the clean up spot. Sheffield will most likely sit out on Sunday too.
B-u-l-l-p-e-n Doesn't Spell Relief, But Yanks Win 8-7
Trio Nearly Blow Mussina Gem
Mike Mussina (5-1) retired to the Yankee dugout one batter into the 7th inning. He had thrown just 86 pitches and left with an 8-1 lead. Aaron Small, Kyle Farnsworth, and even Mariano Rivera had Mussina and the rest of the Yankees biting their nails as they barely hung on for an 8-7 victory.
Joe Torre decide to conserve some of Mussina's strength with his next start coming against the Red Sox next week. Mussina had allowed a lead off single to Kevin Mench to start the eighth. It was just the third hit Mussina had allowed and the first since the 4th inning. Aaron Small was the first to job in from the pen and was quickly greeted by consecutive singles by Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas for the Rangers second run of the game, and the final run changed to Mussina. After Mark DeRosa's fielder's choice knocked in another run, Gary Matthews Jr. chased Small with another single. Michael Young greeted Kyle Farnsworth with a single to load the bases, bringing the dangerous Mark Texeira to the plate. Farnsworth battled to strike him out for the second out of the inning. He wasn't so lucky with Phil Nevin who walked to forced in the third run of the inning to cut the lead to 8-4.
Mariano Rivera came on to try to kill the rally, but Hank Blalock, who is now 4-9 lifetime against the Yankee closer, singled to right to cut the lead to 8-6. Mench's second single of the inning narrowed the margin to one run and brought Torre out to the mound to settle down Rivera. Mo quickly got ahead of Brad Wilkerson 0-2, but then hit him to once again load the bases. Barajas finally ended the inning when his one-hopper was handled by Robinson Cano who stepped on second to force out Wilkerson.
Rivera allowed a one-out single to Matthews in the 9th, but retired Young and Texeira to notch his 6th save.
The Yankees looked like they were going to have a laugher against Rangers starter Vincente Padilla (3-2). Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter started the first with consecutive singles to put Padilla in an immediate jam. Gary Sheffield struck out, but Jason Giambi drew his 31st walk of the season to load the bases. Alex Rodriguez slow grounder forced Giambi at second, but brought Damon across for a 1-0 lead. Consecutive walks by Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada forced in a second run before Padilla got Cano to fly out to left.
Matsui's doubled to left to start another rally in the 4th with the Yankees leading 2-1. A one-out single by Cano and a walk to Bernie Williams loaded the bases for Johnny Damon. Damon's deep fly to left was missed by Wilkerson to produce a long single and a 3-1 lead. Jeter hit a potential double play grounder to Hank Blalock at third, but DeRosa came off of second base early and Jeter beat the relay to first for a 4-1 lead and the bases remained loaded. Somehow Blalock was charged with the error even though his throw was accurate. Padilla retired Sheffield on a pop-up, but then once again walked Giambi to force a run across. Buck Showalter finally made a pitching change when Alex Rodriguez's line drive 2-run single up the middle nearly took Padilla's head off and increased the lead to 7-1. When Jeter added a tack on run with an RBI single in the fifth, no one realized it would be the difference in the ball game.
Notes
Mike Mussina kept his streak alive with a quality start in every one of his 7 appearances. The victory was the 229th of his career.
Bernie Williams has 6 hits in his last 13 trips to increase his average to .260. The same as Alex Rodriguez who got there with 2 hits last night.
Mike Mussina (5-1) retired to the Yankee dugout one batter into the 7th inning. He had thrown just 86 pitches and left with an 8-1 lead. Aaron Small, Kyle Farnsworth, and even Mariano Rivera had Mussina and the rest of the Yankees biting their nails as they barely hung on for an 8-7 victory.
Joe Torre decide to conserve some of Mussina's strength with his next start coming against the Red Sox next week. Mussina had allowed a lead off single to Kevin Mench to start the eighth. It was just the third hit Mussina had allowed and the first since the 4th inning. Aaron Small was the first to job in from the pen and was quickly greeted by consecutive singles by Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas for the Rangers second run of the game, and the final run changed to Mussina. After Mark DeRosa's fielder's choice knocked in another run, Gary Matthews Jr. chased Small with another single. Michael Young greeted Kyle Farnsworth with a single to load the bases, bringing the dangerous Mark Texeira to the plate. Farnsworth battled to strike him out for the second out of the inning. He wasn't so lucky with Phil Nevin who walked to forced in the third run of the inning to cut the lead to 8-4.
Mariano Rivera came on to try to kill the rally, but Hank Blalock, who is now 4-9 lifetime against the Yankee closer, singled to right to cut the lead to 8-6. Mench's second single of the inning narrowed the margin to one run and brought Torre out to the mound to settle down Rivera. Mo quickly got ahead of Brad Wilkerson 0-2, but then hit him to once again load the bases. Barajas finally ended the inning when his one-hopper was handled by Robinson Cano who stepped on second to force out Wilkerson.
Rivera allowed a one-out single to Matthews in the 9th, but retired Young and Texeira to notch his 6th save.
The Yankees looked like they were going to have a laugher against Rangers starter Vincente Padilla (3-2). Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter started the first with consecutive singles to put Padilla in an immediate jam. Gary Sheffield struck out, but Jason Giambi drew his 31st walk of the season to load the bases. Alex Rodriguez slow grounder forced Giambi at second, but brought Damon across for a 1-0 lead. Consecutive walks by Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada forced in a second run before Padilla got Cano to fly out to left.
Matsui's doubled to left to start another rally in the 4th with the Yankees leading 2-1. A one-out single by Cano and a walk to Bernie Williams loaded the bases for Johnny Damon. Damon's deep fly to left was missed by Wilkerson to produce a long single and a 3-1 lead. Jeter hit a potential double play grounder to Hank Blalock at third, but DeRosa came off of second base early and Jeter beat the relay to first for a 4-1 lead and the bases remained loaded. Somehow Blalock was charged with the error even though his throw was accurate. Padilla retired Sheffield on a pop-up, but then once again walked Giambi to force a run across. Buck Showalter finally made a pitching change when Alex Rodriguez's line drive 2-run single up the middle nearly took Padilla's head off and increased the lead to 7-1. When Jeter added a tack on run with an RBI single in the fifth, no one realized it would be the difference in the ball game.
Notes
Mike Mussina kept his streak alive with a quality start in every one of his 7 appearances. The victory was the 229th of his career.
Bernie Williams has 6 hits in his last 13 trips to increase his average to .260. The same as Alex Rodriguez who got there with 2 hits last night.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Yankees Go Gunning in Texas (5/5)
The Yankees begin a 3 game series tonight with the red hot Texas Rangers. The Buck Showalter led club has won 6 straight to take a 1 1/2 game lead over Oakland in the AL West with a 17-12 mark. The Rangers have been known for their hitting, but this year their team ERA of 4.21 ranks 5th in the AL (10th in MLB). The Yankees will miss the ace of the staff, Kevin Millwood, who won his 3rd game last night and has the best ERA among the starters at 3.52. The Yankees will also miss rookie John Koronka who has 3 wins and a second best 3.55 ERA.
Pitching match ups for the series are as follows:
Friday - Mike Mussina (4-1, 2.45) vs. Vincente Padilla (3-1, 4.02)
Saturday - Shawn Chacon (3-1, 4.56) vs. Kameron Loe (1-2, 4.15)
Sunday - Chien-Ming Wang (1-1, 4.89) vs. Robinson Tejeda (1-0, 3.60)
No Yankee has more than 10 at-bats against Padilla with the exception of Gary Sheffield. Sheffield is hitting a lofty .417 (15-36) with 3 home runs against the right hander. Loe has faced the Yankees in two relief appearances that covered 3 innings. He allowed 2 runs including a home run to Bernie Williams.
Miguel Cairo is the only Yankee to face Tejeda and that was in the NL when Cairo was with the Mets and Tejeda was on the Phillies. Cairo was hitless in three trips.
Texas closer Francisco Cordero struggled with shoulder problems in Spring Training and the apparently carried over to the regular season. He had 5 blown saves in April alone and has lost the closer's job, at least for the moment. Akinori Otsuka, acquired this past winter from San Diego, has picked up 3 saves as Cordero's replacement and has a 1.98 ERA.
Kevin Mench, who's huge head will be mentioned many times by Michael Kay this weekend, leads the team with 9 home runs and 24 runs batted in. Michael Young, last year's AL batting title winner, leads the team with a .328 average. Stud first baseman Mark Texeira is off to a slow start, batting .276 with just 4 home runs and 16 RBI.
Outfielder/1st Baseman Brad Wilkerson could miss a game or the entire series after suffering a mild concussion when he collided with the left field wall in last night's game. He also banged up his sore right shoulder that troubled him with the Expos/Nationals.
Pitching match ups for the series are as follows:
Friday - Mike Mussina (4-1, 2.45) vs. Vincente Padilla (3-1, 4.02)
Saturday - Shawn Chacon (3-1, 4.56) vs. Kameron Loe (1-2, 4.15)
Sunday - Chien-Ming Wang (1-1, 4.89) vs. Robinson Tejeda (1-0, 3.60)
No Yankee has more than 10 at-bats against Padilla with the exception of Gary Sheffield. Sheffield is hitting a lofty .417 (15-36) with 3 home runs against the right hander. Loe has faced the Yankees in two relief appearances that covered 3 innings. He allowed 2 runs including a home run to Bernie Williams.
Miguel Cairo is the only Yankee to face Tejeda and that was in the NL when Cairo was with the Mets and Tejeda was on the Phillies. Cairo was hitless in three trips.
Texas closer Francisco Cordero struggled with shoulder problems in Spring Training and the apparently carried over to the regular season. He had 5 blown saves in April alone and has lost the closer's job, at least for the moment. Akinori Otsuka, acquired this past winter from San Diego, has picked up 3 saves as Cordero's replacement and has a 1.98 ERA.
Kevin Mench, who's huge head will be mentioned many times by Michael Kay this weekend, leads the team with 9 home runs and 24 runs batted in. Michael Young, last year's AL batting title winner, leads the team with a .328 average. Stud first baseman Mark Texeira is off to a slow start, batting .276 with just 4 home runs and 16 RBI.
Outfielder/1st Baseman Brad Wilkerson could miss a game or the entire series after suffering a mild concussion when he collided with the left field wall in last night's game. He also banged up his sore right shoulder that troubled him with the Expos/Nationals.
Damon Slams Door On Devil Rays, 10-5 (5/5)
Grand Slam Overcomes Poor Outing By Unit
The much talked about Yankee lineup has not come through as often as they would like this year. The team has failed in the clutch a number of times, especially in low scoring, close games. Last night Yankees starter Randy Johnson (5-2) struggled for the third time in four starts, but this the Yankees offense picked him up.
The Yankees had taken a 4-3 in the top of the fifth, but the Devil Rays took the lead right back in their half of the inning on Ty Wigginton's 2-run home run. It would stay that way until two out in the 7th when Gary Sheffield, pinch-hitting for Bubba Crosby, singled to center. Rays manager Joe Maddon replaced reliever Brian Meadows with Chad Orvella (1-2) to face the top of the Yankees batting order. Johnny Damon singled to chase Sheffield to third and Derek Jeter followed with a walk to load the bases. Orville nearly had Jason Giambi on a called third strike, but home plate umpire Doug Eddings called the pitch a ball. Orvella's next pitch was well out of the strike zone to walk Giambi and force home Sheffield with the tying run. Shawn Camp replaced Orville and hit Alex Rodriguez with his first pitch to force in the go ahead run.
The Yankees finally busted things open in the 8th. Jorge Posada drew a lead off walk, which got Maddon calling on Dan Miceli to face Robinson Cano. Miceli couldn't handle Cano's tapper for an error and the stage was set for another rally. After Bernie Williams sacrificed the runners over, Maddon decided to intentionally walk Gary Sheffield to set up a force at any base. Damon made the Rays pay when he blasted a Miceli pitch deep into the right field seats for a 10-5 lead. The slam was the 5th of Damon's career.
The Rays had one final threat in the bottom of the 8th when they loaded the bases against Scott Proctor and Mike Myers. Myers got Tomas Perez to hit a high chopper to Rodriguez who beat Travis Lee to the bag at third for an inning ending force out.
The Devil Rays took the first lead of the ball game when Johnny Gomes doubled in Joey Gathright in the first. Hideki Matsui continued to bust out of his slump by roping a solo home run off of starter Doug Waechter in the right field seats.
The Rays scored two more off Johnson in the third on RBI singles by Carl Crawford and Wiggington to take a 3-1 lead. Doug Waecther wasn't any better than Johnson though and gave up an RBI double to Cano and RBI single to Williams in the fifth to take the lead. Wigginton's home run quickly wiped that lead out.
Johnson struggled with his command throughout the evening. His fastball topped out at 92-93 mph, but for the most part was 89-91. His slider was flat and he threw many sore splitters than usual. It all amounted to 92 pitches in 6 2-3 innings. Johnson was charged with 5 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 strike outs, and a hit batsman. He raised his record to 5-2 despite having his ERA balloon to 5.02.
Johnson has been nothing less than horrendous in 3 of his past 4 starts. That one start, vs. Baltimore, Johnson looked like "The Unit", the scowling hard throwing lefty. He allowed just a run on three hits in eight innings in that game on April 23. In his three other starts though, he has been torched for 18 runs in just 15 innings. That's a 10.80 ERA. He allowed 22 hits and walked 8, while allowing 4 home runs. Thanks to the Yankees hitters, he actually won 2 of the 3 games. Johnson's next start will be next week against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Notes
Hideki Matsui's adjustments to his hands continued to pay off last night as he had 3 hits, raising his average to .272. On the other hand, Alex Rodriguez continues to scuffle. He took the collar in 4 trips, dropping him to .250.
The Yankees top rated prospect,Phillip Hughes, made his Double-A debut for the Trenton Thunder last night. Hughes was less than stellar as he allowed 4 runs is 6 innings pitched, and took the loss.
Ramiro Mendoza made his season debut at Columbus after pitching in extended Spring Training. He struck out three in 2 1-3 scoreless innings. Hopefully he, or anyone else, can replace Tanyon Sturtze who is number #1 on my shit list.
The much talked about Yankee lineup has not come through as often as they would like this year. The team has failed in the clutch a number of times, especially in low scoring, close games. Last night Yankees starter Randy Johnson (5-2) struggled for the third time in four starts, but this the Yankees offense picked him up.
The Yankees had taken a 4-3 in the top of the fifth, but the Devil Rays took the lead right back in their half of the inning on Ty Wigginton's 2-run home run. It would stay that way until two out in the 7th when Gary Sheffield, pinch-hitting for Bubba Crosby, singled to center. Rays manager Joe Maddon replaced reliever Brian Meadows with Chad Orvella (1-2) to face the top of the Yankees batting order. Johnny Damon singled to chase Sheffield to third and Derek Jeter followed with a walk to load the bases. Orville nearly had Jason Giambi on a called third strike, but home plate umpire Doug Eddings called the pitch a ball. Orvella's next pitch was well out of the strike zone to walk Giambi and force home Sheffield with the tying run. Shawn Camp replaced Orville and hit Alex Rodriguez with his first pitch to force in the go ahead run.
The Yankees finally busted things open in the 8th. Jorge Posada drew a lead off walk, which got Maddon calling on Dan Miceli to face Robinson Cano. Miceli couldn't handle Cano's tapper for an error and the stage was set for another rally. After Bernie Williams sacrificed the runners over, Maddon decided to intentionally walk Gary Sheffield to set up a force at any base. Damon made the Rays pay when he blasted a Miceli pitch deep into the right field seats for a 10-5 lead. The slam was the 5th of Damon's career.
The Rays had one final threat in the bottom of the 8th when they loaded the bases against Scott Proctor and Mike Myers. Myers got Tomas Perez to hit a high chopper to Rodriguez who beat Travis Lee to the bag at third for an inning ending force out.
The Devil Rays took the first lead of the ball game when Johnny Gomes doubled in Joey Gathright in the first. Hideki Matsui continued to bust out of his slump by roping a solo home run off of starter Doug Waechter in the right field seats.
The Rays scored two more off Johnson in the third on RBI singles by Carl Crawford and Wiggington to take a 3-1 lead. Doug Waecther wasn't any better than Johnson though and gave up an RBI double to Cano and RBI single to Williams in the fifth to take the lead. Wigginton's home run quickly wiped that lead out.
Johnson struggled with his command throughout the evening. His fastball topped out at 92-93 mph, but for the most part was 89-91. His slider was flat and he threw many sore splitters than usual. It all amounted to 92 pitches in 6 2-3 innings. Johnson was charged with 5 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 strike outs, and a hit batsman. He raised his record to 5-2 despite having his ERA balloon to 5.02.
Johnson has been nothing less than horrendous in 3 of his past 4 starts. That one start, vs. Baltimore, Johnson looked like "The Unit", the scowling hard throwing lefty. He allowed just a run on three hits in eight innings in that game on April 23. In his three other starts though, he has been torched for 18 runs in just 15 innings. That's a 10.80 ERA. He allowed 22 hits and walked 8, while allowing 4 home runs. Thanks to the Yankees hitters, he actually won 2 of the 3 games. Johnson's next start will be next week against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Notes
Hideki Matsui's adjustments to his hands continued to pay off last night as he had 3 hits, raising his average to .272. On the other hand, Alex Rodriguez continues to scuffle. He took the collar in 4 trips, dropping him to .250.
The Yankees top rated prospect,Phillip Hughes, made his Double-A debut for the Trenton Thunder last night. Hughes was less than stellar as he allowed 4 runs is 6 innings pitched, and took the loss.
Ramiro Mendoza made his season debut at Columbus after pitching in extended Spring Training. He struck out three in 2 1-3 scoreless innings. Hopefully he, or anyone else, can replace Tanyon Sturtze who is number #1 on my shit list.
Thursday, May 4, 2006
A-Rod, Matsui Break Out in 10th vs. Rays
Slumping Duo Deliver Winning Hits in 4-2 Victory
Alex Rodriguez had was on a 3-27 when he came to bat in the top of the 10th last night at Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL. The Yankees had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out and the Devil Rays had the infield in. An ideal situation for a hitter even one in a slump. Rodriguez had already hit into an inning ending double play with two men aboard in the sixth. This time Rodriguez came through, lining a single to center to score Johnny Damon and move Derek Jeter to third. The next hitter was Hideki Matsui, who after making some adjustments to his grip, had solid at-bats in the game. That included a drive that was snared by right fielder Damon Hollins, robbing him of extra bases, in the second. Matsui pulled a pitch through the ride side for a base hit to give the Yankees a 4-2. Mariano Rivera closed things out with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the 10th for his 5th save.
Damon started off the 10th with a ground rule double off of reliever Tyler Walker (0-2). After Jeter walked, Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon deployed the right side overshift on Jason Giambi even though two men were on. Giambi hit the ball right at shortstop Tomas Perez who had no choice but to throw to first to get Giambi. A-Rod and Matsui then finally made an opponent pay the price for putting men on in front of them.
Yankee starter Jaret Wright didn't figure in the decision, but much to the Yankees relief came out with a quality start. Wright gave up a 2-run home run to Tomas Perez in the fifth, but allowed just 3 hits over 6 innings of work. Kyle Farnsworth worked an inning and a third to earn his first victory as a Yankee.
Rays starter Casey Fossum blanked the Yankees through the first six innings, but was chased in the seventh when he gave up a one-out single to Bernie Williams and a double to Robinson Cano. Joe Torre sent Jorge Posada up to pinch-hit for Andy Phillips against hard throwing right-hander Chad Orvella. Posada delivered with an RBI single to right to cut the lead in half. Miguel Cairo's soft grounder to third scored Cano with the tying run.
Notes
Another slumping that broke out last night was Bernie Williams. Bernie came into the game in a 3-22 slide, but had 3 hits to raise his average to .246.
Gary Sheffield's left wrist feels a lot better and he might be in tonight's lineup.
Alex Rodriguez had was on a 3-27 when he came to bat in the top of the 10th last night at Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL. The Yankees had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out and the Devil Rays had the infield in. An ideal situation for a hitter even one in a slump. Rodriguez had already hit into an inning ending double play with two men aboard in the sixth. This time Rodriguez came through, lining a single to center to score Johnny Damon and move Derek Jeter to third. The next hitter was Hideki Matsui, who after making some adjustments to his grip, had solid at-bats in the game. That included a drive that was snared by right fielder Damon Hollins, robbing him of extra bases, in the second. Matsui pulled a pitch through the ride side for a base hit to give the Yankees a 4-2. Mariano Rivera closed things out with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the 10th for his 5th save.
Damon started off the 10th with a ground rule double off of reliever Tyler Walker (0-2). After Jeter walked, Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon deployed the right side overshift on Jason Giambi even though two men were on. Giambi hit the ball right at shortstop Tomas Perez who had no choice but to throw to first to get Giambi. A-Rod and Matsui then finally made an opponent pay the price for putting men on in front of them.
Yankee starter Jaret Wright didn't figure in the decision, but much to the Yankees relief came out with a quality start. Wright gave up a 2-run home run to Tomas Perez in the fifth, but allowed just 3 hits over 6 innings of work. Kyle Farnsworth worked an inning and a third to earn his first victory as a Yankee.
Rays starter Casey Fossum blanked the Yankees through the first six innings, but was chased in the seventh when he gave up a one-out single to Bernie Williams and a double to Robinson Cano. Joe Torre sent Jorge Posada up to pinch-hit for Andy Phillips against hard throwing right-hander Chad Orvella. Posada delivered with an RBI single to right to cut the lead in half. Miguel Cairo's soft grounder to third scored Cano with the tying run.
Notes
Another slumping that broke out last night was Bernie Williams. Bernie came into the game in a 3-22 slide, but had 3 hits to raise his average to .246.
Gary Sheffield's left wrist feels a lot better and he might be in tonight's lineup.
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Check Swings
70 years ago today, May 3, 1936, Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut against the St. Louis Browns.
All-Time Yankees 'D' Team
C Bill Dickey
1B Babe Dahlgren
2B Mariano Duncan
SS Bucky Dent
3B Jumping Joe Dugan
LF Johnny Damon
CF Joe DiMaggio
RF Chile Davis
SP Al Downing
RP Ron Davis
All-Time Yankees 'D' Team
C Bill Dickey
1B Babe Dahlgren
2B Mariano Duncan
SS Bucky Dent
3B Jumping Joe Dugan
LF Johnny Damon
CF Joe DiMaggio
RF Chile Davis
SP Al Downing
RP Ron Davis
Yankees-Rays; MLB Notes (5/3)
The Yankees flew last night from chilly Boston to the warm sun in Tampa, Florida for a 2 game series with the Devil Rays. The Bombers took 2 of 3 from the Rays at Yankees Stadium last week. Jaret Wright faces Casey Fossum in the opener with Randy Johnson squaring off against Doug Waechter on Thursday.
The Yankees come into the series one game behind Boston, though even in the loss column. The Devil Rays have dropped 8 of 11 to fall to the AL East basement with an overall mark of 11-16. The Rays batting order is seriously hurting with regulars Jorge Cantu, Aubrey Huff, and Julio Lugo on the DL. Tampa recently acquired Tyler Walker to help strengthen the bullpen and compete with Doug Miceli for the closer's job. So far Walker has struggled.
The Yankees will most likely be without Gary Sheffield again tonight. Joe Torre could not give an answer when asked how much longer Sheffield would be out of the lineup.
Notes
Carl Pavano continues to slowly make progress towards coming back to the big club. Pavano threw 5 innings in an extended Spring Training game on Tuesday and is set to make an appearance in a single-A game on Sunday.
Octavio Dotel is back throwing after suffering an expected setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees signed veteran left-hander Tommy Phelps to a minor league contract. Phelps made 29 appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers last season.
Recently acquired Jesus Colome has begun throwing on flat ground as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Jason Giambi was named the American League player of the month for April. The Giambino hit .344 with 9 home runs and a league high 27 RBI. He also walked 26 times and had an OPS of over 1.400.
Don Mattingly feels he has found a flaw in Hideki Matsui's swing. Watching DVD copies of games over the last few years, Mattingly found that Matsui's hands were currently much further away from his body. Godzilla has not homered in 73 at-bats.
MLB Notes
Barry Bonds grew closer to Babe Ruth with his 712th career home run against San Diego yesterday. I hope you get stuck on 713!
Houston Astros officials met with the agents for Roger Clemens and reportedly made an offer of $12 million for the remainder of the season. That would pro-rate to $18 million for a full season.
With Derek Lee on the DL, the Chicago Cubs have approached the Baltimore Orioles about Jeff Conine. The Orioles are not interested in making a move right now, and Conine isn't sure he'd want to go anyway.
The Yankees come into the series one game behind Boston, though even in the loss column. The Devil Rays have dropped 8 of 11 to fall to the AL East basement with an overall mark of 11-16. The Rays batting order is seriously hurting with regulars Jorge Cantu, Aubrey Huff, and Julio Lugo on the DL. Tampa recently acquired Tyler Walker to help strengthen the bullpen and compete with Doug Miceli for the closer's job. So far Walker has struggled.
The Yankees will most likely be without Gary Sheffield again tonight. Joe Torre could not give an answer when asked how much longer Sheffield would be out of the lineup.
Notes
Carl Pavano continues to slowly make progress towards coming back to the big club. Pavano threw 5 innings in an extended Spring Training game on Tuesday and is set to make an appearance in a single-A game on Sunday.
Octavio Dotel is back throwing after suffering an expected setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees signed veteran left-hander Tommy Phelps to a minor league contract. Phelps made 29 appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers last season.
Recently acquired Jesus Colome has begun throwing on flat ground as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Jason Giambi was named the American League player of the month for April. The Giambino hit .344 with 9 home runs and a league high 27 RBI. He also walked 26 times and had an OPS of over 1.400.
Don Mattingly feels he has found a flaw in Hideki Matsui's swing. Watching DVD copies of games over the last few years, Mattingly found that Matsui's hands were currently much further away from his body. Godzilla has not homered in 73 at-bats.
MLB Notes
Barry Bonds grew closer to Babe Ruth with his 712th career home run against San Diego yesterday. I hope you get stuck on 713!
Houston Astros officials met with the agents for Roger Clemens and reportedly made an offer of $12 million for the remainder of the season. That would pro-rate to $18 million for a full season.
With Derek Lee on the DL, the Chicago Cubs have approached the Baltimore Orioles about Jeff Conine. The Orioles are not interested in making a move right now, and Conine isn't sure he'd want to go anyway.
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Aggravation 101 (5/2)
There aren't many sporting events that draw my ire like a Yankees-Red Sox games. Last night was another blood pressure elevator. To watch David Ortiz come up with a big hit again and again and again and...You get the idea...Makes my blood boil. I haven't thrown the remote control since Game 5 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals, but these games make me want to break something. Thankfully my wife didn't say, "they still collect their paychecks at the end of the day" or I would have had to bite through my lip to keep the peace.
Now don't get me wrong, I know that the Yankees have been on the positive side of these match ups more times than not, and I'm not one of these young spoiled fans who think it's written in some holy book that the Yankees should win the series every year. But you want to stomp on these bastards every chance you get, just like they want to do the same to the Yankees.
Things have definitely changed over the years though. In the '70s I truly hated the Red Sox players. Fisk, Yaz, and Lee just to mention a few. The '80s brought Clemens and Boggs, but a watered down rivalry since both teams were scuffling for wins. Things heated up again in the late '90s and culminated in the craziness of the 2003 and 2004 playoffs. Outside of Schilling, Millar, and Arroyo though, I didn't feel the same loathing for the Sox players. The fans are a whole other matter. Johnny Damon may have said his team was a bunch of idiots and he was the head idiot, but that doesn't compare to the 35,000 idiots that fill Fenway. I have no problem saying that these people are the biggest morons in all of sport. I don't want to hear some kiss ass announcer talk about how knowledgeable or passionate they are. They are definitely the latter, but knowledgeable? That's funnier than any Seinfeld routine. These are fans that gave up on their team year after year even when they had a sizeable division lead. They're just "wicked" stupid.
Most of the talk before last night's game centered around the return of Johnny Damon to Fenway. Believe me I have no compassion for Johnny Damon returning to a chorus of boos last night in Boston. Damon made his bed. He said he would never play for the Yankees and then changed his mind when the Yankees upped their offer. So what. Damon's no different than any other athlete. Money talks, first and foremost. If Damon had signed with the Twins or Royals, the Sox fans would still be cheering him right now. Finally to the Sox fan who held up a sign aimed at Damon that said, "TRADER", get a dictionary...You idiot.
Now don't get me wrong, I know that the Yankees have been on the positive side of these match ups more times than not, and I'm not one of these young spoiled fans who think it's written in some holy book that the Yankees should win the series every year. But you want to stomp on these bastards every chance you get, just like they want to do the same to the Yankees.
Things have definitely changed over the years though. In the '70s I truly hated the Red Sox players. Fisk, Yaz, and Lee just to mention a few. The '80s brought Clemens and Boggs, but a watered down rivalry since both teams were scuffling for wins. Things heated up again in the late '90s and culminated in the craziness of the 2003 and 2004 playoffs. Outside of Schilling, Millar, and Arroyo though, I didn't feel the same loathing for the Sox players. The fans are a whole other matter. Johnny Damon may have said his team was a bunch of idiots and he was the head idiot, but that doesn't compare to the 35,000 idiots that fill Fenway. I have no problem saying that these people are the biggest morons in all of sport. I don't want to hear some kiss ass announcer talk about how knowledgeable or passionate they are. They are definitely the latter, but knowledgeable? That's funnier than any Seinfeld routine. These are fans that gave up on their team year after year even when they had a sizeable division lead. They're just "wicked" stupid.
Most of the talk before last night's game centered around the return of Johnny Damon to Fenway. Believe me I have no compassion for Johnny Damon returning to a chorus of boos last night in Boston. Damon made his bed. He said he would never play for the Yankees and then changed his mind when the Yankees upped their offer. So what. Damon's no different than any other athlete. Money talks, first and foremost. If Damon had signed with the Twins or Royals, the Sox fans would still be cheering him right now. Finally to the Sox fan who held up a sign aimed at Damon that said, "TRADER", get a dictionary...You idiot.
Monday, May 1, 2006
Yankee Killers Strike Again 7-3 (5/1)
Ortiz Blast, Wakefield's Pitching Do In Bombers Again
Many of the faces may have changed from last season's Boston Red Sox, but one thing hasn't. David Ortiz and Tim Wakefield dominated the Yankees once again in the team's first meeting of the season in Fenway Park. Ortiz capped a four run eighth inning rally with a 3-run blast into the bullpen in right-center. On a night when many fly balls were knocked down by the wind, Ortiz mashed a Mike Myers 3-2 pitch deep into the night. The Red Sox had taken the lead moments earlier when Mark Loretta singled through the middle to score pinch-runner Willie Harris from second.
Aaron Small (0-1) was immediately thrown into the fray after being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day. Small lost his first game as a Yankee after issuing a one-out walk to Alex Cora and hitting Kevin Youkilis. Joe Torre signaled for Tanyon Sturtze to face Loretta. With Robinson Cano holding Harris, who had replaced Cora, close to second, Loretta bounced one back up the middle on the shortstop side of the bag. Cano, who was scurrying back to his position as the pitch was delivered, came up short as he lunged for the ball. Myers then came into the ball game in the situation that he was wanted for most. Unfortunately for the Yankees, he could do no better than his predecessors.
The Yankee bats didn't fair well against Wakefield's knuckler on a windy, chilly night at Fenway. Though he didn't figure in the decision, Wakefield limited the Yankees to just 4 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings. After Ortiz singled in the first run of the game in the first inning, the Yankees rallied in the fourth. A Derek Jeter single was followed by a pair of walks to Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez to load the bases. Hideki Matsui ground out tied the game at one and two batters later Cano singled to center to put the Yankees up 3-1.
Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang struggled out of the gate once again. He threw 40 pitches in the first inning alone as the Red Sox scored one and left the bases loaded. Wang settled in over the next three innings, but the Sox came back at him again in the 5th. Cora led off with a bunt single and Youkilis followed with a single to right. With one out Ortiz singled to left for the second time, loading the bases. Manny Ramirez lined a pitch over the outstretched glove of first baseman Miguel Cairo to cut he lead to 3-2. With the infield back looking to turn two, Trot Nixon grounded out to Cairo whose only play was to first. Loretta came across on the play to tie things up at three. It would stay that way until the scripted ending remained the same.
Notes
Johnny Damon's much awaited return to Boston was uneventful for the former caveman. He went 0-4 and didn't hit the ball with any authority. His first time up, he was serenaded with boos, but also received a fair amount of applause to which he tipped his helmet. He was greeted in the outfield in the bottom of the inning with a shower of paper money.
To make room on the 25 man roster for Aaron Small,Matt Smith was sent down to Columbus. Smith had not allowed a base runner in 2 1-3 innings over 3 games. He record one strike out.
Gary Sheffield arrived at Fenway Park with his left wrist heavily taped. It's unlikely he will play Tuesday night's finale.
When the Yankees got word that Boston was looking to reacquire Doug Mirabelli from San Diego they made an attempt at him too. The move was done solely to keep Wakefield from getting his personal catcher. With the game starting later than usual, 7:15, due to it being televised nationally on ESPN, Mirabelli was able to make it from the airport in time to start the game. His impact was felt immediately as he did not commit a passed ball. Josh Bard had 10 passed balls already this season, necessitating the re-acquisition of Mirabelli.
Derek Jeter made a rare base running error in the top of the eighth. After drawing a one-out walk, Jeter rounded second base to far on Giambi's ground out to first. Jeter actually snuck his left arm around Alex Cora and appeared to be safe on the play, but the view of 2nd base umpire Mike Everitt was blocked on the play and he called Jeter our. Both Jeter and Joe Torre argued to no avail.
Many of the faces may have changed from last season's Boston Red Sox, but one thing hasn't. David Ortiz and Tim Wakefield dominated the Yankees once again in the team's first meeting of the season in Fenway Park. Ortiz capped a four run eighth inning rally with a 3-run blast into the bullpen in right-center. On a night when many fly balls were knocked down by the wind, Ortiz mashed a Mike Myers 3-2 pitch deep into the night. The Red Sox had taken the lead moments earlier when Mark Loretta singled through the middle to score pinch-runner Willie Harris from second.
Aaron Small (0-1) was immediately thrown into the fray after being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day. Small lost his first game as a Yankee after issuing a one-out walk to Alex Cora and hitting Kevin Youkilis. Joe Torre signaled for Tanyon Sturtze to face Loretta. With Robinson Cano holding Harris, who had replaced Cora, close to second, Loretta bounced one back up the middle on the shortstop side of the bag. Cano, who was scurrying back to his position as the pitch was delivered, came up short as he lunged for the ball. Myers then came into the ball game in the situation that he was wanted for most. Unfortunately for the Yankees, he could do no better than his predecessors.
The Yankee bats didn't fair well against Wakefield's knuckler on a windy, chilly night at Fenway. Though he didn't figure in the decision, Wakefield limited the Yankees to just 4 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings. After Ortiz singled in the first run of the game in the first inning, the Yankees rallied in the fourth. A Derek Jeter single was followed by a pair of walks to Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez to load the bases. Hideki Matsui ground out tied the game at one and two batters later Cano singled to center to put the Yankees up 3-1.
Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang struggled out of the gate once again. He threw 40 pitches in the first inning alone as the Red Sox scored one and left the bases loaded. Wang settled in over the next three innings, but the Sox came back at him again in the 5th. Cora led off with a bunt single and Youkilis followed with a single to right. With one out Ortiz singled to left for the second time, loading the bases. Manny Ramirez lined a pitch over the outstretched glove of first baseman Miguel Cairo to cut he lead to 3-2. With the infield back looking to turn two, Trot Nixon grounded out to Cairo whose only play was to first. Loretta came across on the play to tie things up at three. It would stay that way until the scripted ending remained the same.
Notes
Johnny Damon's much awaited return to Boston was uneventful for the former caveman. He went 0-4 and didn't hit the ball with any authority. His first time up, he was serenaded with boos, but also received a fair amount of applause to which he tipped his helmet. He was greeted in the outfield in the bottom of the inning with a shower of paper money.
To make room on the 25 man roster for Aaron Small,Matt Smith was sent down to Columbus. Smith had not allowed a base runner in 2 1-3 innings over 3 games. He record one strike out.
Gary Sheffield arrived at Fenway Park with his left wrist heavily taped. It's unlikely he will play Tuesday night's finale.
When the Yankees got word that Boston was looking to reacquire Doug Mirabelli from San Diego they made an attempt at him too. The move was done solely to keep Wakefield from getting his personal catcher. With the game starting later than usual, 7:15, due to it being televised nationally on ESPN, Mirabelli was able to make it from the airport in time to start the game. His impact was felt immediately as he did not commit a passed ball. Josh Bard had 10 passed balls already this season, necessitating the re-acquisition of Mirabelli.
Derek Jeter made a rare base running error in the top of the eighth. After drawing a one-out walk, Jeter rounded second base to far on Giambi's ground out to first. Jeter actually snuck his left arm around Alex Cora and appeared to be safe on the play, but the view of 2nd base umpire Mike Everitt was blocked on the play and he called Jeter our. Both Jeter and Joe Torre argued to no avail.
First Place Battle in Fenway; April Recap (5/1)
Yankees-Red Sox Meet For Pair
It may only be the 1st of May, but when the Yankees and Red Sox meet at Fenway Park tonight it will be a battle of first place teams. That has come out about because the Yankees have won 7 of 10 while the Sox have cooled off a bit losing 7 of 10. Of course the biggest buzz in Fenway tonight will be surrounding Johnny Damon, the traitor to Red Sox Nation. Personally, I don't care how the fans treat Damon. He needs to go out and do his job period.
The Yankees won't have Gary Sheffield tonight and may not tomorrow either. Though all X-Rays have proven to be negative, Sheffield is too sore to return to the lineup. One player that is expected to be in the lineup for Boston is catcher Doug Mirabelli. The Red Sox reacquired the knuckleball catching specialist from the San Diego Padres for Josh Bard and a minor leaguer. Mirabelli had been sent to the Padres over the winter for second baseman Mark Loretta. Bard, acquired as part of the Coco Crisp deal, failed miserably as Mirabelli's "Wakefield" replacement. He had 10 passed balls on the season including 4 in Wakefield's last start.
While Mirabelli is back, there are plenty of other new faces in Boston. Coco Crisp took over Damon in center field, but is currently on the disabled list. Newcomers Willy Mo Pena and Dustan Mohr have been seeing more playing time in Crisp's absence. Terry Francona had hoped Keith Foulke would be healthy enough to resume his closing roles, but Foulke has struggled physically with bad knees. Jon Papelbon, projected to be a starter, has stepped up as the team's new closer. While Francona won't commit the job completely to Papelbon, he's going to have a hard time changing his mind if the kid continues pitching the way he has. Papelbon saved 10 of the Red Sox 14 victories in April.
Josh Beckett jumped feet first in the starting rotation and won his first four games. One of those wins, however, came in his last two starts where he has allowed 13 earned runs in just 11 innings. He's also allowed six home runs in those 2 starts. Tuesday night the Yankees will face Beckett for the first time since he shut them down in the 6th and deciding game of the 2003 World Series.
Curt Schilling has bounced back from last year's injury plagued season, winning 4 times in April. Schilling has produced a quality start in 5 of 6 outings, winning the one game that wasn't a quality start. The Yankees will be glad to miss him this time out.
Of course, Boston's success or failure depends a lot on their big two - David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Ortiz comes into the series in a 5-27 mini-slump that has dropped his average to .278. He does have 10 home runs and 20 RBI and is a bonafide Yankee killer. Joe Torre will hope that red hot lefty specialist, and former Red Sox, Mike Myers can hold him in check.
Ramirez had a subpar first month of the season, not homering until April 21. He finished hitting .276 with just 4 home runs and 13 RBI.
Yankees April Recap
The Yankes started April 1-4 causing their fans to grab for the antacid. In going 12-6 (.667) since that point, the Yankees have moved .005 percentage points ahead of the Red Sox in their tie for first place. The Yankees had to play 11 of their first 14 on the road and came away just 7-7. But they followed that up by taking 2 of 3 from Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and Toronto to complete a 6-3 homestand.
APRIL MVP - Co-MVPs in this case between Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi. Jeter started hot from the start, coming out of the gate with a 9 game hitting streak. He's already had 11 multiple hit games and is hitting a gaudy .398 entering May. In addition, he has 14 extra base hits, 19 runs scored, and 20 RBI. Moving back to the 2-hole has seemed to genuinely agree with Jeter, who has also already drawn 19 walks. His OBP of .505 and OPS of 1.152 are among the league leaders.
Giambi was hitting just .167 after 6 games with 1 RBI and no extra base hits. He had 7 walks compared to just 3 hits. Those 6 games seemed like a repeat of his 2005 season start. That's where the comparison ends. Since then Giambi has gone on a tear. Since then he has hit .419 (.344 overall) with 9 home runs and an American League leading 27 RBI. He's walked 26 times and has an incredible 1.407 OPS, both top numbers in the AL. He's even hit as a DH where he has struggled in the past.
APRIL CY Young - Mike Mussina. With Mussina's win yesterday, he raised his record to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.31 (3rd in the AL). His 37 strike outs are second in the AL and he has had a quality outing in each of his six starts. He's allowed just 34 hits and 8 walks in 39 innings pitched.
APRIL FLOP - Unfortunately it falls right on Bernie Williams. Bernie has shown he still has some pop in his bat from the right side (.286), but has struggled terribly from the left side (.179) where most of his at-bats have come from. It spells out to a .217 average with 1 home run and 7 RBI. He's just .188 with runners in scoring position. Bernie has always been a notoriously slow starter, but this year the Yankees may have to find someone else who can swing the bat with more consistency.
PITCHING DUD - Tanyon Sturtze. Sturtze has been nothing short of horrible though his outing this past Saturday was encouraging. Hopefully the change pitching coach Ron Guidry made will make a difference. Randy Johnson could have won this just for his 2 horrible outings against the Jays.
SURPRISE OF APRIL - Mike Myers. The lefty specialist has been outstanding, making 10 scoreless appearances. Myers has held opponents to a .143 average, while allowing just 6 hits and 1 walk in 6 1-3 innings. He has also struck out six.
APRIL GRADE: B- The Yankees have not hit enough in the clutch and the starting pitching outside of Johnson and Mussina was shaky at best for most of the month. A late month surge raises this grade up from a C.
It may only be the 1st of May, but when the Yankees and Red Sox meet at Fenway Park tonight it will be a battle of first place teams. That has come out about because the Yankees have won 7 of 10 while the Sox have cooled off a bit losing 7 of 10. Of course the biggest buzz in Fenway tonight will be surrounding Johnny Damon, the traitor to Red Sox Nation. Personally, I don't care how the fans treat Damon. He needs to go out and do his job period.
The Yankees won't have Gary Sheffield tonight and may not tomorrow either. Though all X-Rays have proven to be negative, Sheffield is too sore to return to the lineup. One player that is expected to be in the lineup for Boston is catcher Doug Mirabelli. The Red Sox reacquired the knuckleball catching specialist from the San Diego Padres for Josh Bard and a minor leaguer. Mirabelli had been sent to the Padres over the winter for second baseman Mark Loretta. Bard, acquired as part of the Coco Crisp deal, failed miserably as Mirabelli's "Wakefield" replacement. He had 10 passed balls on the season including 4 in Wakefield's last start.
While Mirabelli is back, there are plenty of other new faces in Boston. Coco Crisp took over Damon in center field, but is currently on the disabled list. Newcomers Willy Mo Pena and Dustan Mohr have been seeing more playing time in Crisp's absence. Terry Francona had hoped Keith Foulke would be healthy enough to resume his closing roles, but Foulke has struggled physically with bad knees. Jon Papelbon, projected to be a starter, has stepped up as the team's new closer. While Francona won't commit the job completely to Papelbon, he's going to have a hard time changing his mind if the kid continues pitching the way he has. Papelbon saved 10 of the Red Sox 14 victories in April.
Josh Beckett jumped feet first in the starting rotation and won his first four games. One of those wins, however, came in his last two starts where he has allowed 13 earned runs in just 11 innings. He's also allowed six home runs in those 2 starts. Tuesday night the Yankees will face Beckett for the first time since he shut them down in the 6th and deciding game of the 2003 World Series.
Curt Schilling has bounced back from last year's injury plagued season, winning 4 times in April. Schilling has produced a quality start in 5 of 6 outings, winning the one game that wasn't a quality start. The Yankees will be glad to miss him this time out.
Of course, Boston's success or failure depends a lot on their big two - David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Ortiz comes into the series in a 5-27 mini-slump that has dropped his average to .278. He does have 10 home runs and 20 RBI and is a bonafide Yankee killer. Joe Torre will hope that red hot lefty specialist, and former Red Sox, Mike Myers can hold him in check.
Ramirez had a subpar first month of the season, not homering until April 21. He finished hitting .276 with just 4 home runs and 13 RBI.
Yankees April Recap
The Yankes started April 1-4 causing their fans to grab for the antacid. In going 12-6 (.667) since that point, the Yankees have moved .005 percentage points ahead of the Red Sox in their tie for first place. The Yankees had to play 11 of their first 14 on the road and came away just 7-7. But they followed that up by taking 2 of 3 from Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and Toronto to complete a 6-3 homestand.
APRIL MVP - Co-MVPs in this case between Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi. Jeter started hot from the start, coming out of the gate with a 9 game hitting streak. He's already had 11 multiple hit games and is hitting a gaudy .398 entering May. In addition, he has 14 extra base hits, 19 runs scored, and 20 RBI. Moving back to the 2-hole has seemed to genuinely agree with Jeter, who has also already drawn 19 walks. His OBP of .505 and OPS of 1.152 are among the league leaders.
Giambi was hitting just .167 after 6 games with 1 RBI and no extra base hits. He had 7 walks compared to just 3 hits. Those 6 games seemed like a repeat of his 2005 season start. That's where the comparison ends. Since then Giambi has gone on a tear. Since then he has hit .419 (.344 overall) with 9 home runs and an American League leading 27 RBI. He's walked 26 times and has an incredible 1.407 OPS, both top numbers in the AL. He's even hit as a DH where he has struggled in the past.
APRIL CY Young - Mike Mussina. With Mussina's win yesterday, he raised his record to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.31 (3rd in the AL). His 37 strike outs are second in the AL and he has had a quality outing in each of his six starts. He's allowed just 34 hits and 8 walks in 39 innings pitched.
APRIL FLOP - Unfortunately it falls right on Bernie Williams. Bernie has shown he still has some pop in his bat from the right side (.286), but has struggled terribly from the left side (.179) where most of his at-bats have come from. It spells out to a .217 average with 1 home run and 7 RBI. He's just .188 with runners in scoring position. Bernie has always been a notoriously slow starter, but this year the Yankees may have to find someone else who can swing the bat with more consistency.
PITCHING DUD - Tanyon Sturtze. Sturtze has been nothing short of horrible though his outing this past Saturday was encouraging. Hopefully the change pitching coach Ron Guidry made will make a difference. Randy Johnson could have won this just for his 2 horrible outings against the Jays.
SURPRISE OF APRIL - Mike Myers. The lefty specialist has been outstanding, making 10 scoreless appearances. Myers has held opponents to a .143 average, while allowing just 6 hits and 1 walk in 6 1-3 innings. He has also struck out six.
APRIL GRADE: B- The Yankees have not hit enough in the clutch and the starting pitching outside of Johnson and Mussina was shaky at best for most of the month. A late month surge raises this grade up from a C.
Giambi Blasts Yankees Into First, 4-1
Home Run Backs Mussina Winning Effort
Jason Giambi continued his assault on April Sunday at Yankee Stadium by belting his 9th home run of the season. He also leads the AL with 27 RBI. Giambi didn't reach either total last season until July. Mike Mussina (4-1) meanwhile was mixing all of his pitches with the same accuracy he's had all season. Mussina made his sixth straight quality start in as many tries. He did get scored up on first though when Frank Catalanotto doubled in Alex Rios from first base in the third. With 2 hits yesterday, Catalanotto is now hitting .472 against Mussina.
Tempers flared in the fifth inning when both managers didn't like the way home plate umpire Adam Dowdy was calling balls and strikes. Mussina thought he had Shea Hillenbrand out on strikes to end the top of the inning, but Dowdy felt otherwise. That caused Mussina to bark at him and he did again as he walked off the mound after getting Hillenbrand on a swinging strike out. Words continued from the Yankee dugout to the point that Dowdy, a temporary call up from the minors, took off his masked and asked the Yankee bench to repeat what was said. Joe Torre was then tossed out of the game. He didn't leave without giving Dowdy a piece of mind.
Torre's argument may have had an effect in the bottom of the inning. Andy Phillips, continuing to try to take advantage of playing time, drove a Gustavo Chachin (4-1) pitch the opposite way for his first home run of the season, tying the score 1-1. After a Johnny Damon ground-rule double, Chacin walked both Derek Jeter and Giambi to load the bases. Chacin worked Alex Rodriguez to a 2-2 count before beginning to head off the mound on what he thought was strike 3 looking. Dowdy called the inside pitch ball three, setting of Chacin and Jays manager John Gibbons. The next pitch was low and inside, but might have been called a strike earlier in the game. The walk forced home Damon with the go-ahead run and got Gibbons out of the dugout. He was quickly tossed out by Dowdy as well.
With Mussina having thrown 95 pitches through 6, substitute manager Lee Mazzilli signaled for Kyle Farnsworth to start he seventh. Alex Rios led off with a single, but was quickly erased when Jorge Posada threw him out attempting to steal second. Farnsworth than struck out Catalanotto and Vernon Wells to end the inning.
Giambi finished off the scoring in the bottom of the 7th when he hit a Pete Walker pitch off of the upper-deck with Derek Jeter aboard. Jeter had doubled with 2 outs setting up a confrontation the Blue Jays probably liked. Giambi had been 0-12 lifetime against Walker.
Mariano Rivera came on to get the final four outs to record his fourth save.
Notes
Aaron Small was added to the roster after the game with Matt Smith optioned down to Columbus.
The Yankees also promoted top prospect Phillip Hughes from single-A Tampa to double-A Trenton.
Gary Sheffield had further tests down on his arm, hand, and wrist, and no breaks were found. This contradicted a report Sunday by ESPN that Sheffield had broken his hamate bone. His status for the 2 game Boston series is still uncertain.
Jason Giambi continued his assault on April Sunday at Yankee Stadium by belting his 9th home run of the season. He also leads the AL with 27 RBI. Giambi didn't reach either total last season until July. Mike Mussina (4-1) meanwhile was mixing all of his pitches with the same accuracy he's had all season. Mussina made his sixth straight quality start in as many tries. He did get scored up on first though when Frank Catalanotto doubled in Alex Rios from first base in the third. With 2 hits yesterday, Catalanotto is now hitting .472 against Mussina.
Tempers flared in the fifth inning when both managers didn't like the way home plate umpire Adam Dowdy was calling balls and strikes. Mussina thought he had Shea Hillenbrand out on strikes to end the top of the inning, but Dowdy felt otherwise. That caused Mussina to bark at him and he did again as he walked off the mound after getting Hillenbrand on a swinging strike out. Words continued from the Yankee dugout to the point that Dowdy, a temporary call up from the minors, took off his masked and asked the Yankee bench to repeat what was said. Joe Torre was then tossed out of the game. He didn't leave without giving Dowdy a piece of mind.
Torre's argument may have had an effect in the bottom of the inning. Andy Phillips, continuing to try to take advantage of playing time, drove a Gustavo Chachin (4-1) pitch the opposite way for his first home run of the season, tying the score 1-1. After a Johnny Damon ground-rule double, Chacin walked both Derek Jeter and Giambi to load the bases. Chacin worked Alex Rodriguez to a 2-2 count before beginning to head off the mound on what he thought was strike 3 looking. Dowdy called the inside pitch ball three, setting of Chacin and Jays manager John Gibbons. The next pitch was low and inside, but might have been called a strike earlier in the game. The walk forced home Damon with the go-ahead run and got Gibbons out of the dugout. He was quickly tossed out by Dowdy as well.
With Mussina having thrown 95 pitches through 6, substitute manager Lee Mazzilli signaled for Kyle Farnsworth to start he seventh. Alex Rios led off with a single, but was quickly erased when Jorge Posada threw him out attempting to steal second. Farnsworth than struck out Catalanotto and Vernon Wells to end the inning.
Giambi finished off the scoring in the bottom of the 7th when he hit a Pete Walker pitch off of the upper-deck with Derek Jeter aboard. Jeter had doubled with 2 outs setting up a confrontation the Blue Jays probably liked. Giambi had been 0-12 lifetime against Walker.
Mariano Rivera came on to get the final four outs to record his fourth save.
Notes
Aaron Small was added to the roster after the game with Matt Smith optioned down to Columbus.
The Yankees also promoted top prospect Phillip Hughes from single-A Tampa to double-A Trenton.
Gary Sheffield had further tests down on his arm, hand, and wrist, and no breaks were found. This contradicted a report Sunday by ESPN that Sheffield had broken his hamate bone. His status for the 2 game Boston series is still uncertain.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Jays Beat The H Out Of Yankees
Halliday, Hillebrand Dominate In 7-2 Win
The match up didn't look good from the start. The Jays had former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halliday on the mound, while the Yankees trotted out the oft-injured, oft-ineffective Jaret Wright. Some games can just be played on paper. Halliday tossed 5 1-3 shutout innings and Yankee-killer Shea Hillenbrand belted a pair of home runs as the Blue Jays rolled over the Yankees 7-2.
Though a win was improbable, a couple of calls by the umpiring crew made matters worse. After Russ Adams led off the ball game with a walk, Frank Catalanotto appeared to strike out on a 2-2 pitch. Only thing was home plate umpire Larry Poncino didn't see it that way. Overhead replays clearly showed the back-up fastball cross home plate. Catalanotto took advantage by drilling a fastball in to the right field seats for a 2-0 lead.
The Yankees had at least one baserunner on in each of the first five innings, including two more hits for Derek Jeter, but couldn't push a run across against Halliday. Wright settled down after his shaky first inning and the game was still 2-0 when the Jays came to bat in the sixth. Wright was sent to the showers after giving up a lead off walk to Catalanotto and an infield single to Vernon Wells. Joe Torre signaled for the surprisingly effective Scott Proctor. Things started out well for Proctor. After getting Troy Glaus on a deep fly to left, he struck out first baseman Lyle Overbay for the second out of the inning. That brought up Hillenbrand who was already batting .323 with 5 home runs and 31 RBI in 65 games against the Yankees, but came into the game with only 1 home run and 7 RBI on the season. The Yankees are his cure-all though. Hillebrand crushed a Proctor hanger deep into the night and over the wall in left-center for a 5-0 Blue Jays lead.
Halladay missed a start earlier in the month due to a strained forearm and the Blue Jays have kept him on a strict pitch count for his two outings since then. Halliday's 99th and last pitch got Alex Rodriguez to ground out for the first out of the sixth inning. Manager John Gibbons opted for lefty Scott Schoeneweis with 3 of the next 4 hitters batting from the left side. Jason Giambi grounded out, but Hideki Matsui drew a walk, bring switch-hitter Bernie Williams up to the plate from the right side. Williams came into the game hitting only .182 from the left side, but .313 from the other side of the batter's box. Burn "Baby" Bernie belted a 2-run shot to deep center for his first home run of the season, cutting the lead to 5-2.
The Yankees last threat came and went in the eighth with a poor at-bat and an even worse umpiring call. Reliever Justin Speier gave up a lead off single to Rodriguez and a free pass to Giambi, his 23rd walk of the season. Gibbons wasted no more time bringing in his closer B.J. Ryan for a six-out save situation. Matsui flied to deep right for the first out with Rodriguez advancing to third. That brought Williams up again from the right side. This time though, Williams hit a slow grounder to third, that Troy Glaus fielded and started an around the horn double play. Williams beat second baseman Aaron Hill's one hop throw to first, but umpire Bruce Dreckman called him out to end the inning. Joe Torre came out to argue the blown call to no avail.
Tayon Sturtze continued to show in the ninth inning that his days in pinstripes could be numbered. After retiring Overbay to start the inning, Hillebrand belted his second home run of the night into the left field seats. Bengie Molina's single was then followed by a double by Alex Rios. Hill's sacrifice fly brought in the 7th and final run.
Notes
The baseball world received terrible news during the game when it was announced that former Yankee Steve Howe had been killed in a car accident in Coachella, California. Howe was traveling back from Arizona when his pickup truck flipped and rolled over. Howe was just 48 years old. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, daughter Chelsi and son Brian.
The match up didn't look good from the start. The Jays had former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halliday on the mound, while the Yankees trotted out the oft-injured, oft-ineffective Jaret Wright. Some games can just be played on paper. Halliday tossed 5 1-3 shutout innings and Yankee-killer Shea Hillenbrand belted a pair of home runs as the Blue Jays rolled over the Yankees 7-2.
Though a win was improbable, a couple of calls by the umpiring crew made matters worse. After Russ Adams led off the ball game with a walk, Frank Catalanotto appeared to strike out on a 2-2 pitch. Only thing was home plate umpire Larry Poncino didn't see it that way. Overhead replays clearly showed the back-up fastball cross home plate. Catalanotto took advantage by drilling a fastball in to the right field seats for a 2-0 lead.
The Yankees had at least one baserunner on in each of the first five innings, including two more hits for Derek Jeter, but couldn't push a run across against Halliday. Wright settled down after his shaky first inning and the game was still 2-0 when the Jays came to bat in the sixth. Wright was sent to the showers after giving up a lead off walk to Catalanotto and an infield single to Vernon Wells. Joe Torre signaled for the surprisingly effective Scott Proctor. Things started out well for Proctor. After getting Troy Glaus on a deep fly to left, he struck out first baseman Lyle Overbay for the second out of the inning. That brought up Hillenbrand who was already batting .323 with 5 home runs and 31 RBI in 65 games against the Yankees, but came into the game with only 1 home run and 7 RBI on the season. The Yankees are his cure-all though. Hillebrand crushed a Proctor hanger deep into the night and over the wall in left-center for a 5-0 Blue Jays lead.
Halladay missed a start earlier in the month due to a strained forearm and the Blue Jays have kept him on a strict pitch count for his two outings since then. Halliday's 99th and last pitch got Alex Rodriguez to ground out for the first out of the sixth inning. Manager John Gibbons opted for lefty Scott Schoeneweis with 3 of the next 4 hitters batting from the left side. Jason Giambi grounded out, but Hideki Matsui drew a walk, bring switch-hitter Bernie Williams up to the plate from the right side. Williams came into the game hitting only .182 from the left side, but .313 from the other side of the batter's box. Burn "Baby" Bernie belted a 2-run shot to deep center for his first home run of the season, cutting the lead to 5-2.
The Yankees last threat came and went in the eighth with a poor at-bat and an even worse umpiring call. Reliever Justin Speier gave up a lead off single to Rodriguez and a free pass to Giambi, his 23rd walk of the season. Gibbons wasted no more time bringing in his closer B.J. Ryan for a six-out save situation. Matsui flied to deep right for the first out with Rodriguez advancing to third. That brought Williams up again from the right side. This time though, Williams hit a slow grounder to third, that Troy Glaus fielded and started an around the horn double play. Williams beat second baseman Aaron Hill's one hop throw to first, but umpire Bruce Dreckman called him out to end the inning. Joe Torre came out to argue the blown call to no avail.
Tayon Sturtze continued to show in the ninth inning that his days in pinstripes could be numbered. After retiring Overbay to start the inning, Hillebrand belted his second home run of the night into the left field seats. Bengie Molina's single was then followed by a double by Alex Rios. Hill's sacrifice fly brought in the 7th and final run.
Notes
The baseball world received terrible news during the game when it was announced that former Yankee Steve Howe had been killed in a car accident in Coachella, California. Howe was traveling back from Arizona when his pickup truck flipped and rolled over. Howe was just 48 years old. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, daughter Chelsi and son Brian.
Yankees Host The Toronto New Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays got tired of looking up in the AL East standings at the Yankees, Red Sox and/or Orioles over the last 12 seasons and decided to try to do something about it this past off-season. Sure, they had tried things before. They brought in J.P. Ricciardi and his moneyball background as general manager prior to the 2002 season. They changed managers six times. Nothing worked, so this past winter they went out and spent cash in addition to make some deals with NL ball clubs.
They brought in a new closer, B.J. Ryan (Orioles), with a 5-year, $47 million deal. They bolstered their starting rotation by giving the Marlins' A.J. Burnett a 5-year, $55 million contract. They solidified their catching needs and added World Series experience by inking Bengie Molina (Angels) to a 1-year deal. Ricciardi was saddled with a myriad of corner infielders, none of which were anything special. He took care of that by sending previous closer Miguel Batista and gold glove second baseman Orlando Hudson, somewhat reluctantly, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for slugging third baseman Troy Glaus. Starting pitcher David Bush, outfielder Gabe Gross and another minor leaguer were sent to the Milwaukee Brewers for slick fielding first baseman Lyle Overbay.
With the first month of the season completed, the results have been mixed. Burnett, who has landed on the DL a number of times already in his career, has already been on it twice with elbow issues. Ace Roy Halliday missed a start with a strained forearm, and Josh Towers has been outright awful. Gustavo Chacin has brought some steadiness to the rotation, winning all four of his starts despite a 5.11 ERA. Ted Lilly is 2-1 despite struggling with shoulder problems. Outside of Ryan and Justin Speier, the bullpen has been shaky at best.
As for the other new additions, Glaus has had a pretty good start, hitting .267-6-16. Molina is batting .294 with 7 RBI in 13 games. Ryan has been outstanding; he hasn't allowed a run in 10 appearances, has saved 3 games, and struck out 8 batters in 10 innings while issuing just one walk. Overbay is hitting just .272, but does have 11 RBI.
The biggest key to the Jays 11-9 start has been the play of Vernon Wells. A notoriously slow starter, Wells is hitting a sizzling .400 with 9 home runs and 23 runs batted in. His OPS is a gawdy 1.216 and he has had at least one hit in 19 of the Jays' 20 games.
Another Blue Jay outfielder that has begun to blossom is Alex Rios. Often compared to Dave Winfield, the 6'5" right fielder had yet to produce any power in the major leagues. Over the past two seasons he managed just 11 home runs in over 900 plate appearances. This season Rios has already hit 6 home runs in 57 official at-bats.
The Blue Jays were willing to give up some defense in order to give the second base job to super hitting prospect Aaron hill, but Hill has struggled, hitting just .191 thus far. He and shortstop Russ Adams, also a second year player, have combined for 5 errors. Frank Catalanotto and Reed Johnson have been platooning in left field, with a comined .397 average. Shea Hillenbrand has been the main designated hitter, batting .318, but has just 1 home run and 7 RBI.
All in all, it looks like the Jays may very well be looking up at the Yankees and Red Sox once again.
------
Series Pitching Match Ups
Friday (7:05-UPN): Roy Halladay vs Jaret Wright
Saturday (1:05-YES): Josh Towers vs Randy Johnson
Sunday (1:05-YES): Gustavo Chacin vs Mike Mussina
------
The teams split their first two meetings in Toronto. Randy Johnson got hammered in a loss to Gustavo Chacin, but Mike Mussina came through the next afternoon in defeating Ted Lilly.
The Yankees were 12-6 against the Jays last season, splitting their wins evenly at home and on the road.
Yankees Hitters vs. Blue Jays in 2005:
They brought in a new closer, B.J. Ryan (Orioles), with a 5-year, $47 million deal. They bolstered their starting rotation by giving the Marlins' A.J. Burnett a 5-year, $55 million contract. They solidified their catching needs and added World Series experience by inking Bengie Molina (Angels) to a 1-year deal. Ricciardi was saddled with a myriad of corner infielders, none of which were anything special. He took care of that by sending previous closer Miguel Batista and gold glove second baseman Orlando Hudson, somewhat reluctantly, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for slugging third baseman Troy Glaus. Starting pitcher David Bush, outfielder Gabe Gross and another minor leaguer were sent to the Milwaukee Brewers for slick fielding first baseman Lyle Overbay.
With the first month of the season completed, the results have been mixed. Burnett, who has landed on the DL a number of times already in his career, has already been on it twice with elbow issues. Ace Roy Halliday missed a start with a strained forearm, and Josh Towers has been outright awful. Gustavo Chacin has brought some steadiness to the rotation, winning all four of his starts despite a 5.11 ERA. Ted Lilly is 2-1 despite struggling with shoulder problems. Outside of Ryan and Justin Speier, the bullpen has been shaky at best.
As for the other new additions, Glaus has had a pretty good start, hitting .267-6-16. Molina is batting .294 with 7 RBI in 13 games. Ryan has been outstanding; he hasn't allowed a run in 10 appearances, has saved 3 games, and struck out 8 batters in 10 innings while issuing just one walk. Overbay is hitting just .272, but does have 11 RBI.
The biggest key to the Jays 11-9 start has been the play of Vernon Wells. A notoriously slow starter, Wells is hitting a sizzling .400 with 9 home runs and 23 runs batted in. His OPS is a gawdy 1.216 and he has had at least one hit in 19 of the Jays' 20 games.
Another Blue Jay outfielder that has begun to blossom is Alex Rios. Often compared to Dave Winfield, the 6'5" right fielder had yet to produce any power in the major leagues. Over the past two seasons he managed just 11 home runs in over 900 plate appearances. This season Rios has already hit 6 home runs in 57 official at-bats.
The Blue Jays were willing to give up some defense in order to give the second base job to super hitting prospect Aaron hill, but Hill has struggled, hitting just .191 thus far. He and shortstop Russ Adams, also a second year player, have combined for 5 errors. Frank Catalanotto and Reed Johnson have been platooning in left field, with a comined .397 average. Shea Hillenbrand has been the main designated hitter, batting .318, but has just 1 home run and 7 RBI.
All in all, it looks like the Jays may very well be looking up at the Yankees and Red Sox once again.
------
Series Pitching Match Ups
Friday (7:05-UPN): Roy Halladay vs Jaret Wright
Saturday (1:05-YES): Josh Towers vs Randy Johnson
Sunday (1:05-YES): Gustavo Chacin vs Mike Mussina
------
The teams split their first two meetings in Toronto. Randy Johnson got hammered in a loss to Gustavo Chacin, but Mike Mussina came through the next afternoon in defeating Ted Lilly.
The Yankees were 12-6 against the Jays last season, splitting their wins evenly at home and on the road.
Yankees Hitters vs. Blue Jays in 2005:
| Hitter | AVG | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Damon | .339 | 1 | 6 |
| Derek Jeter | .443 | 2 | 10 |
| Gary Sheffied | .236 | 5 | 16 |
| Alex Rodriguez | .322 | 6 | 14 |
| Jason Giambi | .213 | 0 | 4 |
| Hideki Matsui | .270 | 1 | 13 |
| Jorge Posada | .383 | 1 | 8 |
| Robinson Cano | .298 | 4 | 10 |
| Bernie Williams | .250 | 1 | 9 |
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